Day 3 at Jeremy G.'s and Bobby A.'s

At Brian's suggestion, we did our prayer to begin the work day at Jeremy's so that we could share it with him. We thanked God for the priviledge of being able to work with a family of their strenght and unity in response to their challenges.  The team members were sad to split up but understood that we were God's hands and needed to do his work.  Seven went back to Jeremy's and five went to Bobby A.'s.

At Jeremy's, the j channel for the porch siding was going up and the press board for the porch ceiling.  The plumbers were running pvc pipe.  John was drilling big holes in the joists.  Pete H. tried to convince us that he was just taking a nap in the crawl space, but we had proof he was working.  Pipes showed up through the floor.

Jeremy was regularly consulted about plumbing design because the design of the house did not allow for straight runs.  Jeremy went out and bought a hot water heater an plumbed it in.  You could see that he was seeing progress and getting excited.


The porch ceiling was installed with the help of the lift borrowed by Bill.  Cathie and Carol assisted with the lift while Bill and Bob installed the press board.

One of the big treats of the day was Lydia Taylor G. as she proudly called herself.  She is a friendly, outgoing, 4 year old, who liked to play in the sand.  She introduced her dog, Gunther.  The team members traded keeping an eye on Lydia so that her dad could focus on his team of volunteers.  Lydia had plenty of ideas about how we could keep her entertained.  We also came up with a few.  The hot water heater box made a great hideout for hide and go seek.  Lydia did not want us to leave at the end of the day.  We told her we would be back tomorrow. 

The boys David, 12, and Dally, 10, got off the school bus in the afternoon.  It is a blessing to know that life goes on in this tornado ravaged community.  All 3 of the children wanted to verify the whereabouts of a parent.  Safety was not a given for them.  They were all interested in the progress of their home. 

Ellen Ditto, our UMCOR volunteer, brought doughnuts and then was led over to the home of Bobby A. where we saw the hardie board siding in progress.  We met Bobby and Max the "mayor".

                                         

Bobby told us the story of how he and his family survived.  The two grandchildren were on either side of the toilet in a bathroom on a level of the house that was partially under ground.  His wife and daughter-in-law were covering the children.  His son was also in the bathroom.  Bobby had stepped out back because he thought the tornado was going to miss them when he saw the F5 bearing down on the house.  He turned to run into the house.  As he grabbed the door knob the wall caved in and an old refrigerator that was used to store canned goods fell across his legs pinning him to the ground.  He proudly showed the dent on the back of his legs because that is how God saved his life.  A 500 gallon propane storage tank fell to the ground about 40 feet from him.  He also showed us the storm cellar he was building in his new home.

There are bible verses on the headers and other places.

We were grateful for the sunny weather and especially for the skill and camaraderie of this team.  During devotions and team planning, we decided to have the team morning prayer at the home of Bobby the next day so that all of the team members would have a chance to meet this second special family.  Carol said that she had two prayer blankets from her church, Burnt Hills UMC.  She offered one to be given to Bobby's family.  The team was becoming it's own family.  At the same time we were realizing that there were only 2 more days to help these families.  The team was reminded that we are God's hands and that he will provide more help when we are back home.  The team wished to give Misty and Jeremy a washer and dryer.  We decided that one of the male members of the team should approach Jeremy.  Pete H. offered to talk with Jeremy.  Everyone slept well.