Strength

Last week for me at MDS. The weekend was good, I gave Melford a haircut and helped and gave instruction on haircuts for Ken and Bert, we toured an old home in Jasper and went to church on Sunday and in the evening went to Westwood Baptist Church for a southern gospel concert - the Masters Men. Tim and I enjoyed it but the three old couples that we went with (it was their suggestion to go) found it difficult to understand the words and also thought it was too loud. Ah the differences in generations!

Our new group arrived and this time the men outnumber the women 2-1. Only two Amish men, a husband and wife with their daughter from Manitoba, and the rest are all from the USA.

Our jobs:

Tim and his crew tore out the rotten floor joists, and replaced them with new ones and put plywood on the floor. He has two bathrooms to replace with drywall and floors and will have to do the flooring in both bathrooms, kitchen, living room, bedroom and hallway.

My crew and I will attempt to finish mudding and get some paint on the ceiling and walls, finish out the bathroom/laundry room and texture and paint the spare bedroom. We did take out a door and have made it into a wall and then we need to tear down what used to be a closet, since it was basically a lean to on the house. Hopefully we can install a new door to the house. Not sure how much more we can get done this week, as many more rooms in the house need to be worked on. We will do what we can.

Tim has been feeling sick the last two days but has been still going to work. We are praying that he will feel better soon and also that I will not get sick. We are so thankful to all of you for praying for us. The people that we are working for are so very grateful for everything that we are doing and we know that it is only because of God that we are here. We pray that their lives will be touched and know that, we do what we do because of our love for God.

Thank you God for giving me strength.

Joy

Well our time here is past the half way point but we still have more time to help more people. Today we had a new job for an older gentleman who suffers from diabetes and whose grandson looks after him. When we arrived at his home he was still sleeping but his daughter greeted us and we decided together that it would be easier if he could move out while we renovated. Soon family and friends showed up and the rooms that we needed cleaned out were empty. The girls quickly got to work gutting the place, we could not get them to slow down. Both the porch and the kitchen floor would need to be lifted and reinforced, ceilings patched, two bathrooms mostly gutted and redone but that will come.

Returning back to camp I was soon asked to be a crew leader for when Norman would leave on Thursday so that meant Tim would be on his own with the girls and I would go with Norman on Thursday so I would know what to do on Friday.

We, that is, Tim and I both had two good days on the job. Tim and his girls put up drywall, mudded, jacked up the porch floor, put plywood on the porch ceiling, scrapped off stipple, tore/peeled off paint, sanded, mudded some more, cleaned trash into the dumpster and enjoyed singing, Tim listed while the girls sang. I mudded, sanded, scrapped, instructed in the art of drywall mudding (I know what to do I'm just not that good at it), drove, shopped at Lowes and Home Depot (ye haw), gave direction and had a really good time. My crew mudded, sanded, did plumbing and electrical, put trash in the dumpster, built one interior wall. Much more is needed but more will happen in time.

Next week we will be at it again, and last week for me. I am looking forward to my trip to Florida and will be sure to keep you all posted.

Another enjoyable week working with really good, fun, nice people. The group of Old Order Mennonites were such a joy! Their love for each other and love of themselves, their forgiving spirits and their joy to work and joy of life is truly a blessing. We will miss them a lot.

Thank you Lord for the joy you give!

Jobs

Sunday morning we choose to visit the Sixteenth Baptist Church again. We went along with Ken and Martha June and their friend Julie. It was a more relaxed service as there was no baptism or communion this time but we still had to leave a bit before it was completely done as it was already 1:00 and we were scheduled to meet the rest of the group for lunch at IHop. Thankfully they were very patient and all was well.

Tim and I did manage to check out strollers for our grandchild and did some other shopping as well. We found our later that USA strollers are not approved for use in Canada, so back to the drawing board.

Tonight a new group of workers showed up with many of them being Old Order Mennonites. The girls are not quite as wild as crazy as the last bunch but they still look like they will be a lot of fun.

