Weather from My Eyes

Too hot

2011-07-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

I was stuck inside all day again, but this time I left my car windows cracked to let the air circulate a bit. It gets so hot inside my car that I feel like I can't breathe when I get in sometimes. Today even, my seat was almost too hot for me to sit on it. They're not even leather seats! That's pretty bad. Well I guess this is my last entry...

Stuck inside

2011-07-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

It's pretty hot out, but I'm stuck inside writing my article for the paper. I think I'm gonna hang out outside with my friends tonight once the day cools off a bit.

alligator farm

2011-07-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

We went to an alligator farm today and it was SO HOT OUT. I wore a baseball cap to keep my sweat contained, and it was so gross and smelly after haha...

almost back

2011-07-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

We're about an hour away from Carbondale and it's raining, I think I can predict it will be raining in C-dale then. We'll see.

back to the rain

2011-07-24T19:20:00.000-07:00

Well I'm back in Carbondale and it's raining. Go figure. I can't believe July is almost over. August will be just as hot, though.

Memphis, Tennessee

2011-07-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

On our way back home. Vacation was fun! But it's SOOO hot in Memphis today, definitely in the 90s and the car's AC broke! I'm going out of my mind.

Last night

2011-07-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

It's our last night on vacation so my friend and I decided to go the beach one last time. Thankfully it was a really nice night. There were a bunch of kids running around trying to find crabs with their flashlights. We joined in for a little bit and the ocean breeze kept us cool.

Shopping

2011-07-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

It's super nice out today. Really warm but not too hot. We went shopping at an outdoor mall, so I didn't get any beach time in, but I was still able to enjoy the weather walking down the strip.

night on the beach

2011-07-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

I hung out on the beach tonight with my friend and it was just great weather. We sat on beach chairs and watched the waves come in and talked for hours. I loooove vacation.

Perfect Weather for Vacation

2011-07-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

I had a great beach day. It's been really warm out, but not too hot. Probably in the upper 80s. There hasn't been hardly any clouds, either so I had to wear so super protective sunglasses.

early

2011-07-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Got up early this morning to see the sunrise and it was about 70 degrees. Right now it's climbed up to the high 80s. Wonder if it'll get any hotter? I made a sand castle with my friend and I didn't even really sweat, so it's been really great weather.

better

2011-07-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

It's much better out today! The temperature is up to the high 80s, except it still rained a little bit. I just need to remember that even if it's cloudy, I can still get sunburned!

Vacation

2011-07-17T19:27:00.000-07:00

Went for a walk on the beach tonight and it was a little cloudy and windy. Not too bad, though, I was still able to stay out for awhile.

Orange Beach, Alabama

2011-07-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

We've reached our destination! We're staying in condo on the Gulf Shores beach. We just got here, and it's cloudy out :( Kinda bummed about that and apparently it rained a lot today. Hopefully it clears up tomorrow. I need some beach time!

Alabama

2011-07-15T19:29:00.000-07:00

Officially in Alabama! It's a really large state and we're going to the southern tip so we'll be driving for awhile. The weather is pretty moderate at the moment.

Memphis, Tennessee

2011-07-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

On my way to vacation! I'm going with my best friend and her family. We're road tripping and currently in Memphis, Tennessee. It's a super sunny day and really warm out. Great for sightseeing.

boating

2011-07-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

I took advantage of the great weather today and went boating with some friends. It was a really nice temperature out, probably in the mid to upper 80s and there was a great breeze. No one complained about the heat so that was greaaaat.

frizzy

2011-07-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

I know I keep complaining about this, BUT I HATE HUMIDITY BECAUSE IT MAKES MY HAIR FRIZZY. I look so goofy when I go outside. :(

Rain

2011-07-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

It rained a little bit today, which kind of helped to cool things off but it was still in the lower 90s. I put sunscreen on my arms and shoulders when I went outside, but my cheeks and nose got burned. I learned a lesson out of that!

Again

2011-07-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

It got up to 99 degrees again today. The 90s lasted until after 6 p.m.! That's totally crazy to me. There's nooo way the sun should be beating down that hard after 5.

OMG

2011-07-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

It almost got up to 100 degrees today! I think that's the highest it's been all summer. I got a headache just from walking outside. Ugh!

Birthday

2011-07-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

It's my best friend's birthday! I told her we could do whatever she wanted today. She said she really wanted to lay by the pool during the day. Good thing it's MEGA hot out. We couldn't even lay out for two hours because we were so exhausted from the heat. I don't think there was a bit of humidity.

