Three more days

One of the members of Christus Victor who is involved with their relief efforts asked me tonight how many days we had left. I had to ask him what day it was before I could answer his question! The days are starting to blur, especially today, with all the rain and the problems it created. Most of our crews could not work because most of the work was either outside or was in a house where the roof leaked. We had a lot of make-work jobs today, including putting up more drywall in the sanctuary at Christus Victor.

As we move more and more into construction, there are tools that we need but don't have, so I was sent on a shopping expedition today to outfit a couple of roofing crews and a couple of drywall crews. When the weather clears tomorrow, we'll have the tools to send people out to do construction type projects.

It is not that all of the houses in Ocean Springs and surrounding towns are all cleaned out; it is that we are about out of cleanout jobs where the homeowner has returned, has a FEMA trailer or somewhere else to live, and has had the insurance adjuster come do their thing so that they can clean out the debris. Some people simply have not returned (yet) or have not requested help. One of the things volunteers were doing today is going to areas where help was obviously needed and passing out flyers and offering help. Much, much more needs to be done, but only with the homeowners permission (and usually with them present).

While it looks like Ruth Ann has a replacement, I don't. There are a couple of people who could take over for a week, but by the end of the month when we are gone and Paul and Gwen leave, there will be no one with knowledge and history of any of the tools that are available or the maintenance that has been done or is needed. Hopefully, a long-term volunteer will show up in the next couple of days or Paul has to go back to doing 2 jobs.

From our blog hit counter, it looks like a lot of you are checking in on us. Hopefully, you are learning some of what it is like to be here, but I assure you, it is only a glimpse that you are seeing. The stories that the volunteers share each evening wrench your heart while at the same time assure you that God work is being done here; that His hand in everything that we do. My stories of tools and supplies appearing just when we need them the most continue. By Sunday, we had 3 crews trying to rebuild or repair fencing and only had one post-hole digger. By Sunday afternoon, a group from Pennsylvania had arrived with blankets and other much needed supplies for distribution and 6 post-hole diggers for the tool shed. I can't tell you how many times this has happened during our 21 days here. Prayers are answered, sometimes even before we ask.