Update 11-25-08

Larry and Ann report as follows:

Vermont house, mudded and finished by experts from International Relief out of San Diego. Also sprayed for orange peel. Ready for painting Friday afternoon. Site shut down for a week. Expect painters the following week. Ann and I built the back deck and finished the front deck.

Waxton house, finished by the same group last week and painted Friday. Most of the junk out of the yard.
Linda's Grandson returning from Iraq in December.

Latest Info-11-19-08

Waxton house:
Last week Ann and Larry Barber built the back deck.
It has been taped plastered and expected to be painted Tuesday.
The exterior doors had to be adjusted as they were not correctly installed.
Some outlets and light fixture boxes were sheet rocked over but have been found.
All interior doors were adjusted to fit standard sized doors

Pittman House

Ann and Larry Barber finished the front deck to day and started the back deck which they will finish Wednesday
The sewer, water and electric lines have been buried.
Last week a team from Blacksburg Virginia taped and mudded.
Wednesday a volunteer professional will finish the mudding and it should be painted by Friday.

Next week is shut down and two more weeks of shutdown next month
and then depending on volunteers coming in, the apparent target for completion is January

Ann and Larry Barber have done 20 assessments to date and have three more to go.


Ann and Larry Barber are members of First Church in Burlington and live in Williston. They are long term volunteers in Mississippi, but will be home for the holidays.

The Color.

UMCOR normally provides a limited color pallet. White and Beige. We chose to pay for the paint ourselves and give Mrs. Pittman a choice. We showed her the color chips from Lowes and she chose the color. She did not know the significance of the colors name until after she chose Montpelier Peach.

The Last Full Day.

On Friday, we worked as long as we could with the sheet rock that we had and made great progress. Almost the entire inside sheet rock was complete. There are a couple of walls left to do. A group of the team from Shelburne was going to work on Saturday and do what they could to complete that work. There was also about two pieces of siding to be put up on the back and that would be done. Many people worked to caulk seams and around the windows. Some followed along and touched up the prepainted siding.

As we left it looked great.

Next trip

There is a trip planned to Gulfport, Mississippi the last week of February 2009. We will be doing renovations in the same area. The Gulfport site requires us to do some additional chores, including cooking, but the work is the same. For information contact Tony Lamb at alamb@alamblaw.com or 802-878-1251 (nights) or 802-876-1200 (days).

Future of the Blog

I apologize for the not posting recently. The reentry into the “real” world is always a struggle. In order to blog properly it seems that it needs to become a regular part of your routine. For me it was in Mississippi. After dinner, evening debrief, devotions, and a period of rich conversation, the fellowship hall would clear out about 9:30 and I could use my computer. Unfortunately, with the elections and such, there were many websites and news sites to review before I could start on the blog. It was a relaxing end to my day. Try as I might, I would generally not finish until after lights out and I would have to find my wash kit to take a shower in the dark.

Returning home I have not found that routine. I expect to post at least once a week until the house is complete and dedicated. It is possible to “subscribe” to the blog and receive email notification of all future posts.

New Places, New People

One of the joys of mission is meeting new people. John is a long term volunteer at Camp Hope. He is an experienced framer and carpenter. His knowledge has been a great asset to our team. He came as a volunteer in August and just stayed on.

Smiley was a volunteer for more than a year at another camp. She actually ended up marrying another volunteer. She works as the greeter at the Shed and has worked with us for one day, teaching our team how to mud walls. We hope that she will join us again for our last day.

What happens in Vancleave does not stay in Vancleave

Did we forget to mention that there are no secrets on a mission trip. The occasional trip to the Shed for medicinal purposes are a good example. Imagine my surprise when one of our volunteers pointed out grafitti left by one of last week's team.

Do we do good work?

Charlie reported today that the inspectors commented on how surprised they were that volunteers could build with such quality. Indeed, Charlie believes the spent a little more time than the inspection required appreciating the work.

Third Thursday

We were all at the Pitman Vermont House today. The team had completed all of the changes required by the inspection by the end of the day Wednesday.