YES!

2011-07-09T15:53:00.000-07:00

Never thought I'd say it, but YAY FOR RAIN!!! This place really needs to cool off a bit. I just really hope it doesn't rain for the sunset concert because that would suck and make my hair totally frizzy :(

better

2011-07-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

It's so much nicer out today. I think the rain cooled things off a bit. It's not exactly warm enough to swim, but I think I might have a picnic outside with my roommates. There hasn't been a lot of wind, so our food shouldn't get blown away.

pooltime

2011-07-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

One thing I love about the heat is that I can get off work at like 5 and still be able to go the pool. It looks like it's noon it still in the late afternoon. So I took advantage of that today, obviously.

ok...

2011-07-06T15:43:00.000-07:00

The heat is starting to get to me. There wasn't even a breeze today. I felt like I was melting as soon as I stepped outside. Not to mention the building my class is in is freezing, so I wore jeans. I felt like they were going to stick permanently to my legs after being in the sun. blahhhhh

swimming

2011-07-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

so it was reallllly hot out today, which would have been perfect for yesterday. I went swimming and this time I used plenty of sunscreen so I wouldn't get burnt. My friends were all red by the end of the day except for me. Glad I learned to be smart ha

4th of July

2011-07-04T15:39:00.000-07:00

Today sucked! It was humid and sticky out and there was lightning around the time of fireworks. I hate when there's terrible weather on an outdoor holiday.

St. Louis

2011-07-03T22:32:00.000-07:00

I had to drive to St. Louis today, and I would say the rate of rain had me turn my wipers to a medium speed. The road conditions weren't very bad at all, but it's always annoying to drive in the rain.

hot car

2011-07-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

because of how hot it is out today, my car was SUPER hot when I got inside. I almost felt like I was going to suffocate. Then the air conditioning took like ten minutes to turn on. This reminded me of the reasons summer annoys me. It's soooo sticky out.

sunburn :(

2011-07-01T15:13:00.000-07:00

Forgot to post yesterday, but it was SOOOO hot today!!! I got a really bad sunburn. That's my fault for not wearing sunscreen. It was definitely in the 90s today, so it's probably going to be reallllllly hot out from now on. Bring it on!

hotter, later?

2011-06-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

It was definitely hotter later in the day today. Probably in the low 80s in the early afternoon, but 5 or 6 it felt like it was reaching the 90s. I was able to stay at the pool late and still get a suntan somehow.

meh

2011-06-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

It rained a little bit again today. It wasn't too much, though so it's ok. I just can't wait for it to be hot, hot HOT outside! :D

early

2011-06-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

I had to get up pretty early for work this morning, which I was NOT happy about, but at least it was warmer out than I expected. I thought it would be in the 60s since it's so early, but it's definitely in the 70s. Looking like it's gonna be a good day!

SUMMER

2011-06-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

I can definitely tell that it's getting warmer outside. It was super sunny out today and I had to run a bunch of errands. I was breaking a sweat just walking from my car to the store. I'm gonna have to buy some sunscreen, too, because I could feel myself burning through my car window!

Carbondale

2011-06-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

Got back home to Carbondale to hear that it rained all day. Glad I wasn't here for it! The drive home from Chicago was pretty pleasant. Good weather all day. Not too hot or sunny, but as we got closer to Carbondale I could see the gray clouds and could guess what it was like in the dirty dale.

Chicago heat

2011-06-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's JUST as hot and sticky in Chicago as Carbondale at night. And there's so many mosquitoes out here at my friend's house. Chicago isn't that different from us after all.

Chicago

2011-06-25T16:12:00.000-07:00

I'm in Chicago for the weekend and I'm beginning to understand why they call it the Windy City. I went into the downtown area today and it was noticeably windy. It was also pretty hot out, but all the tall buildings kept me in the shade.

Stuck inside

2011-06-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Wow, today is another beautiful day. I would really love to play soccer again, but I'm stuck at work. It even smells like summer outside. I can't wait to get off my shift to enjoy the sun and breeze.

hotter than I thought.

2011-06-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

Wow, I don't know if soccer was a good idea. We were pouring sweat within the first ten minutes! The sun was beating down a lot harder than I expected.

Great day for soccer

2011-06-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

It's incredibly nice out today, somewhere in the 60s I think. The breeze is kind of strong, too, so my roommates and I are going to play soccer for awhile. If it were any hotter out, we probably wouldn't be able to stand the heat to play outdoors.

