Category: 2013

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2013 Day 3-Summary

Itchy itchy itchy

Another good day, this one at the home of Miss Peggy. Everyone here, is called “Miss…”

We were running a little bit early, so we drove past the old Connor’s Gardens homes (where we had worked a few years ago). They’ve added storm shutters and gutters. Someone from Habitat said they were likely over half sold already. While we were trying to find the neighborhood, we accidentally went into another neighborhood half a mile north, with smaller streets, and comparable, but slightly smaller homes. The homes we built aren’t as isolated as we thought.. a good sign.

When we arrived, Miss Peggy greeted us, and well, watch the video, which includes Heang’s debut devotional. A good start to the day.

There were a few aspects to increasing the energy efficiency of Miss Peggy’s home.

-Insulating every area that we could find. Around outlet covers, lighting fixtures, air ducts and the hot water heater.

-CFL light bulb fixtures and ceiling fans to decrease the need for a/c

-redoing the insulation in the attic.

The attic work meant working with fiberglass, and it was hot and stuffy. We have no idea what the work must be like on a normal (HOT) day. It was raining like mad on us in the morning, and it still got warm in the attic, especially when they turned on all the ceiling light fixtures….

Needless to say, even though we were briefed, we still got a lot of fiberglass in our skin and everyone’s itching.

Everyone googled different ways to remove the fibers.. you might see video of some ideas later…

After a long day up in the attic, Craig and Chris went for a breezier job making insulation around the light fixtures with Eric.

Oh, and to our surprise, Miss Peggy made us some Red Beans and rice and got us some fried chicken. It was a pretty substantial lunch, ending up with some vanilla and pecan ice cream, was very gracious of her.

Oh funny thing, Roy’s shoes fell apart. The same thing that happened to Peter in our first year. The sole of his boot just fell off. He stopped by Walmart tonight and picked up a new pair.





Dinner
Dinner was different. Every year we’ve had a team+friends dinner at The Shed, but this year, we tried Darwell’s. Food was good, but company was even better. Matt, Eric, Heidi, Brad, Denise and Paul joined us from Habitat as well as Ken & Dawn, Elizabeth and Paul, our host family.

We lost Elizabeth and Paul(ie) for a bit as Elizabeth’s best bud, Millie, and Denise took the kids across next door to the local fire house and got a special tour. The kids burst in later, with Paul saying that the fire station was “the most beautiful place in the world.”

We’ve really developed good friendships over these years, some with people we met today, others that we consider practically family. And it comes naturally. We don’t have to force it.

Thank you God for the opportunity, thanks so much.


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2013 Day 2-Craig’s meeting with Calvin

I was blessed today to be reunited with Calvin, one of our Habitat for Humanity friends.  Chris and I prayed for Calvin last year and I alone two years ago.  After experiencing the passing of his wife, Calvin was obviously in mourning and seeking the comfort of our Lord during our visit last year.  However, this year, his demeanor was much different.  Today, the Lord demonstrated his goodness as Calvin shared that God gave him a new wife, Kim, who he described as a nice Christian woman.  As Calvin shared about the joy in his life, he repeatedly acknowledged that God was good and despite difficulties, God helps him move forward day by day.  Calvin is selflessly providing for his new family; Kim, her two kids, and Kim’s father.  Chris and I rejoiced at this beautiful testimony and seemingly renewed sense of purpose in the life of our friend.

To God be the glory for the great things He has done.
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2013 Day 2-A good, but very very rainy day.

Site

Called ahead to Paul to check if we were still on this morning. Storms dropped a lot of rain, but we were cleared for the morning.
Roy gave his devotional this morning, encouraging us to do all things for the glory of God. We put down the cameras and went to work….apparently without any morning stretches. We kept Heang away from Steve so that he’d learn “other” skills. 
Calvin
While we were there Chris and Craig ran into Calvin, a friend we had met a few years ago. They had the opportunity to pray for him again. The threads of our lives keep interconnecting. The theme for this week seems to include seeing long term impact. Of a major storm’s devastation, of Habitat’s assistance in recovery, our friendships with people we’ve met every year. God continues to show us the big picture.
Buildin’ and Workin’
Trying to stay ahead of the storm, we raised almost all four walls, and began sheeting them. 

Rain Rain, go away
The rain returned with strength. We quickly packed up all power related equipment, clearing the deck, and ducked under, and cut our workday by a few hours.

Prayer
Since it was our last day on site, we prayed for it before we left. We prayed with/for our Americorps staff, and spent some time in silent prayer, blessing the home.

