Changed People.

Our work is done, and our drive home went well.

Pastor Eric shared a time of Christian prayer on the bus, and we once again felt the presence of God in our interfaith group. We ended the prayers by sharing peace with one another in a renewed spirit of cooperation and purpose.

Pastor Eric did a wonderful job of
sharing our common purpose under God
as seen through our Interfaith lenses.

Once settling into the drive, some of us rested, others read books, but most seemed to chat about the experiences we had. Our memories are filled with images of working in the heat, the meals we shared, and perhaps most of all, the stories of those we met. Trying to imagine what it was like for our friends Lucille or Francis as they experienced the tornado first hand will be with us for years to come.

We are now back in our homes, comfortable and cool. Our bodies can feel the effects of our work, and our hearts are touched by the lives of our new friends. Our prayer is that we don't forget what we've seen and learned, and that others will be touched by our story to join us for our next mission.

Thank you for your prayers, and please watch both here and in our congregations on news of presentations and upcoming trips.

Our Final Day, Braved in a Heat Index of 110ºF!

Welcome to our final Brookport mission trip work day offering. We went out in style, in good ole' country heat and humidity! The heat and humidity were not to deter our team, working on our projects to the end. Some of us could do without the high heat index, but the experiences of meeting people and accomplishing work made the temperatures just another part of the story.

With the high heat forecast for the day,
we made sure all work sites had plenty of
water and a plan to take regular breaks.

Our first team, at the foundation site, did an amazing job leveling and starting the joists for the senior home. The next team to work on this project will have a great and solid place to start their work, with our crack construction team making sure this home will be a well built place to live.

The foundation is ready for the building to begin.

The team working on the three Short Street homes did well moving a large number of diverse projects forward. The planning was so good that even with multiple teams working on each building, no one got hemmed in by another floor finishing group laying tile or staining front and rear decks to inhibit another team's exit. All houses have water heaters, most decks are fully stained (with the exception of the steps of the home with our last interior work group), much trim was painted, a walkway with mulch was added as landscaping, and a large number of weeds were whacked away from the foundations.

Tile Masters showing off their craft! Only a few
feet left in the front, and some grout work.

The freshly mulched walkway will offer an
attractive way to get to the back of the home.

The team working on Francis' home had some of the more interesting stories today. Lucille's description of a freight train running over her house came back to mind when thinking about Francis' experience and what her home had gone through. She was in her home during the tornado, and as we learned on previous days, neighbors lost their homes and she had lost family.

Her heart was with the others, and she thought her home had survived the winds. In fact, Francis' house was severely damaged! The walls had all shifted, and the elements were able to get in and do some major water and mold damage. In the end, after months of work, others were able to bring the house back into a structurally sound condition, leaving the finishing touches for us.

Our team made a lot of progress in painting, trimming, and landscaping the house, as well as making some key discoveries which will help her make the house more durable for years to come. In clearing some of the dirt from the foundation, we found that the home is very near the water table. This can be evidenced by the water continually bubbling to the surface along the foundation, and the numerous crayfish mud piles in the yard. Joe, our contractor, has some ideas of how to protect her home, and it is the plan to fix this now rather than later.

Much dirt was moved at Francis' home.

Painting and trimming, her home was
looking more beautiful by the hour.

Precision trimming! Each piece was
checked and fitted for a nice, clean trim.

Foundation concerns at the waterline. Even with
regular pumping, this trench along her foundation
continued to fill with groundwater.

A lesson in nature, these mounds are created
by crayfish who burrow between a couple
inches and a couple feet for their nests. These
mounds indicate that the water table is not far below.

At the end of our day, we took Lucille up on her invitation to come by any time to see her home, built by other volunteers. She is a gracious hostess, and wonderful interior decorator! Her home was a model of fashion and hospitality.

Most of our 41 person crew filed into Lucille's
home to see the work other teams have done.

Our evening ended with a dinner at Pizza Inn, a tasty buffet where we could all indulge in the foods we had been avoiding while working in the heat. We continued to get to know one another, and shared stories of faith and mission. Overall, it has been a fantastic experience, and we hope many more will join us next year. Tomorrow we join one another for a prayer breakfast before returning home to our regular work, and those we love at home.

Day Two, and a Triple Digit Heat Index!

The heat was raised! Both in the amount of work we were called to do, and the heat index which reached 104 today! We watched one another, made sure we took water breaks regularly, and worked out of the sun as much as possible.

Our team split into three groups today. One continued working on the foundation we started on Thursday, and got the poor deal of having the least shade available.

A second team worked on Francis' house, who joined us for dinner last night. They did some inside painting work, as well as some outdoor leveling of the grounds around the house. Still outside, but with some options.

Don cutting vinyl flooring where one of
the water heaters will be installed.

Tina was a caulking machine,
trimming an entire house.

Our third team (and the one with the most cameras on tap) returned to the houses on Short street. We did some work on installing both tile and vinyl flooring, caulking and trimming the walls, staining front and back decks, landscaping, and even installing two water heaters!

Our landscaping team of Donna,
Bev and Karen helped to make
the outside look welcoming.

Jan does windows,
and does them well!

Kathy and Stephanie worked toward
becoming master tile layers.

