RVing With a Purpose

Saturday, December 18, 2021

As we mentioned in our last post, we returned to Laurel, MS on Sunday, December 12.  On our arrival we were met by our team leaders Kevin and Suzan.  It was great to get to work with them again.  We last saw them in North Fort Myers last January.  The entire team was so kind and welcoming on our return.  We knew they had been praying for us and we certainly felt their love on our return.  Thanks team!!

Monday of course we began with devotion and then we headed to a house the team began while we were gone.  Miss Daisy’s mobile home and addition had roof damage from the tornado which then allowed water to damage the interior ceiling and exterior wall in the back room.  The team began last week on the demo work taking out a portion of the wall and the ceiling, and began the rebuild.  This week we completed the installation of the paneling, a little electrical work,  insulation and ceiling drywall.  Also all the trim – windows, crown and base – had to be installed.  And we also painted the ceiling and the exterior except for the metal. I think you can tell from the pictures that we made big improvements, most importantly there are no more leaks. Wednesday afternoon we had the Bible presentation for Miss Daisy and said our tearful goodbyes.  She is such a sweet lady.  Anne and some great conversation with Miss Daisy and her sister who decided she needed to be the ladder holder for Anne.

Thursday was a fun day from start to finish.  It began with a surprise birthday party for our construction supervisor, Robby.  We really enjoyed working with him again and were pleased to share in his celebration including doughnuts and pigs-in-blankets.  We also continued demolition on a house that NOMADS will be rebuilding in the spring.  It’s fun to end the week with some good demo work.  Thursday evening the team shared pizza and white elephant Christmas gifts in our meeting room at the church and then packed up.  We all gathered for pray and goodbyes Friday morning as we all went our separate ways.  It was a great week with a lot accomplished for our homeowners but also good for us.

Friday we drove to Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL where we will spend the next two weeks celebrating Christmas – hopefully.

Sunday, December 12, 2021

How to catch up and get things back in the right order so it makes sense?  We told you previously that we returned to Laurel, MS to work on tornado damaged homes.  Then prior to us giving you the information on our work there, we had to return to Alabama due to Aunt Helen’s death.

Two weeks ago, on Monday morning we of course began with team devotions and then were sent to a house a few blocks from downtown Laurel.  It had roof damage which had previously been repaired and NOMADS before our arrival had been working on the ceilings which had water damage.  There were some repairs done and new drywall was hung in the kitchen, a bedroom and the living room.  The seams had been taped and we picked up working on the finishing of the drywall.  There were also several broken windows to be replaced, and lathe work on the enclosed back porch.  After we completed the drywall, Wednesday the painting began.  After we had to leave Thursday after lunch, the team continued, reinstalling trim, and weather striping and storm doors.  They then had the Bible presentation.  Sorry we missed that.  It’s always such a special time.

After returning to Alabama, we, with the help of other family members, planned Aunt Helen’s funeral and handled all the “stuff” that need to be done.  Family and friends gathered to celebrate her life on Sunday evening and again at Lee’s Chapel UMC on Monday.  It really was a celebration.  Helen lived life for 95 years and now she is exactly where she wanted to be, with her Lord and Savior.  We spent the rest of the week taking care of business for Helen and Jean and today returned to Laurel after worshiping at Lester Memorial this morning.  It’s great to be back with our NOMADS friends and we look forward to helping the team finish up this last week of the NOMADS rebuild efforts in Laurel. We will keep you posted on the efforts.

December 3, 2021

Our regular readers know that Aunt Helen was the last of our self proclaimed LOLs (Little Old Ladies). All of them were remarkable. Aunt Helen (aka “Doc”) was remarkable in that, after becoming a nurse cadet then a nurse, she became a physician in a time when women were not very welcomed in that field. Her dream was to be a surgeon, but in the 1950’s that was not allowed for her. So she became an anesthesiologist so she could still be in the operating room. She worked the first open heart surgery at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta.

After a long career she retired back to her home community and continued to provide loving care for family and neighbors for many years until her mind was taken by dementia. As remarkable as her career was she is most remembered for her love of God, her church, her family and all others.

The last several times we visited her in the care facility she said “I think I’m going home tomorrow.” We incorrectly thought she meant she was going back to her house. Now we know she meant her heavenly home and a joyous reunion with her family members who went before her.

Yesterday was tomorrow.

Sunday, November 28, 2021

We did get back on the road on November 16 as planned, driving to Gaffney, SC to get Fred’s annual inspection, fluid changes and recall work done.  Of course we can’t go to Gaffney without a visit to Sunny’s Donuts.  Yes, we have blueberry bars and cinnamon rolls in the freezer.

After receiving a clean bill of health on Fred, we drove about 2 hours away to Randy and Debra’s (Max’s brother and sister in law) house for a wonderful 3 days of Thanksgiving celebration.  Such good family time!  We made the drive back to Alabama on Friday, saw Aunt Helen on Saturday, took care of some estate business, worked around Aunt Helen’s house and picked up some groceries for the week.  Then today drove to Laurel, MS to join the NOMADS fall disaster rebuild team.  If you follow us, you will recall that we were in Laurel in the spring as well.  We will continue to work on tornado damaged homes for the next three weeks.  It is good to get back to work!

While we were in South Carolina Barry, Donna, Brandon, and Chris completed the work on the Christmas Star.  Thank you so much for all your work.  Love you guys!! The star now looks better than it’s looked in several years with new LED rope lights!  In case you don’t know, the star hangs off the side of the mountain and part of the work must be done hanging off the mountain.  So thankful for answered prayers for their safety.  Also thanks to the people both far and near who have commented on the star and contributed to the expenses. It’s always a joy to hear the stories people share of their memories of seeing the star as they drive Hwy 75.  The star is on – it’s Christmas time!!  As you shop and prepare for Christmas, we encourage you to remember this is the time to prepare your hearts for the birth of our Savior.