Our First Week in Grand Isle, LA

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Monday began as usual with devotion and team meeting. We then divided up and Ken and Michele went back to the house they were working on previously. Cliff and Ann, David and Jae, Max and Anne, and Sara all went to Helen’s house. There we worked on installing trim, caulking and worked on some doors. That project is very close to complete and may be finished up by the homeowner, although we might go back if we have a rainy day.

Seemed like every room had a different trim

Ann and Sara spent all of Monday caulking trim

The reclaimed crown molding we installed in one room

Helen with the team that worked at her house

The rest of the week we were working on the exterior of another house. There we are going to install fiber cement plank siding. We spent the rest of the week preparing the walls for the siding (replacing soft plywood, removing nails, screws, vinyl siding, pressure washing some areas, and installing house wrap) and preparing the siding for the walls (painting it – lots of painting). We have a lift for higher areas. We may be able to start installing the first of the siding tomorrow.

Painting and and preparing to remove the old siding

Ken using the lift to apply the house wrap

We had to say goodbye to Cliff and Ann and David and Jae on Wednesday as they headed back north for a funeral. Herman and Levina and Jack and Beth joined the team Saturday and Max and Anne are now leading.

Cliff and Ann following Dave and Jae out. We hated to see them leave.

New crew members in town – set up and ready to work

Grand Isle is an interesting place. Definitely a place you don’t just happen to visit. You must be intentionally coming here. All the people we have met have been very nice and friendly. We had been told that food was more expensive on the island but since we were fed by people in the community (such good food) three nights last week, we aren’t purchasing much food. What little we have purchased was a little higher than on the mainland but Grand Isle is so far away from anywhere. We will gladly pay a little extra to keep from driving 37 miles back to the closest Walmart – 74 miles round trip. We are having a little trouble navigating to some of places we want to go. Directions are more like “go down the main road and turn left and then just past the blue boat turn left and then left again right after the speed bump.” The family knows how much Max likes such directions. He wants address and GPS coordinates. But… many of the street signs have not been replaced yet. Interesting. The weather has been beautiful – almost too hot by Thursday. Lots of sunscreen required. The Gulf of Mexico is right across the highway. We can hear the waves crashing on the shore when we are sitting outside and the stars are beautiful in the evenings. We expect to enjoy our next two weeks here. Please pray for all our team members safety as we work, and that we will accomplish what God has for us to do in this place.