Month: May 2018

Friday, May 11, 2018

Another hot, sunny day in Baton Rouge with the high above 90 again. The humidity is going up and today felt hotter than yesterday.

The entire team is tired. The project is winding down and we have been working really hard so everyone just sort of took today to rest at home. We went to Mary Lee doughnuts this morning for breakfast of an apple fritter. It was again quite good, along with the blueberry cake doughnuts. Yep, fried chicken last night and doughnuts this morning. We have got to return to some healthier eating habits. We washed some clothes and started on the cleaning of Fred, then took a break and went to Home Depot. We have been wanting a new ladder and decided which one we wanted when we were here a month ago. We decided to wait and make the purchase when we returned to Alabama so we wouldn’t have to transport it back. Wouldn’t you know, none of the Home Depots in our area carry the ladder. While we were still in Alabama we checked the LA stores and they all have the ladder. So today we made the purchase. We also made a trip to Lowe’s for some additional small purchases. However, the new volt meter we purchased doesn’t work so we will have to return it tomorrow. Max is so sad we will have to go back to Lowes. NOT. Of course neither is Anne. Lisa has agreed to shorten Anne’s recent purchase of overall’s from Deluth Trading and they got those pinned up today. Lisa is very talented and creative. Otherwise, we spent some time relaxing and visiting with different members of the team and watched a Hallmark mystery we recorded sometime back. It was a good day.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

It was another warm sunny day in Baton Rouge. Don’t know the actual high but think it was 91 this afternoon. The weather is just repeating itself each day and we aren’t complaining. Yep, that’s the same opening as yesterday with an increase of one degree.

Lisa brought our devotion this morning which was based on Psalm 95:1-7, on faithfulness and thankfulness. The reading sparked some discussion which led into how we deal with adversity and problems. Stel then shared a quote she received in an email yesterday which we all liked. “The grass is not, in fact, always greener on the other side of the fence. No, not at all. Fences have nothing to do with it. The grass is greenest where it is watered. When crossing over fences, carry water with you and tend the grass wherever you may be.”

We were all sort of tired this morning but were anxious to see what we could get done today. Anne, Mark, Carol and Stel returned to work on bedroom and bath #2. The bedroom walls were textured, the closet and bathroom were primed, along with the bedroom ceiling. The ceilings in the bathroom and closet also got a final coat of paint. Lisa worked on painting the living room blue and later Mark and Lisa worked on the kitchen, crimson. The closet in bedroom #1 also got a final coat of paint today. Dave worked on electrical and installing the base plugs. Max bounced around doing lots of things including applying leveling compound in the transition areas in preparation for the flooring installation. He also reinstalled some trim in the living room. There was also a good deal of cleanup and sorting of tools and supplies. It’s time to return more items to the storage rooms at the church – another indication we are getting close to the end. Flooring is the biggest job we have left. Then, there are a lot of little things remaining. We would love to complete the painting so we can get on to the floor. We shall see.

Tonight the members of Francis Asbury treated the volunteers from Colorado and NOMADS to a southern fried chicken pot luck dinner. The food was wonderful and the sharing, and visiting even better. One of the Colorado team members is retiring and thinking about joining NOMADS. We hope so. Another work week is in the books. We thank God for another safe work week. One more week to go in Baton Rouge for 2018

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

It was another warm sunny day in Baton Rouge. Don’t know the actual high but it was close to 90 this afternoon. They weather is just repeating itself each day and we aren’t complaining.

Stel and Jodi brought us a good devotion for today based on Col 3:12-17. They reminded us to keep God in view even in the most difficult or menial tasks. Do everything we do for God.