Monday morning arrives and it is back to work. Tim and I have four girls this week and we are excited to get working.

Our first stop was to Lowes to pick up spindles, our second stop was to the storage trailers in Cordova where there was to be a number of more spindles that we would be needing for our job. The trailer contained no such spindles so we hoped that we would have enough. Here in Cordova there was much damage still to be seen from the devastating tornados that tore through this small town killing many and damaging so much. Before we did our spindle work it was back to the Hamby's to install three new doors on their trailer. After watching Tim install the first door we went around back and installed the other two. Job completed before lunch. We found a spot to stop and enjoy our lunch together before another job began.

This next job was simply finishing up something from last week because they ran out of material. Myself and two girls got to work finishing up the spindles (we did manage to have enough) while Tim and the others painted a ceiling that had suffered from water damage. Tim also fixed up the steps on the front deck before we left. We enjoyed our work, finished in good time and made it back first to the camp.

This morning we were heading back to Jonnie Joe's as Tim and I had wanted to install tinted window film for her on her windows. We worked all morning getting all nine windows done, it might have been easier if they were all larger panes of glass but since each window had four panes of glass it took longer than expected. BUT Jonnie made lunch for us! Butter beans with ham, sautéed squash, potato salad, fresh baked corn bread and Klik. Everything was very good and I ate it all, and yes I did suffer later but it was worth it.

After lunch we drove back to Cordova to check out another job. We discovered that we would need to purchase ceiling tiles and come back another day to finish the job. So while we shopped we dropped the girls off at another job just a few homes away where they got to work installing drywall. We got what we needed for our job as well as materials for another. Soon it was time to head back.

This is when I suffered but not too long and was soon feeling better and looking forward to a new job that we will start tomorrow.

If I have not yet already mentioned, Alabama is a very beautiful State. There are pine tree covered rolling hills, with streams rolling through and I wish it was spring with the leaves on the trees or fall with all the gorgeous fall colours. The long drive to our job sites each morning at least gives us a beautiful view both to the site and back.

Thank you Lord for Jonnie Joe and her love for You. Bless her Lord.

Good Bye

Friday, the day our girls have been waiting for all week. We are finally going to Jonnie Joe's house to do some work for her. Today we did some minor repairs on her ceiling, painted the ceiling, twice, and a couple of the girls raked leaves and painted some outdoor furniture. Jonnie had made us chili for lunch so we just had to have some. It was very good and the sun was shining and it felt great and we were able to enjoy our lunch on the back patio.

That afternoon Mike showed up and found out that on Jonnie's stove only two of the four elements were working, so he decided that we would surprise her with a new stove. So together, Mike, myself and Kate headed over to Home Depot to choose a stove. When we returned and told her that we bought her a new stove, she cried with tears of joy. She could not believe that we would do this for her, but as we discovered she is always doing so much for others (Mike told us, as Jonnie would never brag about her good deeds). We also found out that her oven did not work. Now how can a dear sweet loving grandma not have a working oven to bake cookies for her grand kids! We all felt so blessed by having met Jonnie and getting to know her. She touched out hearts.

Tonight we first said goodbye to one group from Pennsylvania and then to the Old Order Mennonite girls who were also from Pennsylvania. We will miss them! They were a lot of fun and very good workers.

Slept in, at least of a couple of hours, because that is what Saturday's are for. After breakfast eight of us went to visit the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham. There was a lot of information to take in, and it was very well done. While I was standing and watching some news footage showing a white man talking about the Negros, I became angry inside at the white man and voiced my feeling out loud. A black man was standing next to me and said that we cannot hate those people but we need to forgive them. I knew that, and know that, but found it amazing to believe that this black man would feel that way. But he's right and that is how many of the black people felt in those days, that they needed to forgive and love the people that hated them for the colour of their skin. Things have changed over the years down in the South and I am so thankful for that. God has created each and every one of us and loves each of us just the same regardless of the colour of our skin.

