Working in the Neighborhoods!

What an amazing, task filled first day!

We had teams working on several homes, in four different towns!

Our team did some rehab work in West Alton, putting in a closet - with odd sized doors. More to come on this one when things are farther along. This is a tight space, so we have three crack carpenters who love working with power tools enjoying their project! They also promise to have some fantastic shots showing their handiwork tomorrow, which given the characters on the team, should be very... informative!

Florissant hosted our only air conditioned worksite, which was our crew putting up the final pieces of wallboard in a home. They will finish installing the drywall, then putty it, ready for painting. This crew worked closely with the home owner, who had much of the initial recovery work already done. Yes, they didn't get much sympathy from the rest of the group who got to enjoy the Missouri heat first hand.

Eureka, well, these folks will fill us in some time soon. ;-)
 

Fenton was our largest site, with just over half our total crew broken into four work teams. Our worksite consisted of two duplex homes (four units), which saw flooding both in 2015 and again this past Spring in 2017. Previous work teams had started demolition on these homes, and our job was to pick up where they left off, tearing out wallboard on the main floor, and addressing the mold still present in the basement. We had to spray the now accessible studs with a remediation compound to keep mold from spreading further, or staying in the home after it is finished. We also had to take care to save any fixtures not affected by water or cabinets which were above the waterline.

Denise filled us in on the work we would be doing.

Demolition crew making way for the next phase.

Tearing down old drywall to get to the studs.

Keeping the fixtures will save the owner
a lot of money he doesn't have.

Filling our dumpster with our day's work.

One of the units had already had most of the drywall removed, but needed mold remediation. The other unit, however, still had the wet, moldy drywall up in the basement. Our crew needed to wear N95, mold resistant masks, and the basement team put on full Tyvek suits, which made them look like they were ready to do some government work!

Tyvek suits with N95 masks
make a distinct fashion statement!



Treating the studs with mold remediation solution.

We were able to close up the first duplex, ready for the next crew to start the construction phase or the home rebuild. The second duplex will see our shining faces again tomorrow, which we continue to clean out the moldy drywall, and prep the studs with mold remediation solution.


As with any mission projects, we're not sure what we will come across until we are on site. Each of our locations brings unique challenges, and there are more than a few surprises still on the horizon for the remainder of our trip. Stop back again tomorrow, and we can be surprised together.

Welcome to Missouri!

Our team met at Grace Lutheran Church in Mount Prospect, IL for a wonderful lunch. We met old friends from previous trips, as well as new friends who haven't traveled with our team before. Our lead team made introductions, anointed our hands for the work we were about to do, and share our timeline for travel to the St. Louis area. Our final count is 40 missionaries from ten congregations: Glenview United Methodist Church, Grace Lutheran Church, Hope Lutheran Church, Kingswood United Methodist Church, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Messiah Lutheran Church, Shir Hadash Synagogue, St. Alphonsus Parish, St. Mary Parish, and Temple Chai. We will also be joined by a few friends from a church near Litchfield for a day or two of our work.

Happy, clean, and not yet sore, our crew is ready to hit the road!

We left promptly, and enjoyed an uneventful ride to Litchfield, Illinois where we ate at a fun little buffet. We were able to spend more time getting to know one another, and were on the road again for the last push to our hotel. The weather was pleasant, and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the Gateway Arch as we crossed the Mississippi River into Missouri!

Our breathtaking sunset as we crossed the mighty Mississippi River.

Our hotel is beautiful, with comfortable and clean rooms (at least from what I heard, so far), and the staff was ready for us with keys and room assignments ready to go. We also met our work group planner from the Salvation Army, Erin. She gave our group some introductory information, then met with each of the work site leads to cover the details they will need for their teams.

Eric addresses the mission team, who filled
both the main lobby and balcony.

Erin fills in team leads Jim and Jeff.

Tomorrow is our first day of work. We meet for breakfast before 7:15, when we load the bus for our work sites. Our tasks are varied, as are our locations. We will be visiting the towns of West Alton, Hazelwood, Fenton and Eureka for multiple homes. Our team is excited to see what comes, and it sounds like the highlights will come from our (possibly over eager) demolition crews!

Nearly there, preparing and packing!

We are all in our homes and preparing to work. Our bags are packed (hopefully) and we're finalizing our homes to leave for nearly a week of work and inspiration. Our advance team (two guys who know what they're doing!) are already on site, and spent Friday looking at the projects we have ahead of us. We will be staying in Kirkwood, and working in several other towns west of St. Louis on homes in various states of recovery. Some of the tasks we are preparing for are:

• Demolition
• Drywalling
• Painting
• Carpentry
• Installing insulation
• Vinyl flooring
• Ceramic tile

Kaci D, 16, helped residents fill sandbags on
Starling Airport Road in Arnold on May 3.
(St Louis Public Radio)

The areas around Kirkwood, Alton, Fenton and Eureka were hard hit, both in 2015 and again just this past Spring! Some residents are considering leaving their homes while others have committed to rebuilding their communities. It is these re-builders who we will be working with. Most of the work we will be doing is in homes, and we will hear first hand the experiences of having one's homes and possessions swept away by flood waters. Many of us live in affected suburbs, where our own communities have been flooded by recent rain, and this should bring another layer of emotion to our time in Missouri!

Flood water from the Meramec River covers some
athletic fields at Eureka High School.
(David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

At this time, 42 of us are part of this team, and we've learned that the final count can only be finalized when we're on our way. We have found that our team members take this work seriously, and don't back out unless they truly have to. Tomorrow is departure day, so come back to see who is finally able to join us for this, our fourth Interfaith Service Trip!