When we got to the job site our first task was to take down the scaffolding from the rear of the house, and move it to the front for transport back to the church. It sure came down much easier than it went up the first time. After that it was back to the tasks of yesterday. Mark started with more sanding in bedroom two. Stel and Anne started with texturing the ceilings in the closet and bathroom for bedroom two. They had to first mix the drywall mud to the proper consistency and do a little experimenting until they got the look they wanted. The first room was a little slow but the larger bathroom went pretty fast. We are pleased with the results. Carol and Lisa started with completing the painting in bedroom one. They also got the second coat on most of the room today. Max and Dave worked on building a shelf and installing the vanity top in bathroom one. It looks good. There was a lot of discussion about how to finish our bedroom two walls and ceiling. The drywall still needed a lot of work but if we used a light texture things would move much quicker and time is of the essence right now. Dave and Carol discussed options with Richard and he told us to move ahead. He and Sandy are very anxious to move into the house. The FEMA case manager really wants them in and out of the FEMA trailer by mid May-first of June. We hope that is possible. One of the holdups right now is the plumbing. The construction managers are working on that for us. Mark, Stel, Carol and Anne spent most of the afternoon texturing. Mark put a light texture on the bedroom ceiling (and himself) completing the task just before the end of the day. Stel put a light eggshell finish on the closet and bath walls. We are pleased with the results and think our homeowners will be as well. This afternoon Max also installed the light fixture and smoke detector in bedroom one. Wow! Makes it look so much better and so much more complete. Carol did some touch up on the paint on bedroom one this afternoon. That room will be ready for flooring soon. Max also installed fixtures in the kitchen and closet. A real treat for us all was when Lisa arrived with some window air conditioners. She and Mark had some window units that were not in use so we will have a little cooler working conditions for the next few days. Thanks Mark and Lisa.

 

So it was a very busy day and much was accomplished. But that wasn’t all we did today. This evening the conference treated us to a wonderful crawfish (bug) boil in the parking lot. We visited and feasted with the volunteers from Colorado as well as Pastor Laraine and Debra from the conference office. It was crawfish, corn,potatoes and sausage. There was also some baked chicken for folks that weren’t up for the crawfish. Lisa gave everyone lessons on how to peel and eat the little critters. A good time was had by all and most of us enjoyed the crawfish.

 

Tomorrow will be another busy day as we push through to complete this project. Please pray for our continued safety and that we will accomplish what the Lord wants us to accomplish.

Tuesday, Mary 8, 2018

First of all, thanks to those of you who have made recent comments on the blog. We love hearing from you and when appropriate we share responses with the team. They always love hearing from fellow NOMADS and friends.

Today was pretty much a carbon copy of yesterday only it seemed a little more humid. We brought devotion to the team this morning and used one of the Seedbed devotions from the study on John back on March 21, 2017. The title was “Why Jesus Must Be More Than the Solution to Our Problems”, from John 6:30-37. It seemed to be well received and sparked some discussion. The focus was that sometimes we look for solutions when we need a Savior. Jesus is not God’s solutions to all our problems. He is God’s gift of himself to us. We need to entrust ourselves completely to Him.

After devotion and a brief team meeting, we ran into Pastor Laraine in the kitchen and were able to talk to her about NOMADS returning to Baton Rouge next February. It was great to see Loraine even for just a few minutes. We then made the drive to Baker and began work again, where we left off yesterday. Stel, Anne, Carol and Mark worked on sanding and finishing the drywall. Mark also helped with unloading the flooring. Lisa painted the bathroom and later started in the bedroom. Max worked on more underlament, unloaded flooring, loaded the truck with tools we no longer needed for return to the tool room and some general cleaning. Dave unloaded the flooring, and did some general cleaning, and worked in the bathroom on the vent fan, counter top and trim. We are making what sometimes seems slow progress but we can definitely see the end in sight. The flooring was delivered today. It will be exciting to start that portion of the job because that means the end is near. We so want to see Richard and Sandy back in their home. We will be close.

Stel didn’t work this afternoon because she had to take Jodi back to the doctor. They removed the staples and discharged Jodi. Thank you, God! She still has to take it easy for a few more weeks but can be more active and has no travel restrictions. We, of course, hope they will stay another week until the end of the project. They are on their eighth week here now and they would also like to see Richard and Sandy in their house, but they also have been away from home a long time. It will be a hard decision for them to make.

After we all got back to the church this afternoon, we got together for root beer floats. It was a nice cool treat to end a hard, hot day of work.