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.