Category: News

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Welcome Home!

Finished 2007 Home

Dennis, our leader for the project, received an email from Bracky, our foreman for the project. What a difference a few months make. It’s nice to know it’s complete. We have no idea who worked on it after us, but with all the volunteers making their respective efforts, we all were able to make a home. It’s just one, but it’ll matter to the ones that live there. We hope they’ll have a home of blessing, love and hope. We hope that no matter where their lives lead, that they’ll know that many people, including a team from a church in Southern California, wanted the best for them. They should know that they will not be forsaken by God or even their fellow men. God bless you guys.

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Return to L.A.

We took separate flights back to L.A. One of us (Peter) returned via LAX, the rest via Ontario.

Along the way, some luggage was delayed, some flights were missed, but I think we’re all back safely.

Mathias, Mo and I (Peter), were scheduled to take an earlier flight to Atlanta, and then I’d continue back to LAX, they’d wait for the rest of the team in ATL for the flight back to Ontario. The night before we left, another volunteer had shown us a book with before/after Katrina pictures of the area. Mo wanted a copy and we went looking for it (it looked so good I picked up a copy myself). It’s quite good and had pictures similar to this one:

Unfortunately, we got to the airport with little time to spare, and I was the only one to make the plane. But it all worked out because my layover was shortest, and Mo and Mathias came on the next plane with the rest of the guys.

Right before I had left, a friend/member of my support group had said that she had never hadthe excitement of running through an airport terminal. Yes, it is exciting, but not the type of excitement you really want to have, as I heard my name being paged over the P.A. in Gulfport, MS. They were just about to give away my seat when I arrived at the gate. Yes, it was a little bit like The Amazing Race and I ditched my teammembers and left them standing at the gate 🙂

It’s odd not to be with all the guys, but good to be back home and sleep in your own bed, etc. I do have to say that the accomodations were excellent in Biloxi.

More stories to come, especially now that we have the down time to bring everything up to speed.

On our first day, we were seeking Po’ Boys, a sandwich, and we found a Vietnamese place that sold them, as well as the noodle dish, Pho.

So we called it Pho Boys..

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Day 6 Travel

As we prepare to return to L.A. via our flights out of Gulfport, some of the guys are going to try and head over to New Orleans before their flight to see things first hand… and maybe to sample the local fare…

Good Lord, you think these guys would be tired, or tired of each other… 🙂

Let’s pray they make it back in time for their flights…

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Day 4 Construction

Our 2nd to last day in Gautier.

We woke up to thunder and lightning, and were briefed about our work. If it’s inclement weather, Habitat will often take workers to homes that need interior work done. That makes sense.

Today, we were told just to ride out the storm. It would pass in a few hours. We arrived to our work site 2 hours later than normal, and then proceeded to spend over an hour emptying it of water.

We had to hold off on the roof because of wet conditions, and also we had to fix the trusses. They have to sit directly on the outer walls, and some were bumping into the interior walls. We had to cut notches in them to let them float.

Windows Windows Windows
We got to put in some windows. Two windows were ordered too small for the opening that was made for them. We had to adjust the window openings

The front door, wrapping the home in moisture barrier, some paneling for the roof and the front gable were all highlights of the day.

I (Peter) also got to run to BP (local gas station) to pick up an Oyster Po’Boy and a bunch of fried chicken to spice up our sandwich lunches. I got to spend some time talking with Dave, our project manager and getting to know him better. He’s a good guy that loves his kids. Likes things simple and knows what’s important. His family lost a lot during the flood. It was good to build our friendship.

Hope you enjoy the slide show

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Storm Watch… Wait.. Tornado Watch


Woke up this morning to pray.

Saw flashes, but they weren’t coming from inside. A storm is coming our way.. and actually is right on top of us.

Yes, that’s us, Biloxi, at the front end of that little dark part of the storm system.

We’re not sure yet if we’ll be going out to work on the site today, but we’re willing and able. If not, the Habitat folks have things to keep us busy.

In the meantime, we can still continue to pray for the region. Just a few days of this Mississippi weather has brought us intense heat, beautiful cool weather and now a Tornado watch in a nearby county. As beautiful as the weather has been, when I hear the thunder and see the lightning, I wonder what it was like 18 months ago when Katrina hit.

We’re building the homes with some new building standards and features specifically for hurricanes. Additional straps and concrete footings were required after Katrina. In building the houses, it’s easy to see how roofs could separate and houses could be lifted up completely off their foundations and found miles away.

And some of the neighborhoods we’ve traveled through represent some economically challenged areas. Hard to rebuild when you don’t have much to begin with.

So if you’re praying for us and our safety, please join us in praying for the residents that don’t have as much shelter as we do, that are living under the many roofs we’ve passed by that are covered by blue tarps because that’s all the roofing they can currently afford.

The rain is pelting our roof and coming down hard right … about… now..

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Construction Day 3

Fearing rain, we prepared for the worst, but we were happy to experience some cloud cover vs. the previous day’s heat.

We got to meet Diane, Bracky’s wife, who also introduced us to the Palm Nailer. A tool we wish we found on day 1. It’s the best thing in the world.. air powered hammering. Any of the guys that got to use didn’t want to go back to the elbow grease hammers.

Today was high-wire work for many, especially Gary and Mo. Working on the trusses, they lived high above our work. It’s amazing how much work is involved in setting up the framing for the roof paneling that we hope to install tomorrow.

New tool added today:

Chop Saw. That gave us straight cuts, and yes, Steve was eager to cut up any pieces of 2×4 that were requested. Still no major injuries to report.

The beginning of the day was squaring up the house. A string is placed around the outer walls, and we push/pull and secure the wall at various points to make sure the walls are lined up with the string.

We also learned today that using the Sawzall could allow us to cut nails when we would mess up our work. Don’t worry, we’re building this house with love and care and hopefully to withstand the terrors of a hurricane.

Almost every guy on the crew worked up on the trusses. Much appreciated, very exciting and hard work in the heat. Poor Gary for being the tallest guy had to take the highest point of the building at all times.

We hope that the slide shows give you some taste of the amount of work involved in building these homes. We appreciate our homes all the more.

Enjoy the slideshow!

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Ultimate Frisbee and Other Thoughts

Mathias’ Notes, our lone ambassador to Ultimate Frisbee last night

It seems Ultimate Frisbee playing got some attention in a few recent posts so I thought I’d pop in a tell the whole story. Every Tuesday night is Ultimate Frisbee night at camp. The Americore people who are here for more than one week at a time run the games. They’re pretty intimidating since some of them had uniforms and even made up a special chant. We played three games between Americorps teams before another team from the Salvation Army side of camp came to challenge us. We lost that game 5-3. I’m not sure how Dennis puts me on a Wheaties box since I managed to drop a scoring pass in the endzone.

Apparently Art and I look alike because Art says a lady came up to him this morning and said, “You play a mean game of Frisbee”. I’ll chalk it up to the stereotype that all Asians looking the same. I don’t think I look that much like Art.

A lesson learned from this episode: “don’t play Ultimate Frisbee the day before lifting trusses” My legs are really really sore tonight.

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Reward Dinner

Our reward dinner. Lookout 49 in the city of Gulfport, MS.

Our Construction manager “Bracky” and his wife Diane with their grandson Charlie/Charley joined us at a restaurant they liked.

Pictured are Corn Fritters that were crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside..

A good dinner for a hard day’s work.