Author: rvingwithapurpose

Friday, June 1, 2018

So glad we were off today. We needed the rest. It was another hot one and it’s after 8:00 pm and still 87. Still no rain here in Oak Grove. Hard to grasp that it is already June. The past year has been something. We feel like we have begun figuring out life with a new normalcy but are still adjusting and sometimes things still just hit us unexpectedly. We have really felt and appreciate all your prayers.

Happy National Doughnut Day! Of course we went across the street to Doughnut King to purchase some doughnuts and fritters for breakfast. Everything was good and the glazed doughnut holes were pretty awesome. However, Sonny’s in Gaffney, SC is still in first place for the best doughnut shop.

It is blueberry season here in southern Mississippi and this morning we went with Dave and Carol to a local U-pick blueberry farm. It’s only about 5 minutes from the church. It’s a pretty big operation. They have blueberry bushes as far as you can see. Really good berries! We picked about a gallon and have been munching on them all afternoon. We have three nice blueberry bushes at home but aren’t scheduled to be home when they should be ready so we will enjoy these. If we get to pick those at home we will get to make jelly. We like to keep some good blueberry jelly to give as gifts.

After doughnuts and blueberries it was time to get the laundry done. It takes lots of clothes when it is this hot. Later we walked across the street to the produce stand for tomatoes and corn. Love good local produce. The corn was picked fresh this morning. Then we made a trip to Sam’s for water and Gatorade for next week. Also a stop at Walmart for milk and bananas. But before those two stops we went to Lowe’s to browse. No major purchases. Just a contour guide we had been intending to buy for a while. We were going to go to Chick-Fil-A since the peach shakes are back but you couldn’t get in the parking lot when we were there. Later this afternoon Dave and Carol were there and brought us a shake. Thanks Dave and Carol. We really enjoy peach shakes.! Guess this day was all about the food. Good day! Have a great weekend and stay safe.

Thursday, May 31, 2018

It was another hot, 100% humidity day today. It rained over night but none today. Not even a scattered brief shower. The team was really starting to feel it today. We are glad it’s NOMADS Friday and everyone has three days to get a little rest.

Devotion today was by Debbi from 1 Peter 5:6-9. The key verse was 5:6. Debbi shared some experiences at her last job in relation to that verse, “Humble yourselves under the mighty power of God and at the right time He will lift you up in honor.” We had some good discussion. Thanks, Debbi, for sharing with us. It was then time to head back to James’.

Debbi and Wayne with some intermittent help by Max continued the work on the porch railings. They completed that task this afternoon and we think it looks amazing. And so much safer!

Nula and Phil worked on the closet in the second bedroom and ran in to a few complications but completed bedroom #2 shortly after lunch. Dave, Carol and Anne worked on the living room and hall. There were several complications there as well. Keeping everything straight and square as we worked down the hall with so many doors, i.e. open space was a challenge. There were also some problems at the front door. Last night’s rains left a wet spot under the door so time was spent working on that leak. Nula and Phil joined us in the living room this afternoon. We ended the day with the hall basically complete and the living room about ½ complete. We also still have to install laminate in 3 hall closets and part of the laundry room. Hopefully Monday, after some rest, we will be able to make more progress.

We were pleased today when our home owner, James, accepted our invitation to join us for lunch at R3SM. He seemed to really appreciate the invitation and it gave us time to get know each other better. A special time. Usually we eat at the job site so if the home owner is there they can join us but since we are less than five minutes from R3SM’s air conditioned comfort with nice big clean restrooms, we go there for lunch. With the heat of this week, we all needed to rest in the cool for a while.

This evening the team went to Ed’s Burger Joint for dinner. Yes, we all had burgers, gourmet burgers. They were Angus beef burgers, minimum of two patties, with various dressings, additions. We are so glad we split ours. It was very good but also very large. We also had sweet potato fries and a milkshake. The shake was very good! Then in true NOMAD fashion, most of us went to Harbor Freight on the way home. Yep there were a few purchases made. The food was good but the fun time with our team was even better. It’s also nice to be starting our weekend. One more week to go.

 

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

We had a little rain come through about 7:00 this morning but it was gone by 7:30 and that was it for the day. It was very little rain. The high today was 95 with a heat index of 100. We needed some extra water and Gatorade today. It is not even June but it is summer in southern Mississippi.

Nula brought our devotion today. She began with Voice of a Savior by Mandisa, and asked us to think about the lyrics and addictions. The scripture was from Mathew 5:1-12 and 14-16, 6:1-4. She reminded us that we are the light of the world and we need to let our light shine. There was some good discussion. Thank you, Nula. Good job.

We were off to the job site and started working on the flooring again. Today, bedroom #1 closet was completed and looks really good. Bedroom #2 is complete except for the closet. The underlayment was placed in the living room and the first three rows of laminate (the hardest) are down. It should start going faster now, although we do have to work our way down the hall and into some small closets and furnace room. We have also started the railing for the front porch.

 

Our construction coordinator plans to deliver some doors for the bedrooms and closets so we can begin on those as well. James and his daughter came by this afternoon to see the house. They seemed pleased. James is very anxious to move in the house but it will still be a while because R3SM still has to scheduled the electrician and plumber as is required in this area. Evidently that takes a while.

Best part of the day: When we stopped work at about 4:15, we headed back over to R3SM and made banana splits and sat around visiting with our team in the cool air conditioned dinning room.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Back when we were having really pleasant weather in Baton Rouge, it was nice to say the weather was the same every day. Now once again the weather is the same every day but it’s not nearly as nice. Hot and Humid. One of the team members said their car indicated 94 when we were driving home. We didn’t look at ours. However, it’s now 7:45 and it is still 86 by our thermometer here at Oak Grove and by Weatherbug. Unfortunately, today we also did not have a breeze. Increased fluids were the order of the day.

Dave and Carol had devotion today and did their usual fine job. They shared a reading by Max Lucado that everyone seemed to appreciate. After our prayer time, we discussed work plans for the day and headed back to James’.

The needed supplies for the day had already been dropped off when we arrived and we all got back to work. Carol, Max, Phil, and Wayne were back under the house with the help of Paul, a local volunteer. They completed the installation of the plywood and filled any small gaps with foam insulation late this afternoon. They are all glad that assignment is over.

The remainder of the team, Anne, Nula, Dave and Debbi, continued work on the laminate flooring. That job is taking quite a bit longer than expected. The underlayment was installed in the second bedroom and the laminate started in there. The first bedroom is completed except for the closet. After working with this laminate for a while we have sort of determined how to successfully keep it in place but it has been a challenge. For the foam insulation, Carol and Debbi switched places.  Hopefully tomorrow we will made a lot more progress since we will have a little more help. We may be sending some people to another house as well.

No one was very interested in sitting out for long after we got back to the pavilion at Oak Grove. It was just too hot. Maybe we will do something different tomorrow.