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.
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| Don cutting vinyl flooring where one of the water heaters will be installed. |
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| 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!
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| Our landscaping team of Donna, Bev and Karen helped to make the outside look welcoming. |
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| Jan does windows, and does them well! |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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