Beautiful Day

2011-06-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

But it's still not warm enough to go swimming. The temperature is somewhere in the 80s with a breeze, so I'd be freezing as soon as I stepped out of the water. Besides, the pool water is kind of cold, too.

Good Day

2011-06-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

It's really nice outside right now, probably somewhere between the 80s and 90s. I think it's going to rain tonight, though, if I'm sensing the clouds correctly. The air is also pretty humid, so I bet something's coming.

No more rain!

2011-06-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

It actually didn't rain today! The wind started to pick up later in the day, though. My hair was all over the place, ha.

Rain, Rain Go Away

2011-06-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

I saw a girl slip in a puddle today. Is it bad I chuckled a little? I also need to get new rainboots because mine have holes in them now and my socks get soaked. It's really gross. If this frickin rain would let up I wouldn't have soppy feet in more. How am I supposed to enjoy summer indoors all the time???

I've seen better days

2011-06-18T16:13:00.000-07:00

MORE RAIN!!! And more than the past few days, as well. Right now I'm just staring out my window. I really hate stuck being inside, but dark, gloomy days like this are perfect for reading a book.

More Rain

2011-06-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Sometimes rain is cool, but sometimes I just really get sick of it. Right now I'm sick of it. I want the sun! I can't wait for it to be officially summer so I can chill by the pool. As you can guess, it rained again today.

Some Rain

2011-06-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

Rained for a bit today, but that's better than a drought I guess. I couldn't really go outside anyway because I had to work.

Warmer

2011-06-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

It got a little bit hotter today, but not too bad. I can still ride my bike without breaking a sweat, probably because there was more of a breeze. I'd like to go swimming, but it's almost one of those "in-between" days where it's not exactly hot enough to be in cold water.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

2011-06-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

It's so nice out today! There's a little bit of humidity, I'll admit, which made my hair frizzy, but it's nothing a ponytail can't fix. I'm in shorts and t-shirt, and I feel great. No sweat!

What Dathan read at Devotions...for those who asked

2009-07-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

Several people asked Dathan about the poem he read at Devotions.

It is from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, and can be found on several websites, here is one: http://www.katsandogz.com/onwork.html

I've copied the poem and pasted it in full:

On Work:
Kahlil Gibran

You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.

For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.

Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?

Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.

But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,
And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.

But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.

You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.

And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.

And what is it to work with love?

It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.

It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.

It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.

It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,
And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.

Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, "He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is nobler than he who ploughs the soil.
And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet."

But I say, not in sleep but in the overwakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;
And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.

Work is love made visible.
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.

Heaven Helper Highlights...

2009-07-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

Karen leading an Evening Gathering.

Our streetcar ride.

Dinner at Mulate's.

Giving witness at St. John's.

More of Heaven Helpers at Work

2009-07-26T18:37:00.000-07:00

The work is endless in both quantity and variety:

Heaven Helpers Do Sno Balls at Plum Street

2009-07-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

This bead encrusted bicycle leaning on a tree next to the Sno-Ball stand fascinated us. We just couldn't imagine the story behind this!!!

It's bling on steroids. Let's you know right away you're in New Orleans.

Sno Balls are a delectable treat that is distinctly New Orleans. They are not snow cones and they are not exactly shaved ice. They have strong heavy syrups over ice, and the flavors are amazing: mint, strawberry cheesecake, and cotton candy are taste sensations.

Heaven Helper...home again, home again, jiggety jig

2009-07-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

What a long/short week!!!!

It was long because the heat and humidity was so constant and demanding, and there was so much to get done.

It was short because there was so much more we wanted to do, and not enough time. It was also short because the team was so harmonious. The time we shared flew by.

It is good to be home. In a lot of ways it was like the end of the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy comes back from the technicolor Oz to the real world, but just like Dorothy says, "there's no place like home".

Sometimes people ask why it is important for us to do missions far away from home, when there is plenty of need close to home.

Believe me, the ones of us who have a passion for missions debate this topic regularly and there are many answers, some of which you may never have considered.

First of all, almost all of us do serve locally and serve our families in many critical ways. It is not an either/or proposition. Most of us give our time, our hearts, our offerings, and our work to many causes. We tend to be people who find and keep our faith through action.

