Month: February 2019

Thursday, February 28, 2019

NOMADS Friday! And we are all glad it is Friday for us. Today began with clouds and mild temperatures. We ended the work day with rain, put all our stuff back in the truck in the rain, and the rain continues tonight. Hope it’s good sleeping weather.

Max and Anne led devotion today and used the Seedbed Daily Text. Since today’s Seedbed and our other daily devotion both were very similar in thought and scripture, we decided that we needed to listen and use that for our discussion.

For a treat this morning, Gary and Nancy brought us a fresh hot boudin king cake. The locals say don’t ask what boudin is, but then say it is a pork and rice sausage. The king cake was very good with the pork filling and some maple syrup and bacon on top. A savory king cake vs all the sweet king cakes we have been eating. Nice. Only five more days of king cakes. They are very strict with king cakes. They are pulled from the shelf at 12:00 midnight Fat Tuesday (Mardis Gras) and won’t return until next year. No decadent king cakes during Lent. We are hoping we can go to a Mardis Gras parade tomorrow night. Please no rain!

After our king cake and devotion we headed off to work. Rita and Dave, Anne, Nancy, Larry and Jean worked at Norwich all day. We have all pretty much decided we are very thankful we never had to support ourselves finishing drywall. We are happy to do it for others but would hire it done at our house unless it was a small repair. We finished the week with all the drywall with one coat of mud and tape. One bedroom has a second coat of mud. There was a lot of great work done. It will take us at least another week, maybe more.

 

Max, Gary, Anne O., Lisa and Mark worked at Baker Drive. Gary installed lots of corner bead. The rest installed drywall. They are now almost complete on hanging drywall and will begin the taping and mudding Monday. There is a lot that needs second coating since we cleaned up what we inherited from another group and a smaller amount that will need first coat. The Baker Drive location is a trailer so not nearly as large as the Norwich home.

 

Everyone was very tired at the end of today. No dinner tonight. Everyone wanted a hot bath and rest. We will see what we can get into this weekend.

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

We had rain again today. It is so, so, so wet here. However, we had a gorgeous afternoon with blue skies, sunshine and puffy white clouds. Of course by 5:30 it was raining again. Strange weather.

Anne O led us in devotion this morning. Bob did not join her because he is sick. The scripture today was Luke 6:36-50 and the devotion came from a devotion book Anne O’s Sunday School class uses. This one came from the 2013 book. Interesting. Max and Anne’s devotion this morning from Seedbed was from Luke 6:36-50. God really wanted us to hear this today.

After devotion we headed back to our two houses to work. Since Bob is sick, Anne O stayed with him to get him in to see a doctor. Fortunately he was seen quickly at the Oschner “urgent care” facility. They felt he received very good care. We hope he is feeling better soon. Lisa and Mark went to the Baker Drive house to work with Max and Janet and Harry. They installed some headers for the doors they need to install, completed trimming out the bay window with 33 individual pieces of drywall that were individually cut, along with some other framing and drywall work. Making progress but seems slow.

 

Out at Norwich the drywall finishing continued. Rita worked on some taping and mudding of vertical seams while Nancy sanded and then applied a second coat of drywall compound (mud) in one of the bedrooms. It’s looking good. When the house at Norwich was mucked out after the flood, the removal of the drywall from the walls was not done very carefully resulting in significant damage to the ceilings. Jean has been working on the mudding/repairing the damaged areas. Rita also worked on patching some of the larger damaged areas. Gary was back at installing corner bead and Dave began learning how to apply mud while they were waiting for the new tub surround to arrive. Once they got the surround they returned to work on completing the bathroom so the drywall could be installed there. Larry and Anne spent the day taping and mudding the horizontal seams where the ceiling and walls meet. They completed the large family room and the kitchen and dining room today. Again, making good progress but there is still so much to do.

We were all really tired again this afternoon so we all ordered pizza and had it delivered so no one had to cook dinner tonight. We had a fun time with the team all together for dinner. Another good day in Baton Rouge. BTW, it’s raining again.