Happy Birthday Roy
After the storm, we went to Quakes for ice cream frozen custard. Pam said to make sure we identify it as such because Roy likes it better. Roy has celebrated his birthday for the last few years with us in Mississippi. Later, he told us as much as he loves his family and friends, it’s been special experiencing it out here. Still don’t understand why, when it’s his birthday, he treats us.

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2013 Day 0 – Gary’s notes

Very tiring first day as usual.  Not much sleep and the weather is warm (air is not too bad but the sun is very strong).


On the second leg of the trip from Dallas to Gulfport, I sat next to a couple from Gulfport.  As I got to know them more, I found that the wife Pamela (shown looking out the window) is dealing with GI cancer.  She went into ER with extreme pain and they found large tumors in liver, pancreas, gallbladder.  It is inoperable and they cannot do radiation either.  She is going to the Cancer Treatment Center in Dallas every 10 days for chemotherapy and they were on there way back after treatment.


I shared Donelle’s story with them and how God had planned them to sit there in those seats.  I inquired whether they had a support system and they said their church was very helpful.  I shared the verse I had planned for the devotional tonight which was Genesis 18:14 … “Is anything too hard for the Lord”.  They were very encouraging to me even though I could see Pamela was experiencing nausea and pain.


I shared the devotional tonight about being persistent as Abraham did not give up even after 25 years of being promised offspring.  The tag is “fork vs. chopsticks”.  Giving up on chopsticks and using the fork.





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2013 Day 0-Arrival, Orientation, Pier, Home Away From Home

Orientation 
As soon as we landed, we went to Habitat for Orientation and to see old friends. Teetra, an Americorps volunteer-turned Habitat staffer, gave an excellent orientation. 
HFHMGC (Our local Habitat affiliate) has received a federal grant to improve the energy efficiency of some local homes. Occupants must meet some requirements, including earning below 200% of the federal poverty level. It’s all part of Habitat’s “hand up, not a hand out” efforts to improve their clients’ financial solvency by reducing their costs, as a proactive form of providing financial assistance. 
This week, we will be doing some framing, similar to our first few years, working on a new build, with our friends and site supervisors, Paul and Denise. It’s a coveted stage of building, seeing the initial walls go up. Later in the week, we’ll be working in some hot, humid attic spaces, working on the energy saving efforts mentioned above. 
Lunch with Brad 
Our dear friend and old site-supervisor Brad joined us for lunch at Shaggy’s. We enjoyed his fellowship and it was good to have a team meal in Mississippi. 
Pier
It’s surprising how eight years after Katrina , much of the high value coastline property is still vacant slabs. Many people either didn’t return or didn’t feel it was cost effective to rebuild. 
At the pier, much to our amusement, Craig re-established his relationship with the seagulls enticing them with bread (okay, cha siu bao). 
A simple walk stroll down the pier turned into a spiritual encounter. Peter and Kelly spoke with a couple admiring the beautiful coastline. Surprisingly, Peter felt led to have Linda, the wife, pray for him. It turned out to be an answer to her prayer to bless someone while she was sitting there. Linda prayed for our entire team, leadership and our church. In turn, Kelly prayed for Linda and her husband. 
 It was another example of the teamwork that we get to experience here, with each team member depending on each other and God for taking the next step. We also learned that not only are we here to bless others, but to experience God with those we encounter. 
 New Life-our home away from home 
We arrived at New Life, our home in Mississippi for the last few years, reconnecting with Ken, his wife Dawn and their children Elizabeth and Paul. 
After dinner, we had a small devotional time, with worship (singing) led by Art and Pam. Gary did a simple, succinct and convicting devotional/teaching where he described a couple he knew that felt that chopsticks were too difficult, and had given up after a very brief attempt. 
Perhaps they could have had more success with a bit more patience How often do we give up on possibilities and promises…. Abraham must have been trying to have children for almost 25 years, having children at near 100. 
Finally, we were humbled as we shared impressions and prayer requests for the day. 
Elizabeth, Ken and Dawn’s seven-year old daughter, had been sitting with us during the worship time, and contributed some very clear and poignant prayers in support of a family that had someone take their own life.  
(Editor’s note: I was humbled, because I didn’t expect such a significant prayer to be requested by some young girl that was just hanging out with us. Later in the evening, she still contributed prayer requests for own health that were humble and hopeful. We are all learning that there is no one or opportunity great or small on this trip. Significance comes in all sizes, including by receiving as well as giving blessings) 
Thanks for your support!
Our first day on site tomorrow!
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weather forecast

77 degrees with elevated humidity, chance of rain.

Sounds like a chance of elevated humility as well

There was a chance we would be working on framing, but with the rain, who knows?

And as much as  we’re sure that Paul and Denise are used to the weather that is a little warm. 🙂

If you want to see off, we will be at American Airlines at 8 o’clock tonight LAX