Returning back to camp we pulled out some leftovers and enjoyed a tasty lunch. We dropped Manny, a young Amish man who had been here as a crew leader for about six weeks, off at the train station. Then Tim and I together with Bert and Lenora went to a shopping mall and after a few hours, we purchased one item and they only bought a few socks. But we had a good walk inside where it was warmer. Supper was at a little BBQ place called "Full Moon BBQ". Lenora ordered a baked potato as a side and it was huge, sorry but I forgot to take a picture. My pulled pork was very good and we left feeling satisfied. Another day done and soon another week will begin.

Thank you Lord for giving me the morning, thank You for giving me the day, thank You for every thing you do!

Girls

Tuesday morning we were up and at it again. After the usual lunch packing, truck packing and breakfast eating, and devotional, we were on our way. Our first stop was to check out a new job near Jasper. At first we were not sure if it was a man's house or a woman's as the name was Jonnie, we discovered upon meeting that Jonnie Joe was a sweet older lady (78) who needed only minor repairs done to her home. Much of the other work from the storm had been completed a while back. She was in her bedroom when the tornado hit and a very large tree that was next to her house fell down onto the roof. She was unable to get out of the house until help came. She was without power for two months but was able to use the barbecue for cooking and said it wasn't that bad. This was the first home we have encountered yet that was clean and smelled nice. Jonnie Joe is such a sweet dear lady and as we listened she told us how since she found The Lord, later in her life that God has been such a blessing to her. Her parents had four girls prior to her birth and really wanted a boy so instead they gave her both her grandfathers names.

Our second job, a new one as well, was to replace the drywall in the ceiling of an older gentleman's living room. This home was extremely smoked in and I found the smell to be quite bothersome to me. We helped move out the furniture, plastic the floor and together with our girls we ripped down the crown moulding and brought down the old drywall. We wore masks for this job and I know without the mask I wouldn't have been able to stay in the house. Tim had a bit of a challenge taking down the ceiling fan, and once it was down and the drywall removed he knew why. He did fix it before putting up the new drywall.

We did manage to make a trip to Home Depot and purchase drywall and drive it back and bring it into the house all while it was raining. Together we put the new drywall up before cleaning up the mess and heading back to camp.

This Wednesday morning I woke up not feeling too well, was not sure if it was the smoke smell from the house the day before or what is was but I decided to stay back and try to get better. I ended up having a three hour nap in the afternoon which then kept me up at night. Tim and the girls were able to apply one coat of mud but since it was still raining a bit they were unable to do another coat. They did manage to give the walls two coats of primer. Then there were able to go back to the first home we worked on and clean up the yard now that a new empty dumpster had finally arrived.

I had hoped that I would be feeling better this morning but no such luck, so I read a bit then had my three hour nap before lunch in the hopes of falling asleep at a more reasonable time tonight. Tim took only two girls with him today as that was all he needed. They sanded, mudded, installed crown moulding, primed the ceiling and gave everything a nice soft yellow coat of paint. Job well done and completed!

This evening we had two people from the Walker County Recovery Team come and share with us after supper. It was good to hear how not only was MDS a good help in teaching them how to help but also the impact the volunteers have made not only in repairing homes but also giving hope to the people, many who have gone on to help others. This group brought some delicious pie, of course I am just getting that information from Tim as I cannot eat any of it right now. It looked sooo good!

One of the non-Mennonite girls allowed herself to be dressed up in Old Order Mennonite clothes and she was so sweet about it. Then all the girls and some men went out to play volleyball. These girls are such a delight, so sweet and kind and loving and a lot of fun.

Time for me to call it a night and get some sleep.

Thank you Lord for music to worship and glorify you.

Weekend

Weekend time, our time "off". The first thing on the agenda was to sleep in which we did, second thing was to wash our dirty work clothes, then decide what to do. Thankfully Norman came up with a great idea to go hiking at Oak Mountain State Park.

A number of us, ranging in ages, climbed into the van and made our way to the park. It was a perfect day for a hike, not too hot or cold. The oldest in our group, Verla who is also the head cook, is 76 years old and I was amazed at how well she did. The only time she slowed down a wee bit was when we were climbing very steep paths. We had an enjoyable time hiking and getting to know each other.

