Day 2 Tuesday

Frank's Team
By Jack Daly
Today we continued to make progress, slowly yet with more assurance. Patching, sanding, tearning down and putting up wallboard. James, our homeowner, again a helpful bystander. He did eventually and finally find a plumber who began work installing his bathroom fixtures?a major event for someone who continues to be at least partially dependent on his mother/neighbor.
     James talked with us about the home behind his mobile home. We are truly working in a family compound that goes back several generations. It has provided the team with an always appreciated historical perspective to our work?one that makes our work more meaningful and sacred.
     We were joined part way through the day by Pastor Hagy. During our lunch break we traveled to three of the other teams' work sites, enjoying the benefits of a homemade lunch at Mr. & Mrs. Larch's. The team also visited the home we had worked on in 2008. Katrina had deposited eight feet of water at this home on Martin Luther King Drive. After all the effort our respective teams put into the home, Hurricane Rita then challenged the homeowner with another four feet of water. There seems to be no shelter from the storm for this elderly lady.
     Day Three will see us finishing the drywall and hopefully begin work on a new set of stairs.
     Our team functions well with the knowledge that we are but a small thread in a long rope of recovery and feel blessed that the sanctity of the home we have been privileged to work in has the immediacy of day-to-day achievement, yet for this family strengthens the net of its family's connectedness.

Ellis' Team
Day 2 has gone much better than Day 1. We received materials this morning for our roof. We were able to get the old tin roof off and were able to frame most of the new roof. Other jobs included painting the white trim in front of the house, cleaning out some flower beds and assorted electrical work by Tom Belair. Looking forward to a productive day tomorrow.

George's Team
By Leah R.
Approaching Joselyn's trailer you see a farm on one side with a large paddock, nicely painted house and a swimming pool in the back yard. Joselyn's house is a 56 by 14 food trailer. The siding is dirty. There is a blackened rotted poll in the ground with a light fixture at the top. Attached to the light and the pole, there is a live wire attached to several trees and connecting to an open area in the side of her house. Every time it rained she'd get shocked trying to turn on her light.
     That's not the only water damage Mrs. Hall has had to endure for the past 5 years. Intense leaking in her roof has damaged the ceiling as well as an entire wall in her back bedroom.
     My dad and George have almost completely repaired the roof after only 2 days, mainly with help from Zach, Frank and others. They laid down an entirely new roof.
With Karen, Preston and my help, Dave replaced the poll that was rotting and put the wire underground. It doesn't sound as spectacular as it really was.
     Frank and Rob tore out the wall in the back bedroom and replaced it to be pained soon. Frank and Zach tore out the walls in the bathroom, uncovering a hornet's nest and abandoned thankfully. Also they found that there was absolutely no insulation in the walls of the bathroom. With all the work we have done already we're estimating we'll be done or almost done by tomorrow.

Pete and Keith's Team
Second day at site! Cold day out 44 degrees and cloudy.
Sanding, sanding, sanding.
Mudding, mudding, mudding.
Sheetrock, sheetrock, sheetrock.
Siding, siding, siding.
Stairs, stairs, stairs
Work, work, work
Met Melissa and Jessica, homeowner's daughter and granddaughter. Melissa made us pasta for lunch, we are so spoiled! Just got a huge truckload of supplies. Should keep us busy for the rest of the week. The sun finally came out but still chilly.