VIM Mission 2009 - Vancleave, MS

Friday: Five on the Floor

2009-01-23T19:58:00.000-08:00

Five on the Floor
is down to four.

Our Janet is Mexico bound.

It felt good to work outdoors.

The Fisher house front is a new color.

Tomorrow we'll be going home safe and sound.

Then the Blythe home

was our next call.

To insulate all exterior walls.

It was terribly itchy and hot (y'all).

Stood on a chair

and didn't even fall!

Jessie wanted a pizza, (Gumbo "NOT")

So for supper,

Ruby Tuesday hit the spot.

Friday: Al, Andy and the Golden Girls

2009-01-23T19:02:00.000-08:00

We worked very hard today to finish projects. We finished tiling the bathroom floor, hung a new shower curtain, and put in baseboards. Dorthy loved it! When she saw it. she squealed with delight. We put in baseboards and 1/4 round to finish the pink bedroom. The floor was prepared for vinyl flooring, hung blinds and curtain rods for privacy. Dorthy can't believe how beautiful her "new" house looks. She is very eager to move back home. Nancy gave her a prayer shawl for her hospital ministry. We will miss our new friends: Andy, Mary and Dorthy. God be with you 'till we meet again.

Friday: The Sweet Teas

2009-01-23T18:46:00.000-08:00

Day Five was a great day, 74 degrees and sunshine. Yesterday, the family that we have been working for moved two old couches out to the driveway. When we arrived at the house this morning they had burned them. This was the start of a clean up efforet on their part. A positive sign! The house has gone through a wonderful transformation: new walls, floors, paint ceiling, and a bathroom that works. As we left today, we all hoped that this will be the start of a new life for this family.

Thursday: Al, Andy and the Golden Girls

2009-01-22T17:50:00.000-08:00

We accomplished a lot today! We covered the whole back bedroom floor with laminate today and tore up the old vinyl in the front room. We started trimming windows in the kitchen and bedroom, as well as painting more baseboards and window trim. The toilet was pulled up so that we could put down new luon and tile around the toilet. Thankfully it went back in with no real problems. Dorthy brought us catfish dinners for lunch, which were wonderful! We even got to go shopping for some blinds and curtains to help make the house feel more like home for Dorthy.

Thursday: Five on the Floor

2009-01-22T17:22:00.000-08:00

"Here I am, Lord!"

Each one prayed,

"Send me out another day."

"As long as it's your will, Lord

Any job is okay

But may we ask- no more floor to lay!"

[Note: God is good! He heard our prayers. He took us from the freezing cold and gave us a warm sunny day. And the best news of all... we're off our knees! "Five on the Floor" met the new challenge of the day & surpassed it. In one day, we scraped, caulked and primed the whole exterior of the Fisher home.]

Thursday: The Sweet Teas

2009-01-22T17:08:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day with much acomplished: completing the living room floor, the second bedroom was primed, painted and trimmed. Tomorrow the floor will go in the second bedroom and the house will be basically complete.

Wednesday: Al and Andy and the Golden Girls

2009-01-21T17:58:00.000-08:00

God rewards perseverance! We finally finished the first bedroom floor and were able to move the bed in. We finished the stippled ceiling, thanks to Nancy's balancing act on the refrigerator. We laid the first luan for the bathroom and have the baseboards painted and ready for trim tomorrow. We are refreshed in our efforts and happy for the extra hands of Mary and Andy Cantrell from PA. Our lesson for today: All things are accomplished in GOD's TIME!

Wednesday: "Frozen Five on the Floor"

2009-01-21T17:47:00.000-08:00

"Five on the Floor"

finished their chores

2 days ahead.

Now "five on the Floor"

is no more

But "Divide and Conquer" instead!

[Note: Two team members, Kevin and Janet, went to Fisher home to put fireproof caulking around areas where wires run through the ceiling, leaving Laurie, Jessie and Terri for two hours to finish the laminant flooring at the Irby home.]

Wednesday: Sweet Teas

2009-01-21T16:59:00.000-08:00

We finished one bedroom and bought some curtains for their windows so they don’t have to put blankets over the windows tonight. The bathroom is also finished with a window curtain that we donated. We pray that our home owner gets the job at Wendy's tomorrow when she interviews at 11:00 AM. Tomorrow, we hope to finish the lamanate floor in the living room, and possibly start on the second bedroom.

Tuesday: The Sweet Teas

2009-01-20T18:04:00.000-08:00

At the Dubois home today, we covered the bathroom floor with vinyl flooring. The guys worked together most of the day removing fixtures and fitting the lineoleum. Finally, the lineoleum fit between the sink, toilet and tub; and the toilet was resealed and bolted into place. Seneca, the middle son, stopped by to check on our progress by standing on the chair outside and sticking his head through the window to talk to us. After the inauguration of President Obama, Carma Lee

(the mother) came in to say that in her 50 years she never thought she would see this day. Nor that her house would be this far done!

Tuesday: Al and the Golden Girls

2009-01-20T17:43:00.000-08:00

After having problems with laying the laminate flooring yesterday, today went better and we made quite a bit more progress. It is still going slower than we would like. The bright note of our day was a visit from Dorthy and sampling her homemade chili. Delicious! Marcia gave her a prayer shawl that had been prayed over by the Williamson United Methodist church. There was not a dry eye in the place as Dorthy told us how much it meant to her.