Second, these missions have two critical components: (1) building houses, (2) building our St. John's youth. Neither component is more important, nor supersedes the other. When our youth go to places less priviliged than Edwardsville and the Metro East, they learn both appreciation and compassion. We hear these kinds of comments: "I never knew how much my family does for me." "I thought being out of food meant not having anything quick to cook, I'd never before seen empty cupboards and refrigerators." "I realize how lucky we are." And, from a teen aged boy, "I don't say it often enough, and I want to say it in public, I realize now what you provide for me, and I love you, Mom."

Third, taking on missions far away from home requires a different level of commitment. If we schedule even a three day event in the local area, we have people move in and out of the boundaries..."we'll be late", "we'll have to leave early", "we can't spend the night", "we have to", "we can't", "there's a conflict", etc.

When we all pick up and go to Kentucky or South Carolina or West Virginia or New Orleans, we have to have a focused commitment. People have to make plans to serve and the mission is the only game in town.

Finally, travel to interesting and different places is restorative and keeps us from becoming stale and jaded. We have the opportunity to consider alternative ways of organizing life, and different styles and patterns of living. If we open our hearts to the different and new, we have a chance to grow in compassion, and to be less rigid and judgmental. We have the chance to understand that "different" doesn't have to be rated or graded. "Different" doesn't have to be better or worse, it's just another approach to handling this life.

This mission was a wonderful experience. This was our biggest youth mission yet, and we made such an amazing difference. We have no way to know how many lives we touched. Just having a chance to sit in both church services today and hear the testimonies from the various teams was richly rewarding and highly textured.

Here's a great, big "God Bless" to all the followers of our blog, all the members of all the teams, to all the shareholders, to all the members of our St. John's church family and extended family.

Club NOLA!!! :)

2009-07-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

Last day of work :( so sad. There's still so much to do, but we have accomplished a lot. We have a row of OSB board on both sides of the roof and extended the new roof over the old to prevent leaks. We did a lot of straightening and correcting also. We added hurricane clips on all the boards in addition to toe nailing them to strengthen it even more. The youth in our group also had their own "jobs" outside of what we were assigned to do. Ryon and Brandon got a flag and mounted it, while the girls cleaned, caulked, and repainted the home owner's statue of Mary.

Six of Hearts Day 5

2009-07-24T04:55:00.001-07:00

Day 5

Morale High

We went to work at 7:30, which is quite early for us.

We returned to our mudding and sanding, finding that we were merging with a Lutheren sect. They seem to work outside most of the time, cleaning up the refuse and debris and cleaning the lawn.

A thing that we noticed was that they were from different parts of the U.S. some were from Pennsylvania, New York, and Georgia. If you are reading this, you know full well that the Six of Hearts is from Illinois. If you are reading this and you didn't know that, you know now.

We continued to press on, finding that the house had a bit of a "fun house" effect. The floor is slanted, along with the kitchen walls being uneven. The King and Queen are trying to place cabinets in the kitchen, with the slight hiccup being that the walls are 2 in. short. The solution: Screw some more planks in and redo them as if they were part of the wall. Utter genius.

As for the bathroom, it is a small room where the heat accumulates quickly, therefore staying in it for extended periods of time is quite unadvised. We have finished the walls, now are trying to drywall the ceiling. It is hard at first, but after we get some pieces in and screw them down, all is well.

The only things left I can think of is the King wants to put a top on the counters, and the bathroom should be drywalled and sanded. Tomorrow (which due to my truancy is now today) is a half-day of work. We shall work hard, and hopefully cover the fiberglass insulation.

Blackjack out.

Note: find the architect clown who designed this place and wring his neck.

Heaven Helper

2009-07-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

Heaven Helper

2009-07-23T20:02:00.001-07:00

Mission Possible

2009-07-23T19:54:00.001-07:00

A few pictures from the week.

Heaven Help Us...oops, that's Heaven Helpers

2009-07-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday dawned clear and warm...well, actually muggy and hot as H-E-double hockey sticks, but might as well put the most positive spin on things.

Thank God for PJ's coffee. I don't know how we get our hearts started properly on Edwardsville mornings, Starbucks just doesn't stack up. The guys say my coffee tastes are too frou-frou...but then, they are GUYS!!! Just 'cuz I like everything with hazelnut.

Well, we got to bathe all day...in sweat. I (Vicki) was lying on a sheet of plastic putting laminate flooring in place, in the airless stair landing and felt like I was on a slip-n-slide full of warm water.

The rest of the gang hung five regular doors and a bifold, and can now hang upstairs doors, since Dathan and I finished flooring the upstairs main room and closet.

