Author: rvingwithapurpose

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Today was our last day as team leaders on the disaster rebuild project in the Florida Keys. It has been a relatively easy project to lead because every week we had wonderfully mission minded NOMADS working with us. They have accomplished a lot for the people here.

We all returned to George’s house after devotion and continued to make progress towards getting the house ready to turn back over to the homeowner. At the end of the day the shower was installed and freezer board was installed on the bathroom walls, the painting was finished and the outside trim was installed around the windows and air conditioners.  Jim, the construction coordinator, is planning to have other volunteers working on the house over the weekend and NOMADS will return next week to put the finishing touches on. The agency plans to have a home dedication on Wednesday morning. We hope to attend it and present a Bible signed by all the NOMADS who worked on the house.

After work we went by to introduce Dan and Virgie to Dennis and show them what still needs to be done there.

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Karen and Greg brought our devotion today based on 1 Corinthians12: 4-11, which speaks about the gifts of the spirit. Karen used the example of a jigsaw puzzle. As with a puzzle we are all different/unique with various gifts, but in the Body of Christ we are all interlocked and when we are put together as God plans, we can make a beautiful picture – community/world. Sometimes we need to remember that our uniqueness does not isolate us but adds to the strength of the whole. Thanks, Karen and Greg and thanks to Wanda for playing her guitar for our music.

After devotion it was back to Marathon to George’s house. We continued with the painting and completed the living room and kitchen and began working on George’s bedroom. All the paneling was installed in the bedroom. Work continued in the bathroom and the new wall between the shower and linen closet is completed and the shower pan plumbed and installed. There was lots of rotten wood in the bath and the rafters had to be repaired before the ceiling panels could be installed. Air conditioners were trimmed around and some of the windows in the living room were also trimmed and caulked. It was another very busy day. We are still hoping for a home dedication next week. Fortunately there will be some other volunteers working on the house this weekend. It takes us all working together to make this pretty puzzle.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

We all returned to George’s house on Marathon to keep pushing towards completion of our work there.  The team worked hard all day and got the shower drain plumbed and the pan installed, all three air conditioners installed and operating (yea!), and started painting the walls.  Around lunch time the volunteer coordinator came by and borrowed a couple of team members to help him move some furniture for one of the agency’s clients.

This evening Wanda, our unofficial social director, arranged another game night. Fun and fellowship even for us tired old folks.

 

Monday, January 13, 2020

Sara brought us a wonderful devotion this morning based from 1 Peter 2 based on “Stones”. She collects stones and polishes them into “prayer stones.” Today she brought several with her and allowed us to pick one to keep. She told us she keeps one in her pocket and whenever she reaches into her pocket for something she feels the stone and it reminds her to pray. Sara finished by reading the poem “Prayer Rock.”

The whole team worked at George’s house in Marathon. That is about 20 miles from where we are staying. Jim, the construction coordinator, wants us to put a full push on getting that house ready to turn back over to the homeowner next week. It will be a challenge.

After Greg and Max worked there last Wednesday, the mission group from Marshall University worked there on Thursday and Friday. They did a remarkable job moving the house toward completion. They  put up the rest of the ceiling panels and then installed laths over all the seams and nails and installed some of the insulation and paneling. One of the students was in a wheelchair. She told Jim she knew how to install the flooring. With some help getting around she installed all but a few pieces.

Today we installed the last few pieces of flooring in the living room/kitchen, paneled more walls, started rebuilding the bathroom, framed openings for air conditioners and caulked the lath strips on the ceilings. The home owner came by for a few minutes and was very pleased with the progress. We enjoyed meeting him.