An additional inspection was completed today so we could progress full speed. The team was divided up into groups and each given a room to insulate and sheet rock. We are using batts of insulation in the ceiling. In the Waxman they are going to blow in insulation into the attic. The walls are also insulated because of air conditioning and some heating.

We have also continued with the siding. We painted it before we put it up and it looks great.

Today we finished the insulation. We have one about 60 % of the ceilings sheet rocked and expect to finish all of it tomorrow. If time permits we will begin mudding the walls.

Third Wednesday

After such a historic election, I am reminded of the Zen thing:

Before enlightenment there is chopping wood and carrying water,
After enlightenment there is chopping wood and carrying water.

Or perhaps after three weeks with the ups and downs I find the words of John Wesley to do as much good as you can for as long as you can to have real meaning.

Today the Vermont house was inspected. They found a few small things wrong, but really admired the quality of the work. Unfortuantely one of the things that they did not like was that the sheathing was laid side ways. This creates seams that do not have backing by the frame of the house. They required us to put studs behind each of the seams. This took most of the day to accomplish.

They did permit us to continue with the siding which is going slowly. The siding is a concrete like product called hardie plank. We use a special clipper to cut the siding, and being stiff requires effort to nail up. But progress is being made.

Tomorrow we expect to be reinspected. The entire team will go to the house. We will then divide up the rooms and insulate and sheet rock them all as far as we can.

The team at the Waxman house finished the sheet rock on the ceiling and one complete room. Two other rooms are 80% done.

Smiley taught several of our team to mud the walls and ceiling. Good progress was made on that.

The Third Tuesday.

No pictures today. We spent most of the evening watching the election results.

At the Vermont House they finished the roof with the help of a great crew from Illinois. We are now ready for the next building inspection on Wednesday.

Approval was given for the siding to begin going up and it is going very well.

Once approval is given,insulation of the inside will begin followed by sheet rock.

The plan for tomorrow is for most of the team except those doing siding to go to the Waxman house. Once the inspection is completed, and with approval, most of the team will be called back to the Vermont House-it is about 25 minutes away.

The Vermont House will have batts of insulation installed in the ceiling (the Waxman House will have blown in insulation). This means that the team will be organized to staple the insulation into the ceiling, followed by sheet rock.

At the Waxman house we have resolved many framing problems to let us be able to install all but a few sheets of the ceiling sheet rock. One of the problems that existed was that the doors were not correctly framed in terms of width. Larry and Ann spent a good deal of time resolving that problem.

We use 5/8 th sheet rock for the ceiling and 1/2 inch for the walls. They try not to have both sizes on site at the same time because it is easy to confuse and time consuming to replace.

We are now at a place that we will start putting up the sheet rock on the walls. We have almost all of the insulation in the walls and have a star sheet rocker coming in to assist us with taping the walls.

Smiley has been a volunteer in Mississippi for almost a year. She married another volunteer. We met her at the Shed and she is coming to help move the work on the Waxman house along. We are excited to have her join our team.

Home sick.

This is my third week working here in Mississippi. We are active so much of the day there is little time to be home sick. I do admit however, that I miss my wife very much. How often do I see or do something during the day that I would love to share or do with her.

To day was election day. The church hall where we eat and convene was a polling place. Accordingly we had breakfast in the warehouse. As we waited for breakfast I wandered outside where I saw the early voters lining up before the polls open. It was one of the few times I really missed being in Vermont. Each election I work at the polls, greeting all of my friends and neighbors, and meeting fellow citizens.

As I saw those voters I suddenly became very home sick. I decided that I would "walk the line" and talk to the voters in line like I do at home. I was actually not sure that I could do it with out getting emotional. But sure enough as I talked with the voters it felt very much like being at home, although with a very different accent.

I did it again after breakfast but realized that I had probably overstayed my visit when I heard someone suggest that I had a career future as a Wal Mart greeter.

Using New Skills

Hanging sheet rock at the Waxman house.

The Waxman House

Today a small group returned to work on the Waxman house. Although it is the same as the Vermont House in terms of floor plan, it has not been built as well. We have been fixing things so we can hang sheet rock.

We now have two rooms and the hall way almost compeltely sheet rocked.

Porch roofs are not a job they are a career.