Mark and Breezy cut and tiled the upstairs bathroom, and the tile is setting as we speak, so that they can grout it tomorrow.

Breezy and Jordan got to spend some buddy time in the lower floor bathtub...caulking around it!!!

Sadly, we haven't gotten to meet anyone from our family yet, but the princess quilt we picked for our family will be perfect in the purple bedroom with the little girl bicycle in the closet. Wonder if the bicycle will be big enough now, after all this time.

We are all loving each other as a team. What a fabulous group!!! Thank God for the all-around sense of humor. Getting to laugh so much really helps us to let the frustrations roll off us. Of course, the high-octane morning caffeine helps with that also. I think we're all a little unhinged.

BTW, "unhinged" is a new word we learned this week.

Cooking for the Masses

2009-07-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

Hello all. These are the cooks speaking: Donna Gardner, Alice Gardner, Anita Runge and Virginia McDole and we are responsible for buying and preparing all of the delicious food for the work crews here in New Orleans, while also making all of the other teams jealous when they smell our dinner cooking when they get back from their hard day's work. We started off the week with a HUGE shopping trip to Sam's Club on Sunday after Church while the work teams were on the prayer drive. We filled two shopping carts and a flatbed with food for the teams, and we still had another trip to make! On Monday, we prepared Tacos, Refried Beans and Corn and Blackbean salad and Spaghetti was served for dinner on Tuesday. In celebation of the two birthdays that fell during this week, we purchased a full sheet cake for the bithday boy and girl that had disappered by the next morning. Wednesday was a very big day as we had dinner guests; homeowners whom the workteams had met in previous trips. It was an honor having a native New Orleaninan compliment our jambalaya that we had shared! Our dessert for the evening was another Louisiana Treat. Our Crews feasted upon seven flavors of Bluebell IceCream, found only in the south, after devotions last night. Tonight, we get to share our meal again with another volunteer group staying at Aurora UMC. A work crew from Long Island will share our Chicken and Noodles. We have been talking to them all week and they are really nice! Tonight is also the last evening that we will be cooking dinner. Friday night before we leave, St. John's is going to Mulate's, an awesome cajun restaraunt in the French quarter. It has been alot of fun cooking for the volunteers this week, but we are looking forward to going home and seeing everyone in Edwardsville again, not to mention seeing our own beds!
Eat well and God Bless,
The Dinner Divas

Heaven Helper - had an inner child day....

2009-07-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

Since Wednesdays are always hard, we started our day with toys in our mail bags.
Predictably, we then had to compare toys to see whose was bigger, and whose bubble blower had stars.

The work is going surprisingly well, considering....

"Considering what?" you might ask. Well, considering... that there doesn't appear to be a squarely hung wall or a level floor in any room of the house. Everything takes twice as long as it should.

Dathan and Vicki started to lay flooring and it absolutely refused to lock in. After stripping out the previously completed work, it became obvious that the wall was not true and the floor couldn't be set parallel to it. The previous group had tried to compensate for this problem by cramming pieces against the wall, and then trying to force in the new sections. Anyone who ever laid laminate flooring knows this does not work. Errors magnify as you cross the room, unless you get a true line going. The joints will buckle, and the panels will not lock in. Dathan has been the genius of the project. He devised the system of border screws to hold our first row in line, and he thought his way through every problem as the floor moved along. He's dynamic with a power saw, and he loves his new floor pulling tool. Go, Dathan.

Jack and Jordan had basically the same battle hanging doors. Apparently, the only consistent building technique is inconsistency. It took some real jerry-rigging to get the doors to hang in such a way as to open and close.

Mark and Breezy have been laying tile and placing bathroom grout. Yesterday, it was mud all over Breezy, today it was grease. Thank God the girl is just throwing away her tee shirts, because she would never get them clean.

We got through Wednesday, which is the hardest day. It's all roses from here on out.

Back tomorrow, from the "Highway to Heaven"...

