Author: rvingwithapurpose

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Yesterday Jayne brought us our devotion and she reminded us to “tell the story” using Psalm 78:1-7 as the basis. She also reminded us that sometimes we tell the story with our actions not our words. Everything we do has the capacity to influence others for good or bad. Jayne also read us the poem “Sermons We See” by Edgar Guest.  It was a beautiful day very similar to Monday and we all returned to the same job sites as Monday and basically continued what we started Monday. We completed a lot more painting but not quite all. We made good progress on the kitchen cabinets but not quite complete. We will get there.

Today was another great day in Baton Rouge. It was a little cloudy and the temperatures are going up, but it’s still nice. We may have rain tomorrow but it’s not supposed to be anything like last Thursday. We are again hoping to do some Bible presentations tomorrow.

Today Sharon brought our devotion from Philippians 4:4 and spoke to us about the power of praise. We were reminded to exalt the Father in all circumstances. Sharon also shared “The Dash” by Linda Ellis. You may have read it before but it’s always a good reminder. Thanks, Sharon!

We again all headed back to the same job sites as yesterday. We got all the cabinets installed pending the electricians moving some lines for the range. The cabinets look really nice. The electricians arrived this afternoon so hopefully we can complete the kitchen sometime tomorrow. Ruth Ann completed the painting of the laundry room and Jan cut in the hall bath but we couldn’t complete the tub room because the tile man returned and grouted the tile. We also got a coat of paint on the window sills and will re-coat tomorrow. Most of the painting is done. Just a little touchup is left. We spent the rest of the morning cleaning out a lot of stuff we no longer need and cleaned the floors in preparation for the laminate flooring. We sent equipment, paint, etc that is no longer needed back to the church when Darryl delivered the laminate flooring shortly after lunch. Jayne came over from the Groom Road house and joined Sharon, Ruth Ann and Anne in starting the flooring. We got one bedroom started and will proceed tomorrow.

At Groom Rd Gary, Sharon and Jayne completed some drywall and worked in the kitchen this morning. Max went to Groom Road this afternoon to assist Gary in hanging wall cabinets. It was a busy day for all.

We are making progress but are feeling the pressure of the end of our time in Baton Rouge approaching. We would like to get these homes completed before we leave. We have to remind ourselves that God is in control and we will accomplish what he wants us to accomplish.

Monday April 22, 2019

Another beautiful day in Baton Rouge. Blue skies. Sunshine. Nice breeze when we were sitting outside for breaks and lunch. NICE!!

Of course we started the day with devotion, today led by Suzanne. She asked the question, do you live in the secular world or the spiritual world? And how can we bring those two worlds together? Suzanne shared that prayer brings those to worlds together. If we do everything with prayer we bring the two together. If we do everything we do – taking out the trash, caulking windows, painting, installing cabinets, looking for Jesus, our world will become the world Jesus has planned for us. Thanks, Suzanne.

We then all, all 13 of us, headed out to Norwich Dr with the plan to get a lot of painting done today. All our supplies were moved over the weekend because the tile man came in to install all the ceramic tile. We were still locating all our stuff and had begun pouring up paint when Darryl arrived. Semper Gumby!! Sharon, Gary, Jayne and Joe headed out to Baker, LA to work on another house. Regroup and redistribute tasks. Painting began. Max was caulking windows. The HVAC guys arrived. We discussed their plans for the day and it seemed we would be able to stay out of each other’s way. Back to work. Tile man arrived. He wanted us to go ahead and start installing cabinets. He had somewhere else he needed to work today and planned to return after 4:00 to grout the tile he installed over the weekend. More Semper Gumby. Now we had Max, Dave, Bob with some assistance by Marvin installing cabinets. Suzanne, Ruth Ann, Virginia, Jan were painting. Anne was going between everything and trying to be sure everyone had everything they needed. Darryl arrived. Super Semper Gumby! We loaded the trailer with all the construction debris and Max then went with him over to Ms Pam’s to assist in loading up all the debris from there. It was a crazy day but somehow productive. All three bedrooms now have the walls painted. The hall is partially painted. Cabinets are partially installed. Hopefully cabinets will be completed tomorrow. We also hope most of the paining will be done. We shall see. The four that went out to Baker also painted and prepared for cabinets. Not sure what else is to be done there.

Today was the first time either of us has been to Ms Pam’s house since it was finished. It looks great! Below are a few pictures for those who worked on it earlier this year. Look back to our blog posts starting February 25th to see what it looked like before we started.

It was a good day. Tomorrow should be another interesting and good day.

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Saturday was another beautiful but cool day. It was one of the days requiring heat in the morning and a/c in the afternoon. We relaxed in the morning and then Max and Gary went out to Norwich Dr for Gary to see the job site so he could made decisions about work for next week. Anne and Sharon went to the Mall of Louisiana shopping. Sharon has two grandchildren graduating in a few weeks and wanted some new things for the celebrations. The mall is a large, nice mall and they had a good time. Two new couples arrived Saturday afternoon with our third couple not arriving until Sunday afternoon. Saturday evening we had a movie night, watching Hidden Figures on our outside TV. It’s a movie about three black women who worked at NASA during the infancy of the space program. The team members brought their chairs over, and we made popcorn for everyone. The temperature was down into the fifties before the movie was over so we were wrapped up in blankets by the end. It was fun time and a good movie.

Today of course was Easter. Most important day of the year! Francis Asbury UMC had a sunrise service at a member’s home out beside a lake. We love sunrise services. They have not done sunrise service in the past but it seemed to be well received. The neighbors were also invited and some attended. The weather was beautiful and the service good. The member has a beautiful white rabbit that also paid us a visit. She said it was taking a break from delivering eggs to visit with us for a little while. Such a pretty rabbit.

 

After service we all went to Piccadilly for an all you can eat breakfast. We didn’t eat much the rest of the day. Of course there was regular service at 10:30 and then we all took naps. Our last couple arrived late this afternoon and we had team meeting at 6:30. Jayne brought a praline and cream ice cream cake to share. Ok, we did eat a little more. It’s been a nice weekend. Hope yours was great too.

Friday, April 19, 2019

This morning was a much prettier and cooler morning than yesterday. It’s been a beautiful day for the most part but we have had intermittent rain showers usually lasting less than ten minutes.

It was a day of “see ya’ later’s” as Mark and Jo and Cheri and Butch pulled out this morning. Cheri and Butch are headed to North Carolina for their next three week project. Mark and Jo are headed back to Iowa after a couple of stops along the way. We didn’t get to work with Mark and Jo very much this time but we did make a point of visiting at dinner a few evenings. We will get to see them again in Wisconsin this summer. We should see Cheri and Butch again at annual meeting. Hope they have a great summer.

After seeing everyone off, Anne did some policy work for NOMADS and helped Max with some work on our new theater seating. We decided we wanted some rollers under the front for additional floor protection. There was also laundry to do and of course some exercise. Otherwise it was a pretty quiet and restful day.