Author: rvingwithapurpose

Friday, December 14, 2018

Well, the forecast was wrong. Instead of starting to rain after 9:00 am, it began raining in the very early hours of the morning. So, we all got to get ready to leave in the rain. There was a little break about 6:00 and we all were busy doing the last of the packing, pulling in power cords, slides etc. The first to pull out of Lumberton were Gene and Mary Ann. They had the longest drive today since they were going all the way back to Kentucky. Next to leave were Nancy and Gary, then Philip. We pulled out about 7:30, leaving only Carol and Dave and Bruce and Cindy.

 

As we left Lumberton on I-95, the water was noticeably higher than yesterday along the highway. It won’t get on the interstate again based on current predictions, but some of the access roads could be underwater by Sunday. As we approached Florence, the PeeDee River was way out of its banks. There was water everywhere. It appears there was more flooding around Florence than Lumberton. It was also raining very hard as we approached Florence. Traffic really wasn’t too bad and people were mostly driving safely. We stopped at the rest area after entering South Carolina, about two hours into our drive. The rain was down to a light drizzle and we stretched our legs and ate some breakfast. We then had an uneventful, although wet, drive the remainder of the way to Johnston, SC. As we were arriving the rain dropped to a drizzle again long enough for us to get parked and set up. Thank you, God, for safe travel. As the afternoon progressed, we heard from each of our team members and then later this evening we got the final word from Gene and Mary Ann that they had arrived safely to their destination. Praise God for safe travel, on treacherous travel day, for all our team members.

It was great to see Debra when we arrived. She was busy in the kitchen getting ready for our family Christmas dinner tomorrow. Anne helped out where she could and we all had a good afternoon of visiting. Randy and Debra have the house all decked out for Christmas and we particularly like the mantle display. We think Randy did that for us. Randy was driving a bus today and didn’t get home until after dinner, but it’s always great to be with Randy and Debra. Others family members will be arriving tomorrow and we are looking forward to seeing everyone. Thanks for everyone’s prayers today.

 

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Today we had a gorgeous sunrise and then a bright sunny morning. This evening clouds are starting to come in and storms will be here tomorrow. The river is already at 17 feet, 4 feet above flood stage and is expected to go to 19.3 by Sunday. Lumberton is now under a flood warning that has gone from moderate to major severity. Moderate flooding is currently occurring and major flooding is forecast. The flood warning now predicts that over 50 dwellings will be inundated or isolated due to flooding. We will be leaving early in the morning to avoid any risk of road closures along our route. Currently the flooding is not forecast to close I-95 again. However, with 2-3 more inches of rain predicted this weekend, we can understand the frustration and anxiety in Robeson County. This area just can’t seem to dry out. Everything is just so wet. Even though the NOMADS project is now over for 2018, we will carry this community in our hearts.

This morning’s devotion was by Gary and Nancy. Gary read us the “Fellowship of the Unashamed” prayer. This was a prayer of a martyred pastor in Zimbabwe over 100 years ago. It is a powerful prayer. Nancy then shared Isaiah 43:1 – “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you my name; you are mine.” This is one of her favorite scriptures. Then she showed us her bible. She has written verses on the front and back cover, and the sides. An impressive testament to her love of God’s Word. Thanks for the blessing of your devotion, Gary and Nancy.

Today after our time of worship and prayer there were no work assignments. All the work is done. Today was Bible presentation day. We headed out the Terry’s house first where the entire team was able to see the work that was completed there. Then Anne did the presentation and prayer for Terry and his children. We then went to Bruce and Elsie’s house and Nancy did the presentation there. It was great to see them again and the living room looked great with their Christmas decorations in place. Next we drove out in the country on the opposite side of town to Mary and Jim’s. We got to see the completed bathroom. Mary has already decorated it and it looks lovely. Next was Jackie’s house. She was there to meet us and is just so excited to get her home back. She hopes to move back in soon. Mary Ann made our presentation there and everyone got to see the final work done at Jackie’s. Unfortunately, Carolyn was not at home today so we had to leave her Bible on her front porch.

 

 

We all went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. It was another good time of visiting. It was so great to see our home owners one last time. There were hugs and tears. We are just so thankful that God brought these people into our lives. So thankful we were used to improve their living conditions. It’s been a great project.

The afternoon was spent packing up and readying for travel as we will all pull out of Lumberton tomorrow. We will try to get an early start to hopefully be hooked up and on the road before the rain begins. We know it will be a rainy drive and we will probably have to set up in the rain in Johnston but we pray for safe travel for all NOMADS on the road tomorrow.

Tonight Jeff and Ann cooked dinner for us at the church. We had some great chili, grilled hot dogs and all the fixings. Oh, and there were many wonderful desserts. It was such a good time to have to spend with Ann and Jeff and some of the others with the NC Conference. Thanks so much!! We have grown to love Ann and Jeff and will be carrying them in our hearts as well. They have been working so hard for so long, and the work on Florence is just underway. They need our prayers for strength and stamina.