Team Mission Possible

2009-07-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

Our team is Eric, our leader, Connie, Mel, Jenna, Katherine, Jordan & Kyle. We are in St. Bernard Parish in Chalmette. Our homeowners lost everything in the flood and have been renting an apartment. They are hoping to move in to their remodeled home soon!!! We have been putting up drywall and mudding so far this week. We are taking the ferry across to our worksite from our church quarters here in Algiers. The area is still very depressed but we have run into several folks who say that our presence here is what continues to give them hope. The people are so friendly and appreciate us being here. Today is Jenna's 16th birthday and we celebrated with Twinkies. Our youth are working very hard. They are a joy. Thanks to all of you back home for your prayers and support. Mel & Connie

iRepair: words from Tara

2009-07-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

Haven't had a lot of time to update the blog, but finally got a chance. Today, Cole and I constructed a knee bench for the bathroom, and later found out that we did it slightly wrong. After all that hard work, we were frustrated! I think it should be easy to fix, though. I'm getting pretty good at hammering nails and using the electric saw. I'm still having a hard time getting the hang of the electric screwdriver, though. Basically, I make mistakes and Cole fixes them. :) Abby put in a lot of hard work with the dry wall the past two days. She was very persistent in her work and hardly took any breaks. We finally got her to take on another job today, so she wouldn't get too bored. Gabby and Katie made a mistake with the first window they beaded, but by the second one, they looked like pros. I'm slowly learning that this week is just one big trial and error. :) Greg is ever so optimistic! Anytime that he or someone else makes a mistake, he just laughs it off, which puts us all at ease. It's much appreciated. Janel takes a bathroom break about every five minutes, haha, but she works really hard and plays hard after (she's always the first to suggest an ice cream treat!) We met a little boy today named Sam that decided to come in the house and help us out a little bit. Greg helped him push insulation in the walls. He looked like he was just happy to have something to do instead of sitting outside. Hopefully, we'll see him again tomorrow!

Club NOLA!!!!!

2009-07-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well its Wednesday, "hump day," sorry you haven't heard from us, but we've been VERY busy. Our team consists of 8 people, Pete, Andy, Leigh Ann, Michelle, Brandon, Ryon, Amy, and Katelyn. We have been working on building a new roof for our house. The owner of the house currently lives in Texas, but we have had the opportunity to meet several neighbors, including her niece, who emails picture updates of the progress. We also met Rose on the first day of working, and she offered to cook lunch for us today. She made chicken, rice, and beans and it was delicious!!!!! :) So far, the work is a little slow due to corrections of previous construction. We had done several odd jobs while waiting to all get on the roof, including finishing the flooring, cleaning scraps, putting together a Mary statue that the owner had in her yard that was damaged during the storm, which will be a nice surprise for her :) On Tuesday, we were also awarded the Spirit Stick for volunteering for the hardest job!! :) Woohoo! Got to go for now, its almost dinner, then devotions, then sleep, but we hope to keep everyone updated with the progress on the roof!

Six of Hearts Day 4

2009-07-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

Day 4

Morale High.

Today, we woke up at 7, had a good breakfast, and proceeded to leave for the house. Everything went as normal, we managed to do a large chuck of work on the bathroom, and we are only requiring one more wall and a ceiling.

Lunch went well. After being attacked by a savage horde of flies, we were able to enjoy our lunch in peace. We are continuing to plaster mud on the walls, and sand of the excess mud, and proceed to extend a wall.

Normal, if not highly productive day.

We are making more progress on the bathroom, progress in paragraph above. The owners dogs are very nice, quite the favorite among The Six of Hearts. The day is comfortably hot, with the occasional current running through the house. We have started working on the kitchen, increasing the size of the wall, and filling in the floor with quicrete(trademark).

We have two days left, and I believe we can get alot done in those two days.

Blackjack out.

2009-07-21T19:55:00.000-07:00

The Phat Tuesdays
Carl, Taylor, Leah, Shannon, Dan, Jessie, Karen
Great day....we've finished insulating all the walls in the house. This afternoon we had to go load 50-60 12 ft. sheets of drywall from the loading dock onto a truck and Bill's trailer.....then we had to unload them and put them in the house. Tomorrow we will miss Carl as he flies back to St. Louis for a quick job interview.......we get to drywall the ceilings. We'll be getting our leader back tomorrow night.
What a great crew we have!

Kickin Chickens

2009-07-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

Today we started painting our purple and gold (LSU) colored porch and nearly finished laying flooring in the living room. Lauren and Lois taught DeShaundra (the youngest in the house) how to play with sidewalk chalk and paint with water. Some how DeShaundra still had gold paint on her shirt before she went on to Bible School. Austin, Lauren & Brad worked hard painting outside with Lois and Tad all day. We still have the purple floor and black steps to finish. Kathy and Cory worked on the flooring -- with the right tools jobs can really be finished quicker. Our family has quite the story to tell. It is good to be working for a great family. One of the highlights was our inside picnic together as a team and family at lunch. Angelica (the other young girl in the family) blessed our food and our fellowship.