Arriving back at the camp we were greeted with a delicious supper cooked by Mike, who is the construction foreman. As a young man he once had a desire to be a chef and you could tell. We enjoyed marinated infused barbecued pork loin, baked potatoes and fried mushrooms. It was very tasty! Our evening was filled playing sticks, a game we learned in Mexico. Later that evening Tim and I drove a sweet young Old Order Mennonite couple to the train station. We had enjoyed the time we got to know them and were sad to see them go.

This Sunday we went to the Grace and Truth church where Mike and Sharon have been attending and enjoyed a good service. For lunch we went to Ryan's buffet, and I did manage to find something to eat although there was much I could not. Nap time was what I needed upon returning to camp and thankfully I was able to do just that.

Soon the new short timers arrived, we had our meeting and spent some time getting to know them. Everyone is from Pennsylvania, but not all are Mennonites. There is about 11 young women ranging in age from 18-23.

Monday morning Tim and I headed out with our "girls", two Mennonites and two non. We were able to get up the rest of the spindles on the second deck, repair the floor in front of the bathroom and replace some broken windows. We then had plans to go to another job site or two but no one was home. Oh, well we will try tomorrow. These young ladies are helping us to fill the void of missing Selena as they remind us of her.
We do miss all our children and wish the Internet was better here so we could do FaceTime but I guess we will just have to wait until we see them face to face.

I am planning to go see a Dr. Joe Fuller in Florida when we are done here at MDS as he claims he can cure me of my allergies. I have talked to someone he has cured and one of the ladies here has been cured of similar issues by someone doing a very similar thing. Tim will most likely stay on here while I go to Florida and then we will drive home together. I am feeling hopeful that Dr. J can help me and I will be sure to let the world know if it truly works.

This evening the young Mennonite ladies were singing and others joined in as well. Tim and I played two games of Dutch Blitz with some others and had a wonderful time.

Week one. Done.

Our first week serving with MDS is completed. We were able to wake up early and work hard all day, we didn't get too cold despite the occasional drizzle of rain. The Hamby's got their floor replaced with thick vinyl and it looks good. One deck is completed and the other just needs spindles on the hand rails going up the steps. The front deck has been repaired to make it safer and we are hoping that we can find doors to replace their current ones which are in disrepair.

We have met some interesting people and have enjoyed working with them. We hope that this weekend will be a time to refresh and renew ourselves for another week of work.

Thank you Lord for servant hearts.

Working hard

How do I explain what we are doing here without giving you some details, but yet I feel if others are reading this it might get a little boring, but then I am also writing this for myself to have a journal to look back on. So if you don't want to read all the details just know that we are working to make the lives of people here in Alabama at little bit better.

Tuesday we went back to the Voss home to do some more work and hopefully finish up. This time we brought heaters as yesterday we had no idea that the home had no heat. The flooring, laminate, got finished and most of the trim but unfortunately we were short a few pieces. The ceiling in the kitchen, living and dining room all got painted. I cut in while Jack rolled. The leak in the bathroom got fixed and we painted a few other trim pieces and cleaned up. Came back to camp, supper, meeting, bed, same routine every day.

Today, Wednesday we headed to a new home, the Hamby's, where we started building two decks on the back of their home. Such a sweet, kind couple and very helpful. Tim and Rob dropped us off to get started while they went back to the Voss house to finish the baseboards which Tim and I had picked up the night before. By the time the day was done we had two decks up with deck boards on, now all we need is stairs and railings. Not sure if we can work on them tomorrow as the forecast is for rain. We were also asked to replace the flooring in their living room but after Tim and Jack looked at it they feel the subfloor needs to be replaced as well. It is an older mobile home in much need of tender loving care and repair or better yet replacement which is not happening so we will try to do our best with the money we are allotted. Pray the the floors can be replace properly to give this family a safer home.

Thank you God for your provisions.