A suggestion from the debriefing last evening solved the problem we were having with stippling the ceiling. Nancy primed with Kilz and the results were fantastic. We are now almost done! After a hard day's work, we headed back to Camp Hope tired, but hopeful and ready for the fantastic meal they had prepared for us, including Chocolate Sin and Lemon Lush. mmm Good!

Tuesday: Five on the Floor

2009-01-20T16:43:00.000-08:00

Five on the floor
Plus Dan and Son
Baseboards and doors
Now the bedrooms are done.

Over 800 sq ft
By the end of day two
Five on the floor
Still have more laminant to do

The air had quite a chill
But we never skipped a beat
We have 400 sq. ft still
Before we can stand on our feet!

The Sweet Teas

2009-01-19T17:48:00.000-08:00

Team members: Lynn Cayward, Pat Wallace, David and Heidi Coryell

We are working for the Dubois family in Moss Point. Their home is only 450 square feet, 4 rooms and a bathroom. (That's not 4 bedrooms, but 4 rooms in total!) The house is so small that they stand on a chair outside the window to talk to us. Since Katrina, they have not had a working kitchen or hot water, until the last 2 or 3 weeks. They only have two doors in the whole house: the front door and the door to the bathroom.

Today we removed the rotten floor in the bathroom, as well as mudding, sanding and painting. We also we able to work in one of the bedrooms, painting and working on the closet.

Our name is the "Sweet Teas" because when we went to a nearby store for something to drink, they were so appreciative of our coming down to volunteer that they donated the tea to us.

Al and the Golden Girls

2009-01-19T17:00:00.000-08:00

Team members: Al & Diane Walker, Marcia Peters, Nancy Jordan, Hazel Baker

We are also working in Moss Point. Today, we saw why we do what we do. As we were "mudding" and stippling the ceiling, tearing out old vinyl flooring and trying to install new laminate, our homeowner, Dorthy, came by with 2 of her grandchildren. Where we saw negatives, she saw only positives. She is so excited about the prospect of moving back into her house. Her enthusiasm and gratitude sent our spirits soaring. What a blessing to us! With God's help, greater things are coming tomorrow.

Five on the Floor

2009-01-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

Team members: Kevin & Laurie Butler, Janet Lynch, Jessi & Terri Persons

We are working at a home in Moss Point. Dan, the father and Dan, the son live there. Their home had received wind and water damage from Katrina. Today we finished laminate flooring that had been started in 2 bedrooms. Dan and Dan worked along with us. Janet painted moldings and it was cut for one of the bedrooms.

2009-01-18T21:45:00.000-08:00

The rest of our day was spent sampling the unique flavors of New Orleans, from the great Mississippi River, to the marketplaces, the street musicians and entertainers, and don't forget the great Cajun food!

2009-01-18T21:36:00.000-08:00

From Ocean Springs, we moved on to Biloxi along the coastal highway to see the changes from last year, stopping at the Katrina Memorial and the sculpture garden of the hurricane ravaged oak trees, now transformed into pelicans, dolphins, and sail fish. What an great illustration of redemption and new life! We even got to see the sculptor at work on his newest carving of an eagle in flight.

2009-01-18T21:07:00.000-08:00

After church at Mt Pleasant UMC, we headed for the Gulf coast to see what progress had been made in rebuilding the coastal area in Ocean Springs. This tour allowed first-time team members to see for themselves the devastation.

2009-01-18T21:00:00.000-08:00

We started our second day at Camp Hope by commissioning our team for service here at Camp Hope and with a delicious Southern breakfast of grits, eggs, pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, and biscuits! Boy, are we going to have to work hard tomorrow to work it off!

2009-01-17T19:39:00.000-08:00

And there was Morning and Evening, the First Day... And it was good!

2009-01-17T19:37:00.000-08:00

We ended the day with dinner at the Shed! (Mmm, great Southern BBQ)

2009-01-17T19:32:00.000-08:00

And some to the Estuarium on Dauphin Island.

2009-01-17T19:29:00.000-08:00

We spent the rest of the afternoon sightseeing in Alabama. some went to see the USS Alabama.

2009-01-17T19:20:00.000-08:00

We finally got checked in at 1 PM. Boy, those bunks look inviting!

2009-01-17T19:14:00.000-08:00

Breakfast was a LONG time ago....Lunch at Sonic's (Bill would be jealous!)

2009-01-17T19:08:00.000-08:00

Kevin trying to figure out how to get all of that luggage in the trunk. (Laurie usually does this!)

2009-01-17T18:56:00.000-08:00

Left Behind!

Because of our late arrival and a gate change from C49 to D32, they were closing the gate as we arrived. Almost all of us made the flight.... Nancy Jordan from Williamson got left at the gate.

Luckily, she was able to catch up with us in Gulfport an hour and a half later.

2009-01-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

Day 1:

Our day started VERY EARLY with most of the team gathering at the Rochester Airport at 4:30 AM to go through check-in and security in preparataion for our planned 6:10 AM departure. However, our plane did not leave until 6:45 AM, so we arrived late at Atlanta for our connecting flight.