Tad, Lois, Kathy, Cory, Lauren, Austin & Brad

The Phat Tuesdays

2009-07-21T17:12:00.000-07:00

Greetings from our team of insulation and drywall workers. The lovely lady who owns our house, Antoinette, has many delightful children and grandchildren, including a little boy who does Michael Jackson routines. But she also has somebody else chained up in the backyard -- a big, black wolf-looking dog named, what else, Charlie. Charlie is pretty scary, but he's more scared of us than we are of him. This morning (Tuesday), I unlocked the front door, opened it a little and the first thing I saw was Charlie's big teeth looking back at me. I shut the door fast. Antoinette's daughter keeps him in the house at night for security, and she had slept late and forgot to go and chain him up. Fortunately, Antoinette's son soon came by to take care of Charlie for us. Later that day, Dan Gardner actually made friends with Charlie. Not me! --- Carl Green

Heaven Helpers

2009-07-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

We had a fairly unusual prayer tour on Sunday night, due to having to make side visits to every place that Jack and Tamra ever saw, visited, lived in, or enjoyed.

Yesterday, after orientation, we got our house. The lady we are helping turned over every penny of her insurance money to an unscrupulous "contractor", handing him a $90,000.00 cashier's check in the full expectation of having her house rebuilt. He was so excited to get that money in hand, that he didn't even bother to haul off his tool trailer. Guess he figured he could outfit a whole new rig in the Bahamas!!!

Our homeowner has four children, and has adopted the four children of her deceased sister. They are currently packed into rental housing in Houston, praying to be able to return home after four long years.

Dathan and Vicki are laying laminated wooden flooring, everyone else is hanging doors. This work is not as easy as it might be, because none of the walls or flooring is true or straight, so everything requires patience and extra adjustments. Breezy has had gotten to make mud pies, otherwise known as filling in the floor tiles with grout.

Fortunately, we are a mellow lot, and take our fortunes pretty much as they come. We don't get too worked up about the challenges, just adds a little spice to life and gives us plenty of "hunger sauce" to serve with dinner.

We are very conscious of the gift we are preparing; and the gifts of the spirit that are growing in us, as we progress.

It is nice being able to work indoors out of the sun, but we still get the full New Orleans humidity experience. We could easily wring enough drinking water out of our clothes, if it was only potable...but it's actually quite unattractively SPICY!!!

The online voice of "Heaven Helpers"

2009-07-21T15:42:00.000-07:00

We are Mark Loucks, Jack Spudich, Vicki Daggett, Breezy Blanton, Jordan Kellerstrasse, and Dathan Rivera.

We had an uneventful bus trip, except Mark was caught with the "Kickin' Chickens" mascot. Mark swears he was framed. The poor bandaged bird is once again missing. Mission work can be hazardous.

At our first "real food" stop, Jordan was gently persuaded to follow her yen to try frog legs. They are not going to be her favorite food, but she was glad she had the chance to try something truly exotic for her. Jordan is not going to be a seafood afficianado, but she is a very good sport.

More to come...

Heaven's Little Helpers....

Six of Hearts day 3

2009-07-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

Day 3

Morale high.

After the usual morning (up at 7 followed by a light breakfast) along with a few complications, we proceeded to go to the workplace. We again coated the walls with "mud", put the foundations for new walls on, and found that the owner of the house owned two dogs. (later we learned their names to be Eve and Nana).

Work went along normally, with the exception that Alex L. and the Queen thought of bringing along a radio for entertainment as we worked. We are working on a small compartment that shall soon be a bathroom, and after removing the old wall, we put in a new kind, and with the exclusion of a ceiling, the room is ready for phase 2.

Around the time we were putting on the second wall, the owner came in. He is a large man, answering to the name of Stan. He is a dog breeder, and a grass cutter. He appreciates the work we are doing, and personally we hope we can continue doing this work for the people of NOLA, Uncle Sam, God, and Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Blackjack out.

iRepair

2009-07-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

Kickin chickens

2009-07-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

Today we received our assignment. We are finishing the flooring in a row house on Willow street, in the shadow of the Super Dome. We began our work and met our family, a man, wife and their two nieces. What a long road back to sleeping in your own bed they have had! This family stayed in Austin, Texas for 2 1/2 years. We should have their floors done before the weeks out.

