Not sure what Douglas and Brittany were trying to explain to Jonathon at lunch.....Today was summed up by the following two words---connections and patience. (I'm not very good with that 2nd one!) Rain was forecast so painting was our for our crew so we followed up with Miss Anna to find out about the friend she had that needed some help and we tried to get in touch with Sam, the dog person, to see if we could do any work for him. Doug's crew was back doing finish work and Bill back out installing appliances. We went to Maria's house after calling her first without any idea of what she needed done. Having spent most of the morning trying to track down folks and make contact we were ready for just about anything. (Remember that there were 16 other people out working at other sites.) Maria showed us two rooms that had been badly painted--one needed another coat as what was there was very uneven and the previous painters had gotten paint on the ceiling and ceiling paint on the walls.... Maria spent a lot of time with us telling her story---one of th
e most important things we do is to listen to those. She has to be out of her Katrina Cottage by the end of February. Evidently today's paper talked about recent evictions as the cottages were taken away and the people left homeless!!! They were desperate for electrical help so Bill came over later in the afternoon too.So much to tell and so little time at this point---the FEMA trailer that made them all sick, the missing check that hasn't arrived and to reissue will take 2 months which they don't have to meet the deadline...how she and others in the community help each other....etc. She was very concerned about her neighbors who have been so depressed that they haven't really been able to do much and they have the same deadline. Maria and Ricky don't have plumbing or floors in--no electricity, etc. and she is taking us over to see if we c
an help her neighbors!! Phyllis is an artist and invited us in while she finished the color she was doing on a painting. She gave us a list of things that needed to be done and would love the help. One group has already gutted the house and another worked on the roof but didn't finish. The house needs levelling, windows and doors, electricity, plumbing, etc. She was hoping to 
buy the Katrina Cottage and keep working on their house but she's been told she can't have 2 residences on the property.... Connections brought us from Sam to Miss Caroline--The Cat Lady --20-50 cats in residence the crew there has reported and then Miss Anna led us to Maria's family and she has led us to Phyllis and Lee. Our crew is pictured above with Maria and Ricky.The death defying daredevil award goes to Debbie today as she climbed scaffolding to scrape and sand paint off a beam (left when other volunteers painted) so that the beam could be stained.
As always the day ended with dinner, singing, sharing about our days and devotions led by one of the kids. Not only are there connections between us and the residents but we build connections with each other as well. Hoping that it won't rain tomorrow I'm off to get some rest!
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