Day 5 - July 8, 2008

Tuesday brings our second trip to the local health clinic.  Friday Beth was welcomed to Pearlington by some rather angry fire ants that caused her leg and foot to swell.  A trip to the clinic on Sunday morning brought the diagnosis of cellulitis - which means staying off your feet.  Beth was pretty disappointed to be off the work teams but decided to stay and help PDA with some administrative work.  No stinging fire ants would bring her down!

Kim must have needed some time out of the kitchen and off her feet, because this morning she, too, took a ride to the clinic only to find she also has cellulitis - but a milder form from an infected bug bite.  The challenge now is to keep these two worker bees off their feet so they get well soon.  Good thing there are 16 of us to keep an eye on them!

The crew working on the floor had a frustrating day - more puzzle solving than floor installation!  Piece by piece the floor has been re-installed.  They hit a snag when they learned that they needed to pull up some boards they had installed yesterday.  AARRGGHH!

The drywall team finished the drywall and spent most of the day painting - putting on primer.  By the end of the day all the whole house had been primed - ready for the color coats.  With 6 people with equipment and one smaller vehicle, we needed to make two trips between the house and the PDA camp.  Debbie promised to come back and pick up Robin and Mike.  Back at camp, the car was unloaded - and Debbie promptly parked the car, talked with Kim and Beth, then went to lie down for a rest.  A few minutes later (about an hour after leaving the work site), her phone rang.  Tom said, “I just want you to know that Robin and Mike are with me.”  OOPS!  She had forgotten to go back and pick them up. . .

Sometimes the conditions are not ideal: cots that aren’t quite long enough for tall bodies, bugs that bite fiercely, airborne cockroaches, little relief from the heat and humidity, showers that have a roving temperature, directions that take us to places unknown but not the place we want to go, non-potable water, dogs roaming through the camp.  Still, we’re happy to be here and our dinner tonight reminds us why.

The folks who own the homes we’re working on were invited to join us for dinner tonight.  After dinner we shared stories of the week.  Some folks - both residents and volunteers - commented on how being in Pearlington has deeply affected their lives.  Residents were overflowing with gratitude for volunteers willing to spend some time here in Pearlington.  One resident, Matt, said, “If it wasn’t for you volunteering, Pearlington would have been forgotten.  We might as well have shut our doors and closed up.”  Heather, the Camp Manager, shared a story and said, “This is what church is.  This is what church does.”  For her, and for all of us, the work in Pearlington embodies the gospel.  This is 21st century incarnation.  Yes, Jesus is here and transformation follows.