Kickin Chickens

Tad, Lois, Kathy, Cory, Brad, Austin & Lauren

The Team Formally Known as iRepair...Day 1

2009-07-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

As today has come to an end I am positive that this will be a well-needed week for many of us. As we drove to our worksite the scene was one of hope in the midst of suffering. Our home is located in the Garden District near Downtown New Orleans and is a 3 room duplex with 13foot ceilings. It was very obvious that the neighborhood we are serving in is not quite back-to-normal. Many houses have been left with no hope for return, although on the positive side a lot of progress is being made.

Today we sanded drywall and began on a project in the bathroom...we made good progress and I am confident that by the end of the week our family will be much closer to moving back in!

More to come...

iRepair

Greg, Janel, Katie, Tara, Gabby, Abby, and Cole :)

Six of Hearts: Day 2

2009-07-20T16:39:00.001-07:00

Day 2

Morale High.

Work starts today. We awaken at 7:00 being in a well-rested state, and ready to go to work. Our work involves preparing the wall with a plaster-like substance known as "mud".

We have met with other organizations supporting the cause of repairing NOLA after the hurricane. Our numbers spread across the U.S. from NY to IL. We have met at Peoples United Methodist Church, and found our project leader, a man answering to the name of "Ozzy".

After the meeting, we proceeded to the house we were to work, and began sanding the walls of excess "mud". In the next room, we prepared the walls by putting "mud" on them, covering nails, and any other blemishes. The fiberglass insulation is an issue when working with walls, but is barely noticable.

As we sand away the mud, the issue is the dust that collects, getting into our eyes and our mouthes. The sensation is uncomfortable, but we ignore it and sand further.

Along with the mud, our work also involves putting walls on top of the insulation along with preparing them. We drill out screws so as to move wall pannels, and screw them back in so as to put the panels back on. The work is slow, but we are happy with our progress.

In the rooms where we apply walls, we find that the lack of air conditioning is noticable. The smaller rooms and closets are easily affected, raising the temperature, and forcing an amount of sweating that the team finds uncomfortable. Water breaks are taken often for health purposes.

After the work session, we went back to the church at 4:30 to take our showers and grab a bite for dinner. The team is going shopping for supplies for tomorrow at Wal-Mart, and we can only hope for the best in tomorrow.

Blackjack out.

2009-07-19T18:41:00.001-07:00

Day 0:

Our team, (the six of Hearts) is made of 6 members

Douglas Babb (The Blackjack)
Dustin Gholson (The King of Hearts)
Denise Downes (The Queen of Hearts)
Alex Loucks
Alex Hoppes (The Mad Hatter)
Erica Preston

Morale High.

Several movies have been prepared for the trip. The driver of the passenger vehicle is Mike, a short man with a good sense of humor. We shall prepare to leave for NOLA, where we shall continue to repair the damage for a week.

We have left at 6:00 am for NOLA. We intend to drive there in a single day, breaking for Lunch at around noon.

Lunch was fast food at McDonalds/Taco Bell at 11:30, leaving at 12:45. Back on the road.

Dinner was at a restaurant in NOLA, known as Middendorfs.

We have arrived at 9:30. We had a meeting at 10:00pm, and fell asleep at 10:30.

Blackjack out.

Day 1

Morale high

After an awakening at 7:00, we enjoyed a nice breakfast at 9:30, leaving for church at 10:00. After finding a camera at 11:40, we left for our prayer drive to reflect on the damage that the hurricane had caused. After 4 years, the damage mostly is repaired, but some areas are still requiring repairs.

The team took a tour of the levees, which at a glance appear to be an expanse of water with a few archipelagoes along with a peninsula jutting out from the mainland. Due to the time and weather of the day, it was a clear day, and as we were observing and taking pictures of the levee, it so happened that we were standing on private property and were asked to leave by an officer of the law.

We continued to assess the damage. It was tragic how some houses were so beyond repair that they had to be stripped down to their above-ground foundations. More tragic that even if we saw this coming, we could do very little to prevent the disaster.

We broke for lunch at 1:39, took a walking tour of the French quarter, and at 4:30, we proceeded to return where we had dinner, prayed for NOLA, worshipped our Lord, and prepared for the next day.

Blackjack out.

2009-07-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

4 more days.....

Getting Ready..

2009-07-14T09:52:00.001-07:00

Greetings,

While on the mission trip we will be posting on this blog about our day-to-day activities, some great New Orleans stories, prayer requests, etc. We hope you will take some time to follow our adventures!

Prayer Requests: Pray for the 62 people preparing to do God's work in New Orleans next week!

St. John's Mission Team