 We also had the opportunity to meet and talk with Linda, without whose hard work, the recovery effort would not be making as much progress. We found out from her that, without the work of hundreds of volunteers such as ourselves, the community would still be in significant disrepair. The three houses we are working on are the last of the displaced reconstructions from the storms. Additional building will continue, but these will be to start moving the community forward and beyond the terrible memories that day of death and destruction brought. 

Linda is the caseworker for the MPCRC who brought this
neighborhood together with resources so the lives of those
affected by the tornadoes could begin to return to normal.

We once again enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Walker Hall, celebrating Shabbat, signifying the end of our week's work, though we are would still labor on the Sabbath, Saturday. The prayers were led by members of Temple Chai, and we all prayed in appreciation of our experiences so far.

We also had the privilege of hosting Lucille and some of her friends, who prepared lunch for us each day this week. They are a wonderful and giving group of angels who though affected by the destruction of November 17, 2013, want to give back to those of us who come to help.

Our guests for dinner this Shabbat evening. Lucille, center
in the green shirt, shared her moving story of survival
as her house was destroyed by the tornado, with her in it!

Tomorrow promises to be significant both because of the work we plan to complete, and the expectation of even higher temperatures. Please continue to pray for us, the work we are doing, our safety in labor, and the community we are here to help!

The Work Begins.

Thursday morning, we drove into Brookport, to the site of the First Baptist Church. The damage from the tornado has been mostly cleaned up by this time, but looking at the photo below, we can see that this area was heavily damaged by the storm.

Aerial photo of the damage just after the tornado,
just next to the church we are working near. 

Our work project for the morning was the foundation of a three unit home for seniors being constructed on the property next door. We found out that one of the displaced seniors whose home was destroyed is staying in a 8' x 20' shipping container, outfitted with windows and a small HVAC unit. This was all he and his family could do with the insurance money they received, and the community believes that they can do better for him.

The foundation had been poured, and cinder blocks laid to the height of the flood plain of the area, and our task was to fill in around the walls so the ground would be flat for drainage. The dirt was full of clay and concrete debris, and the work was back breaking in the heat. Our team did an amazing job, and people gave it their all in body, mind and spirit.

Several workers filling in the trench
around the foundation walls.

Some of the tools we got to use were the usual shovels and rakes for smoothing out the ground. A pick axe came handy to chop up the large clay chunks as well. Then, of course, were the power tools! We used drills to put holes in the sill boards and wrenches to attach it to the studs embedded in the concrete. Some of us grabbed power drills and screwdrivers to help beef up a material rack, storing lumber and piping for this and other recovery construction projects. And of course, the power tool of power tools, we had access to an end loader and backhoe! This came in handy for moving larger amounts of dirt to the general areas were it was needed, but the bulk of the work still had to be done by hand.

An end loader was popular to watch, though a lot of work
still remained in moving the dirt where it needed to go.

After lunch, some of our team headed to individual homes for some detail work. We installed a water heater in one home, worked on flooring in another, and did some finishing work in painting yet another which was already occupied. This was a welcomed change for the lucky laborers who got this last, air conditioned home.

Masking and painting, this was the final phase before the
homeowner, Francis, would make this house a home.

For dinner, we drove to Walker Hall for a wonderful dinner. We invited Frances, whose house we worked on, to join us. She shared the story of hearing storm warnings, hiding in her bathroom (homes in a flood plain don't have basements), hearing what she described as a freight train driven over her home, and come out to see her neighborhood flattened. Her home was damaged, but still standing, while those just across the street were gone. Francis' cousin was one of those killed in the storm that day, and her husband is still in rehab from the injuries he suffered, hoping to come home soon, though he will be alone.

Some of our work team sharing a photo op with Francis.

Our second day of work promises to be taxing, as the temperatures are projected to rise to the mid-90's, and heat index could be in the triple digits.

Keep us in your prayers for safe laboring, along with the people of Brookport who have much recovery yet to do.

On our way!

Welcome back to our story! Your story! God's story!

As with all good Mission stories, we always start with two rules.

1. Plan everything! Make sure you plan every detail you are aware of, leaving little or nothing to chance.

2. Be prepared to change those plans.

Just one week before leaving for Brookport, and to check our final details, Pastor Eric made a call to our coordinator to see if anything had changed. As it turned out, yes there was a change - our coordinator no longer worked there!

So in the interest of being led on a journey into the unknown, much as Abraham and Sarah may have done, though with less pressure, we checked in with another person who will be our guide this week. Our task list is less fuzzy, and our plans continue strongly into our second 'rule.'

This brings us to Wednesday afternoon, when we all met at Hope Lutheran Church in Buffalo Grove, IL for a wonderful send off lunch. We had a chance to catch up with our mission team mates, and meet some new friends from other congregations. Spirits were high, and smiles were all around as we waited for our bus.

Pastor Martha, as is her rich and wise way, shared with us what essentially is a Prayer Partner dynamic for our trip. We each pulled another person's name from a basket who we don't know very well, and are to pray for this person, revealing ourselves only at the end of the week.

Pastor Martha, sending us with a task of prayer.

 After lunch, we all boarded our air conditioned motor coach, piloted by the same wonderful driver as last year, Laura. We gathered for congregation pictures, and of course our group photo.

Our group shot. A motley crew with hearts of gold!

Our drive went well, stopping in Mt Vernon for a buffet dinner, arriving in Peducah, KY at our hotel at 9pm. We all settled in for a good night's sleep, and prepared for our first day of work beginning Thursday morning.