Time to get some sleep. Another busy day tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

It was another cold 28 degrees this morning. Several of our team members water was frozen today. It was not predicted to get below 30 so no one brought in their hoses. Oops. Fortunately Max did leave the light on in the water bay but he also left our hose and pressure valve out in the cold. We had water, so that was nice.

Carol shared the story of the origin of the birthday cake for Jesus at our devotion time. We discussed our various family traditions regarding Christmas and ways of reminding ourselves and others of the real meaning of Christmas. Thanks Carol for sharing.

After devotion we all got our work assignments. Phillip and Cindy went out to Mary and Jim’s and finished the threshold strip from the bath to the bedroom. We still need to get the debris removed but we think Jeff will have someone else do that. Now Mary and Jim’s work is complete.

Mary Ann, Carol and Dave went back to Jackie’s and worked on touching up the paint, spent lots more time removing masking tape and completed the final cleanup there. Jackie’s house is complete.

Max, Anne, Nancy, Gary and Bruce went back out to Terry’s house. Bruce, Gary, and Max headed on over to Elsie and Bruce’s house as soon as the sun had warmed things up a bit. They soon discovered, however, in the winter the sun never really reaches the roof of their house so Max and Gary were cold sitting on the roof to make repairs. They completed the installation of the new section of roof and then made some repairs to the older roof. Elsie and Bruce’s house is now complete.

Anne and Nancy completed the installation of the vinyl plank flooring. Each piece on the last row had to be cut with the jig saw which Nancy did like a pro. (She just learned to use the jig saw yesterday.) And it looks very good in our opinion. Next was the installation of the base boards. Gene arrived and helped us with this task since neither Nancy nor Anne had used his small miter saw. Today Nancy learned to used the miter saw. After cutting the baseboard we nailed it in place with Max’s new Dewalt nailer, another new skill for Nancy. After installing the baseboard there was caulking and painting. While the ladies worked inside, Gene worked on the completion of the deck railings. Soon Phillip and Cindy arrived and Cindy joined Gene on the deck while Phillip designed and installed another transition strip. He did a great job! By the end of the day Terry’s house was complete.

We have completed five houses in the last few days. Tomorrow we will do Bible presentations to all five homeowners. This is truly a unique situation. We have never completed this many houses all at the same time. Never made more than three presentations in a day. Another first for all of us on the team, is that we are leaving no unfinished homes that we started. Yes, there are more homes in Lumberton that need work, but none of those homes were assigned to us. We have completed all assigned duties. A really nice way to finish our time here in Lumberton.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

The sleet that started last night lasted quite a while. However, we stayed above freezing and it was just about all gone by this morning. However, we drove about 12 miles north to work on a different house this morning and there was a lot of ice there. Their back deck was extremely slick. We really enjoyed seeing the sun this afternoon.

Philip brought us devotion today. He began by asking us what we were afraid of in life. What to we worry about or what are we anxious about? Of course we all have internal and external sources of anxiety. A number of years ago Billy Graham said that we were living in the Age of Anxiety. Anxiety can be a crippling disease. God wants so much more for us. Read Philippians 4:8-9. Philip closed by reminding us we need to focus on God’s word. Thanks, Philip.

Then we received our work assignments. Max, Anne, Nancy, Gary and Bruce went to a new assignment at Terry’s house. First thing on the agenda when we arrived as to help Terry get his son’s truck out of the mud he was stuck in.  Everything is a muddy mess around here.  Gary hooked a chain to the truck and pulled it right out.  Anne, Nancy and Max began installing vinyl plank flooring in a bedroom. Max was also working with Bruce and Gary on the railing for the deck. Another group repaired the decking and also repaired the flooring in the bedroom and installed ¾ inch plywood which we then installed the vinyl plank over. The guys needed more materials and got a materials list to Gene so he could make another trip to Lowe’s.

 

Gene also picked up the metal roofing for Elsie and Bruce’s house. The guys went over there right after lunch and installed the metal. They got all roof panels installed and installed new flashing. They plan to go back tomorrow to install the ridge cap – have to do that before the rain returns on Thursday/Friday. Anne and Nancy continued on the vinyl installation. They have two rows left to install and then clean up to do. Don’t know if we are going to install the base board or if someone else will do that.

 

Mary Ann and Cindy went back to Carolyn’s house that they started yesterday and completed sanding the drywall, priming and painting the bathroom. That house is now complete!

Dave, Gene and Phillip were working at Jackie’s again but not sure what happened there today. We haven’t talked to anyone. Mary Ann said this afternoon we were going to try to finish everything up tomorrow because Thursday we have five Bible presentations to make. That will be the most we have done in one day. We also have dinner scheduled for Thursday night. Ann and Jeff are cooking for us. Busy time trying to get every home completed before we all pull out Friday morning.