by Debbie
We’re home now. . .
The internet connection at the PDA camp went down for a day or two so we couldn’t finish the blog for the last day or so. When the connection was restored the schedule didn’t permit time to write in the blog.
We did as much dry wall work as possible at Terry’s house - mostly we took out poorly installed drywall screws and set them correctly. Harriett was a taping queen and drywall mud was flung on the walls skillfully, carefully, and everywhere possible. We wanted to acccomplish as much as we could.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Tom worked to install a new faucet and sprayer (like the sprayer in the OPCC kitchen) in the kitchen at the PDA camp. He pulled it all apart, only to find that the current faucet had been installed with leftover pieces - so all the water piping needed to be replaced - not just the faucet. Sigh.
Rod worked at Kitty’s house, installing a water heater, finishing up some plumbing work and installing the correct, water and mildew resistant drywall in one of the bathrooms. He discovered he did not have all the parts needed to install the water heater - he was missing the pan that sits underneath the water heater - and the plumbing work needed more than he could provide. Sigh.
Debbie and Heidi also worked with Kitty - moving dirt from the front of her yard to the back of her yard, so she can spread it along the side yard and underneath the house, and spreading it around her septic tank. When they arrived at Kitty’s first thing in the morning, to unload those couple sheets of drywall that Rod was going to install, Debbie, Heidi and Rod met Kitty and Henrietta. Henrietta (we later learned) is Kitty’s mother and is 83 years old. She was shoveling the dirt, placing it underneath the house. That was when Debbie and Heidi decided they could shovel the dirt. Henrietta still teaches, full-time, at Head Start. She has a class of three-year olds. The Director of the program asked her to stay on, after Katrina, because “these little ones need a grandmother.” Kitty agreed and is still there. Today’s three-year-olds would have been infants during Katrina, and the younger ones have been born post-Katrina. The next generation has begun.
On Thursday we quit work a bit early and went into New Orleans for a Katrina driving tour, developed by a member of the PDA staff, dinner, and, of course, beneigts at Cafe du Monde.
We had a wonderful week. Thank you for sharing it with us, through this blog. We return to Philadelphia having helped a few people take a few more steps toward being back in their homes. And we return as changed people. We will look at disasters and poverty and hleping out a bit differently now. I hope we’ll be more willing to lend a helping hand, understanding that even a little bit helps. Little bits added all together make a huge difference.
July 12th, 2008 in
Pearlington |
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by Debbie
The floor is finished! Yea! A tedious puzzle project, replacing a section of laminate flooring after a leak was frustratingly slow. With perseverance, patience, and more than a little frustration – the project is finally finished. It’s not often that a work team gets to see a project through to completion. It was a special moment. At the end, before they left, Mary asked to have a prayer with the team. It was more than a special moment – it was a holy moment.
The drywall team got to work – some installing, some setting screws that a previous group of volunteers had installed. It’s frustrating when you need to correct someone else’s mistakes – until you remember that someone had to correct your mistakes after the first drywall you installed. . .
We all download the pictures we’ve taken during the day – to one computer. Then we gather around and watch a slide show – remembering the day together. It was hot today, and the work was hard. We were all tired at the end of the day. Ah, but as I write, a game of “Catch Phrase” is organizing. I have a feeling the energy level is on the rise!
July 10th, 2008 in
Pearlington |
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by Debbie
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.
July 8th, 2008 in
Pearlington |
3 Comments
by Debbie
Day 4 - Monday
We settled into a weekday routine today: breakfast at 7am, some reflections on our work and the day to come, then we’re on the worksites around 8:30. Lunch at the Missionary Baptist Church is at 11:30, and we’re back on the worksites through the afternoon. The evening starts with a shower! Dinner is usually around 6pm, we debrief the day and then folks settle in for a game, some reading, and some hurry to finish their chores. Lights out at 10pm - and we’re ready!
Today work continued on the same two sites: flooring and drywall. A dresser at Izzy and Mary’s house needed to be moved to get to the flooring. It looks very substantial, so Rod asked Tom to come help move it. Debbie went along for the ride - and because she knows where the house is! Tom looked at the dresser, tipped it to its side, Debbie picked up the bottom and they quickly moved it. The dresser weighed substantially less than Rod thought - boy, was he embarrassed!
Matt’s house saw some substantial progress today. At the end of the day the drywall had all been screwed in, the tub in the bathroom had been installed, and the first coat of primer paint had been applied to two rooms - including the huge living room/dining room/kitchen. Finishing the drywall and the putting on the first coat of paint makes a construction site begin to look like a home.
Most of us are tired tonight. This is hard work for volunteers - especially
in 91º heat with high humidity. The discussion around the tables is not about movies we’ve seen, or books we’ve read - but about that stubborn floor board and how to remove it, or that one corner that needed extra attention. How quickly we become experts! The games after dinner will bring great laughter and once the sun goes down we’ll get a bit of relief from the heat.
The community of the group deepens as we tease each other and talk about what we do and why we’re here. The experience of being in Pearlington is deeply transformative and we don’t know how deeply for some time to come. Transformation is a slow process. It’s already begun. Thanks be to God.
July 7th, 2008 in
Pearlington |
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by Debbie
Day 3 – Sunday
Thunder and lightening greeted us early (it was still dark). A bit of rain followed – but only a bit. Some of us ventured down the street to the First Missionary Baptist Church for Sunday School and worship. Rev. Rawls was away today – so there was a young guest preacher. Brother Tony taught the Sunday School lesson, as he has each time we’ve been here. There were about 15 members of the church, and about 50 volunteers – people like us who are here for the week. We were very graciously welcomed. We announced that Tom Summers had just celebrated the 20th Anniversary of his ordination to Ministry of Word and Sacrament – and everyone there celebrated with us. It was a nice moment.
The historic church building had to be torn down due to damage from Katrina. They’re now building a new church. It’s framed and enclosed. It’s beautiful. Little by little this congregation rebuilds.
Melody Evans arrived safe and sound.
On the way to the airport, Heidi and Robin saw a waterspout on the lake – something Heidi had not seen in her lifetime of driving along Lake Ponchartrain.
(A waterspout is a small tornado on the water.)
We’re now a full force of 18 volunteers.
This afternoon we went back to our work sites. The damaged floor at Izzy and Mary’s is now up and the crew is planning how to reinstall new floor. Getting that first piece in is the hardest – connecting it to the floor that remains. Then, hopefully, it will be smooth sailing.
The drywall crew at Matt’s house kept at it: mudding and sanding. More drywall (greenboard, actually) will be installed in the bathrooms, and more mudding and sanding (some of us wonder if it will ever end!) – all tomorrow. 
There may be other sites for us to take on – Henry will tell us in the morning.
There is good energy among the group. We’re working hard, making a bit of progress on our job sites. When seen in comparison to the need – many, many homes still need to be built, some businesses are slow in returning, the economy downturn is felt here, too – our efforts seem small. But Matt shared that he almost couldn’t come to the house in recent weeks because progress was slow, funds were scarce and the red tape of the grant process often seems unfair. But today he smiled because he knows he will finally be able to paint.
As our PDA shirts say…out of chaos - hope.
July 6th, 2008 in
Pearlington |
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