One of the hold ups on the roof is creating the hip for the porch roof. A fairly complex framining issue, it has required a great deal of time and labor.

We have had a great team from Illinois helping with our roofing project. It really helped us to move along. It has been great to have them work with us. The fellowship is wonderful.

We have started putting up the Montpelier Peach (that's the color) siding. We can only go three or four courses before the inspection occurs and we have to have the roof done before that can occur.

A great deal of prep work inside the house is taking place to enable us to begin sheet rocking. These details all take time and we have many hands working on it.

First Injury

The Reverend Greg Smith suffered a signifacant boo boo today. Fortunately Lois was able to kiss it an make it all better.

Reports that Bob Krebs drew a detailed map of southern Mississippi on his head last week with two by fours are greatly exagerated. It was more like a map of the county. For obvious reasons no harm was done.

Week three begins.

All thirty four of our team members for this week are now on site, safe and sound. We begin work on Monday on both the Vermont House and the Waxman house.

Blogging

Blogging requires a certain kind of discipline. Like keeping a diary it is best done every day. Making up days is very difficult and you find yourself falling further behind. Our schedule here is such that it is hard to find time until well after dinner. But by then the good conversations are started and it is hard to leave the fellowship of the group to go type.

It was particularly hard last Thursday. We have worked right to the last minute. We had worked hard all day long and it had been warm and humid. Dinner comes and the meeting after goes. Then the devil suggests we all go for a beer at the Shed. We are all so tired one is all we could have and when we got back at 9 o’clock, bed was all I want to experience.

The weekends present a different problem. We have less of a routine, particularly in the evening. Some of us go to New Orleans to send off the crew from the week before and to greet the new crew. After burning the candle at both ends all week, all I wanted to do on a Saturday night in New Orleans is go to sleep.

But blogging is also fun. It helps us to remember the path, long after our tracks have been covered over by those who are also traveling the path.

Does everything have to happen for a reason?

While on this mission, there are coincidences that seem like god moments. For example we need to complete the roof shingles very quickly and have few people who have any experience. By coincidence (?) there is a “roofing crew” consisting of a professional roofer and 9 experienced helpers arriving at the camp who will help us on Monday.

Mary Ann wondered what called her to come on this trip. Turns out Mrs. Pittman had the very same rare cyst on her spine that paralyzed her, as did Mary Ann. Mary Ann was able to spend a good deal of time sharing experiences with Mrs. Pittman and make a real connection. Coincidence?

This morning one of our team missed their flight and so would be coming in two hours later than expected. It was the one obstacle keeping me from attending morning service at St. Mark’s (more in another post about St. Mark’s). Was that the coincidence or was the god moment the fact that the sermon was about humility.

New Orlean

New Orleans is a fascinating city in many ways. When you walk the French Quarter, you can see the strong Spanish influence in the architecture. It is fun to walk even the backest of streets because you find so many interesting details and court yards.

I often confuse Burbon Street and the drunken revel with the city. Yet when you walk around during the day you begin to sense the incredible diversity of music. On one street two gentlemen were playing blues and amusing the crowd with side conversations. On another a woman was playing piano accompanied by a man on a tuba. Near the church a mariachi band was playing while a woman on stilts danced.

One night I had the pleasure of joining Hans and others from our group to hear them play at Preservation Hall. It costs ten dollars to get in. There are several rows of wooden benches and then standing room only. The room would feel creepy if it were not so hallowed. It was an amazing experience in the midst of the hoopla that is Burbon Street on Saturday night to hear real music played by real people.

St. Mark's

St. Mark’s is located on Rampart Street, on the edge of the French Quarter. It is an open and affirming church that is truly diverse. Young, old, rich, poor, black, white, every imaginable combination. They serve a meal that is free to all and it is apparent that it is a ministry which is well received, particularly by the homeless. The man I sat next to told me he is blest. He has a roof over his head, food to eat and his social security. It was apparent that he had little more.

When I see the ministry of a church like this, working with the poor and the hungry, the homeless, I realize how much more there is to do in the world, but where to begin. It is a very small church inside and I suspect that it does not have a large membership. Several groups support them in their missions.

New shoes for Joan's Friend