Category: Team Reflection

Posted on

Day 1 – First Day On Site

It’s late.

It’s the first night of our first day of work.

The team is gelling quite well, and despite some hiccups in yes, the trusses again, we’ll be back on track tomorrow.

(Note: Year 1, we had to re-do the trusses due to a measuring problem we had.. this year, there were measurement problems, and a little mis-interpretation of the plans)

We love our leadership crew, headed up by Brad, our site supervisor for half our Men’s team last year.

There’s much to tell, but we’re a bit sleepy. Try to give you some highlights

Separate from Lifesong.
We’re working on a site two doors down from Lifesong. That works out extremely well. We get to see them, their progress (which is quite impressive) and let them work and bond together. But we’re still neighbors..

We received a house with all the walls put up, and spent the majority of the day putting up the trusses and gables (the triangular wooden structures that hold up the roof).

Tomorrow, the Evergreen team might be split up several sites, possibly reuniting with Spikes, who was the site supervisor for three of our four years.

Nobody was seriously injured. Sorry we have to say ‘seriously,’ because one of our members made a point to remind everyone to use their hardhats. He had 2×4’s dropped on his hat twice today, but he seems uninjured.

The guys, along with Lifesong, jumped at opportunities to serve in the kitchen for both serving and washing dishes. Really proud of them.

Our evening joint worship time enjoyed a visit from some people from Mandarin Church. No, they’re not Asian, but from Mandarin, Florida, and their team, comprised of mostly retirees, worked with us last year at the same time. We think the coincidence is uncanny.

Gary was kind enough to ask each team member the following question:

What was the highpoint of this first work day?

Brent – Bu loved Art’s and Tommy’s “Stiletto” hammer.

Keith – It wasn’t as hot as I thought it was going to be.

Craig W. – Pounding nails for me beats a day at the office any day.

Peter – It was watching the Lifesong team working well together on their house.

Craig K. – Jonathan pounding in his first nails and everyone cheering him on.

Tommy – Lending Bu my Stiletto (hammer) was like handing my kids the keys to the car.

Art – Taking a shower after a hard day’s work.

Gary – Very cold jelly in a PB&J sandwich for lunch.

Jonathan – Everyone is very helpful and encouraging here.

Roy – Getting the last truss installed (even though we have to move it tomorrow).

Jeff – Staying in one piece after being whacked in the head twice and struck by a truss.

Bryan – The Stiletto is more than I thought it would be.

Kelly – Finally finishing the trusses after having so much trouble lining it up.

Posted on

What I learned from Camp Victor…

Thoughts, lessons, memories, and simple reflections…

  • Mathias

    • I learned that you can’t judge a book by its cover; Camp Victor may not look like much on the outside, but it is a place that many many people call home while they are in Mississippi serving those in the area. Over the last week it has become home to our team and we have been very blessed during our stay. The Camp bears the marks of many of those who have stayed before us and will bear our logo for those who stay after us to see.

  • Helen

    • I learned that there are many other brothers and sisters in Christ all over the country that are faithfully serving in Mississippi.

  • Yosh

    • What got to me, was how friendly everybody was to each other.

  • Daryl

    • With all the stuff that is going on in the world today, I’ve learned and remember that there are still many people who love Christ and others.

  • Hilda

    • I’ll remember having lots to read on the wall. Watch out for bed bugs!

  • Steve

    • In the midst of Camp Victor’s hodgepodge decor, inconvenient bathroom faculties, and crowded noisy sleeping areas, is a place of caring and enfolding and grace.

  • Mo

    • I learned that Camp Victor is a ministry that provides house repair services to current home owners who cannot fund or perform the repair themselves.

  • Carol

    • I learned that Eddie, who cooks dinner also washes dishes and cleans the kitchen with a big smile and a song in his heart. But sadly sometimes none of the guests at Camp Victor volunteer to help so he has to stay late!

  • Ron

    • Though not having the ideal sleeping conditions for me, I will remember Camp Victor as a place for people with the same purpose…to help people in the community.

  • Frank

    • I learned that an old factory building, used of God, can make a huge difference in the world.

  • Joy

    • I always had hot water for my shower and the bathrooms were clean.

Posted on

Lessons of the Day

Today instead of posting a boring summary of what we did today, which was mainly finishing the work we started yesterday. Everyone on the team completed the sentence, “Today I learned…”

  • Mathias

    • to put up scaffolding without falling.

  • Helen

    • how to use a jigsaw and circular saw. It was pretty fun. At first, I was really afraid of them, but I’m thankful for my teammates who encouraged me to try it.

  • Yosh

    • to use a power drill, how to be patient and learn to follow directions from Joel. (supervisor)

  • Daryl

    • that it takes a heck of a lot of nails to nail a roof down.

  • Hilda

    • that even I can use a saw.

  • Steve

    • what takes me 3 minutes at home, takes me 15 mins here.

  • Mo

    • that I could be on a roof that is two stories high.

  • Carol

    • that PE=1/2Kx^2 is the formula for the velocity of the hammer head.

  • Ron

    • the Lord has taught me about focus regarding working and on Him.

  • Frank

    • how to skin knuckles…its easy!

  • Joy

    • how to use a palm nailer and that the round thing is called a bolt.

As you can tell we have a variety of different things that we each have learned in the last 24 hours. The Lord has blessed us with a very diverse team. It has been a blessing working together an seeing everyone use their unique talents to bring glory to God.

We have been enjoying Mo’s daily challenges and our morning and evening devotions. We have been exploring together various aspects of God in small groups. The women have been much more faithful to meet together than the men.

Posted on

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..

Posted on

Family Men

Robert, away from home, and sleep deprived. Our biggest decision at this point is whether to eat now or hold off to Dennis and Tommy’s promise of some Waffle House breakfast once we arrive.

Apparently this is one of Robert’s first extended trips from his family. We weren’t even quite through security at Ontario before he started missing them..

Pray for the guys and their families. A lot of them don’t want to admit it, but they’re missing them. Mathias and I are the only single guys, and Mathias brought his dad, so he’s covered…

On the way to our connecting flight, Dennis had forgotten his phone on our first plane, remembered and quickly returned to get it. Calm, cool, collected and quick, he returned with a smile and a phone in his hand. We sat around waiting for our fearless leader, and the computer-types broke out their pda’s and such.