Category: Uncategorized

It was a long day on the site.

First off, Jim and Shirley/Nannie work hard. They know their limitations, but they work hard, right up to it. Kinda like Uncle Roy, but maybe a bit more.

We arrived on the site to be greeted by Brad and Paul, warm hugs for Craig and Gary, and meet and greet with Jim and Nannie.

Jim and Steve, the hobbler, went to work on the stairs. All day, well, we had several job assignments, but here are the highlights:

Craig and Chris were tasked with moving the portapotty. We had to move it and the sign so that an electrican could have access. Without a blink of an eye, they went to work. You should know that it had yet to be emptied. Put (number) two and two together, and well, it was an unpleasant smell all day.

This dynamic duo was then tasked to go under the house and tack up some plastic sheeting. Somewhere in the process, Craig accidentally hurt himself. It looks worse than it is.

Hot hot day on the site, on the roof.

Finished the day and went to Quakes, to celebrate Uncle Roy’s Bday with Frozen Custard. As usual, he treated.

Jim and Nannie joined us for Quakes, and had a good talk with them along the way, sharing faith and stories. They’ve been a good presence in our lives.

We’re off for dinner off site, and will recap later, in the meantime, here’s a video and some pics

Art has been coming on the Mississippi Gulf Coast “Katrina” Missions for 4 years. He talks about his encounter with opportunity and God during his flight home…

A divine opportunity missed…

After a weeklong stay in Mississippi working with great Habitat for Humanity (HFH) friends, partner families and Team Evergreeners, I began to question whether I’ll have a “divine appointment”. Up to this point, others on the Team have had encounters to pray over people and impart God’s love and mercy on them. Part of me wanted to bestow that same blessing on others. But it’s God’s timing, not mine. It wasn’t until our layover in Dallas on our (co-ed Team) return trip from Mississippi where I had my “celestial engagement”.

As our team was waiting for our connecting flight to LAX, I heard a ticket agent announce over the loud speaker that the flight was full and if you had oversized luggage to approach the counter and check it in for free. Not sure what motivated me more, God’s prompting, the invitation to check in my protuberate friend (guitar case) or that it was free. Being Chinese, I couldn’t pass up a good deal! So I approached and queued with the other large baggage offenders all the while thinking they fell prey to the no cost alternative. I digress. What happened next was what I considered my divine appointment.

It was my turn. As the crowd at the counter parted ways to allow room for the extra large appendage, the ticket agent and I struck up a conversation to assess the appropriateness to check in said appendage. She hesitated a moment and called me over to the side away from the other agents. Was I in trouble? She then beckoned me in closer with her hand in that come-hither-but-not-too-close motion. Cautiously, I leaned in. She wrinkled her nose, slowly shook her head and mouthed an emphatic “NO!” It was as if she meant to say, “you idiot, why would you want to ruin your delicate instrument by checking it in?” We chatted a little more about her heightened level of concern and discovered she was a fellow guitar player and would never, ever, do such a thing! She also noticed my HFH t-shirt and was volunteering with the local chapter for the first time on Wednesday. I applauded her volunteerism and quickly blurted out, for fear of angering the natives in queue behind me, our team’s LA roots and foray into Mississippi. She smiled and whispered that she’ll let me board first to guarantee a place for my precious cargo. Excited, I quickly gathered my backpack, boarding pass and guitar to be one of the first to be let in before the premiere members! Is this what it feels like to be a person that either needs assistance or has a child in tow? Being neither, I felt pretty special to be bestowed this honor…thank you Lord.

In my timidity with the agent, I must admit I was remiss in not praying for her right then, but rest assured I later did while in my seat aboard the plane. I should have been more bold to take the time and pray for her at that moment. What an epic FAIL! Fortunately, our God is a God of second and third chances even fourth ones. I’m sure I’ll have other divine appointments later, but next time I’ll be prepared!

We’re not going anywhere
We’re staying right here…

Mondays are non-work days for Habitat. But we don’t get the day off. We’re trying to make the most of our time here. So Mondays we’re working at the site where we stay. New Life Disaster Relief is the non-profit organization that provides our housing. We actually live in/at a church building, Biloxi Christian Church, which is leased/borrowed/used by the non-profit. So we’ll be paintin’, trimmin’, fixin’ and restockin’ this place on this “off” day.

It’s a really good day to hang out with Ken, the director of the organization, and his family, as well as give back to the place that has offered us low cost temporary housing while we’re here to build low cost (permanent) housing.

We’re talking about how different organizations and agencies responded to Katrina, how some of the new builds have slowed down, but how there’s still a lot of work to be done in the area. Volunteerism has dropped off as the years since Katrina have passed, but there are still groups that come down. Apparently EvergreenSGV is one of the longer committed groups. Ken seems to have a heart for spreading the love of God in ways practical and spiritual, seeing that they go hand in hand.

Craig and Gary have arrived!

It’s good to have them back. Glad they tried to keep up to date with the blog.. we barely had to bring them up to date…

Here’s video and some photos of their sendoff