Goodbye for Now

Friday, June 11, 2021

So what happened this week? As is our custom on Sundays, we watched the 8:30 worship service from our home church Lester Memorial and again as is our custom, we served each other communion in Fred with the rest of our congregation in Oneonta. It is always meaningful to us to serve each other holy communion. After that service we headed to Laurel First UMC for their worship service. We have enjoyed our time of worship with the Laurel congregation and look forward to seeing the friends we have made when we return in the fall. After church, the storms hit Laurel and we were drenched before we could get back into Fred. It was a good excuse to rest and stay home the rest of the day. There was actually flooding in downtown Laurel Sunday afternoon and with more rain overnight and everyday this week, there has been flooding in several areas.

Monday, with only four days remaining, we discussed the final priorities with Robby and then got to work. We began with texturing the walls and ceilings that we previously repaired and finished. Robby also delivered the flooring so we got our exercise for the day unloading the laminate flooring. After the texturing, the next priority was installing as much flooring as possible, so that is how we spent the remainder of the week – on our knees. We completed two bedrooms with the laminate and then the laundry area with vinyl plank flooring. Yesterday Mr. Jim joined us along with Chris from the Mississippi Conference, and Laura and Robby from Restore Jones County (RJC) for a Bible presentation. It was a sweet time. It’s been a blessing to watch Mr. Jim go from being quiet and withdrawn to smiling and laughing with us. He is so excited to be moving into his new home soon. RJC is hoping the old house will be burned next week, then the debris will be buried and the trailer moved to Mr. Jim’s home site shortly thereafter. Making progress. Sad we didn’t get to see it all happen but blessed to have been a small part of the process.

It took several cans of popcorn texture to cover the new drywall on the ceiling.

The popcorn texture from a can did not exactly match what was already on the ceiling.

This is only half of the laminate flooring that Robby brought us.

We were down on our knees a lot this week.

Living room wall at the end of the project

Master bedroom at the end of the project

There is still much work to be done here in Laurel and we hope we get to be a part of the continuing efforts. It has been fabulous to work alongside all the community volunteers, everyone with Restore Jones County, and The Glory House. We thank them for inviting us to join their work of restoration and hope. When we returned to Fred yesterday afternoon, we pulled up the NOMADS signs and stored them in the church until our fall teams return. Have a great summer Laurel friends and we hope to see you all again soon.