Some of the unusual things we see at the convenience store where we go on breaks:

 

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

As predicted last night was a rainy night and today a cloudy and sometimes rainy day. We haven’t had anywhere near the rain Alabama has received but the soil here is so saturated that you just squish walking on anything but pavement.

Today’s devotion was brought by Nancy and Gary. Nancy used a devotion from the Upper Room with the scripture Isaiah 43:2. The devotion was written by someone here in Baton Rouge who lived through the August 2016 flood. He wrote about how he felt when people from all over the country sent relief items, and came personally to help. He stated that “recovery is a long slow process but God worked through strangers to help us recover.” He is still working that way today.

We all headed back to our jobs of yesterday. The group working on Baker Drive continued to sand the last of the drywall and prepare the walls for finishing. They also cut and installed the drywall around the windows. That was a bunch of small pieces. Bob also got the plumbing installed for the tub. Max, Bob, Anne O, Janet and Harry were tired and dusty when they got home today.

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The group working the Norwich house installed more drywall tape and mud. And more and more and more. Tomorrow we will be doing more. However, the most important news is that Gary and Dave got the toilet installed in the hall bathroom today!! No more going to the Texaco. The team is very happy! The tub was also installed today. Our corner bead was delivered and we began installing that as well. Jean, Larry, Anne, Rita, Dave, Lisa, Mark, Nancy and Gary were tired and covered in drywall mud when they got home today.

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It was showers, something to eat and bed that most interested everyone tonight.

Monday, February 25, 2019

Today was a cooler day with increasing cloudiness as the day progressed. It was pretty enough to sit outside for breaks and lunch but was getting cool again by the time we got home. Tonight it is raining again and is now predicted everyday for the next 10 days. Well, we enjoyed the little sun we had today.

Janet and Harry brought our devotion again today with Janet playing the beautiful harp. Janet shared with us today from the handwritten notes of her grandmother’s 1951 bible study on fear, conflict and polarization. It was a special time of sharing. Harry ended by reading the poem “Just Pedal.”

At first, I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping
track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether
I merited heaven, or hell when I die. He was out there,
sort of like a president. I recognized His picture
when I saw it, but I really didn’t know Him.

But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though
life were rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem
bike. and I noticed that Christ was in the back
helping me pedal.

I don’t know just when it was that He suggested we
changed places, but life has not been the same since.
When I had control. I knew the way. It was rather boring,
but predictable…It was the shortest distance
between two points.

But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long
cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places at
breakneck speeds, it was all I could do to hang
on! Even though it looked like madness, He said,
 “Pedal!”

I worried and was anxious and asked, “Where are
you taking me?” He laughed and didn’t answer, and I
started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and
entered into the adventure. And when I’d say, “I’m
scared,” He’d lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed,
 gifts of healing, acceptance and joy. They gave me
their gifts to take on my journey, my Lord’s and mine.
And we were off again.

He said, “Give the gifts away; they’re extra baggage,
too much weight.” So I did, to the people we met, and
I found that in giving I received, and still our burden
was light.

I did not trust Him, at first, in control of my life.
I thought He’d wreck it; but He knows bike secrets,
knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, jumps
to clear high rocks, fly to shorten scary passages.
 
 I am learning to shut up and pedal in the
strangest places, and I’m beginning to enjoy the cool
breeze on my face with my delightful
constant companion, Christ.

And when I’m sure I just can’t do anymore,
He smiles and says…
 
” Just Pedal.”

Author Unknown

Thanks so much, Harry and Janet. Great job.

After devotion we discussed our work plans and headed out to work. Max lead a team of Bob, Anne, Janet and Harry to the new job on Baker Drive. Anne, Dave, Rita, Mark, Lisa, Larry, Jean, Gary and Nancy went to Norwich Drive. Everyone was working in drywall and plumbing today at both houses. There was drywall compound, and tape enough for everyone along with some plumbing of bathtubs at both houses. Good progress was made at both but there is still a long way to go. Hard work and we are all tired this evening.

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Lucky for us the church had a dinner for us tonight. The food was wonderful and the congregation so friendly and kind. Good night for everyone to get a night off from cooking. Everyone will be early to bed tonight and ready to go again tomorrow.