Mission Trip Day 3 - More Fun in the Sun!

Hot child in the City! Remember that song by Nick Gilder? Well I definitely felt like the 'hot child' this week! Today was another seriously hot work day. Temps in the upper 90s and a heat index of 118. Habitat for Humanity has a policy that they do not allow volunteers to work too long in weather where the Heat Index is above 114 so today was a few hours shorter than usual. But having said that, we were still on the work site from 8:30am to 3pm today.


We got a lot accomplished today. We completed the construction of two sheds. finished installing the window frames in one house and had begun doing so one a second, we finished painting the railings for a porch, and started work on building a side porch to allow people to exit the house from the kitchen area.

We also got to do some organizing the the Habitat warehouse not too far from the job site. The place was a good size and filled with cabinetry for about five different homes. We had to get all the cabinetry organized into groups so that it will be easier for them to load and transport the stuff after it has all been 'clear coated'.


Then we loaded a large truck with tons of scrap sheet metal left over from their housing development work. They were going to take all that stuff to a place that recycles metal and get some money for it, which they can then turn around and spend on more materials. Pretty cool!


The other 9 work teams worked on demolition of a house which had been built with substandard sheet rock from China. There is a big lawsuit going on how between the USA and China over these materials which had been sold to large stores like Lowes and 84 Lumber, etc. This poor family has to gut their house to remove all this stuff and then have the house pretty much rebuild with the right kind of materials. Such a shame because the house is really nice. The family, which has a little girl, is so nice. In fact, they came to our Eucharist service this evening to express their gratitude for our help.

I have to say that I am really tired today. After a very busy day at the work site, and the oppressive heat, my van group had kitchen duty for dinner. So after we showered and got a few minutes of rest, we went down to the hot kitchen and prepared dinner for the whole team of 63 people. It was pretty tasty! Chicken Tenders and/or Baked Chicken Breast, with a salad bar, and a fully decked out Baked Potato Bar, plus drinks and Oreo cookies for dessert. We also had selections for vegetarians, diabetics, and those on a low-fat diet. We covered all the bases! By the time we were done, I felt like I needed another shower!

Then at 7:30pm, we had a nice Eucharist celebration, complete with engaging music, an engaging sermon from Deacon Lee, and fun fellowship. At first, we were going to have the service on the beach, but the weather did not cooperate -- it started raining -- so we decided to have it at the worship space here at LakeShore.

I was so tired! I am pleased to be able to go back to the dorm and finally lay down (well, after I post this blog). A little Advil for my aching back and I should be good as new for tomorrow!

Tomorrow will be a full day with some fun at the end. Once we all finish our work, most of us will go to the beach for some swimming time! Others will take a tour of Bay St. Louis and Waveland to show the effects and rebuilding efforts since Katrina struck. Then after dinner, it will be time to start packing and getting ready to head back to Chicagoland on Friday.