Saturday, July 29, 2017

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!


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