Tears.
My daughter Maya was at the computer yesterday and while she was working on it, she suddenly turned it off, closed it up, and ran crying to Mommy. Yvonne asked her what she was crying about and she blubbered, "I miss my Daddy and sometimes I think he's not coming back." That broke my heart. The thought of her tears flowing for me just makes me want to be home sooner.
I needed a break from it all so I went to New Orleans to pick up the rest of the crew. It seemed like a good idea. Drive down Interstate 12, blast the tunes, and clear my head. I was thinking about nothing in particular...about 20 miles down the road, out of nowhere, I just started to cry.
The tears wouldn't stop. Uncontrollable tears for about 5-10 minutes and then they were gone.
Our Lord cried for us. It seems only right that we do the same for others.
Glen
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Using Your Talents. . .
The Red Team. . . I have no words that can actually describe this group of servants. They are beyond awesome.
As we drove into the Devonshire St. worksite our "fresh team members" got to see National Gaurdsman and Police directing traffic into a FEMA distribution site. The folks affected by the storm are starting to recieve debit cards from FEMA and the Red Cross to help rebuild their lives. The line to the distribution site was long.
Talents . . . Jack using his IT Skills and also his hammer(not simultaneous). Glen physician and demo team leader. Paul Sale good with a crow bar and moving trash cans and being the roadmaster. Bob Hinton is a workhorse with lots of talent. Helen Hinton has been making a difference in the office, organizing. Brenda Smith took on warehouse organization. Jim Smith is working on facilities projects. Rose and Tina too on the sheetrock demo today with a flair. Oleta Sipes works and works (and has a great sense of humor). Brian Smith has a heart of Gold and does a great joke about Cal Trans(ask him about the Cal Trans Calendar). Lynn Couch is dilegent. Monte and Joan are a great team. Pam and Art are a great brother/sister combo. I thank God forletting me be on this team each moment.
Tonite six team members got to say good-bye to the group. I felt moisture on my cheeks as each of them talked about what an impression this place has made on them. It must have been dew or something 'cause real men don't show emotions do they? What a swirl of emotions tonite, missing family, laughing at stories of our team, sad for those who have lost most of what mattered to them except for family. I wish each of you could be here with me.
Its late, its time for bed, we have more adventures tomorrow.
Pray for us!
Buddy
As we drove into the Devonshire St. worksite our "fresh team members" got to see National Gaurdsman and Police directing traffic into a FEMA distribution site. The folks affected by the storm are starting to recieve debit cards from FEMA and the Red Cross to help rebuild their lives. The line to the distribution site was long.
Talents . . . Jack using his IT Skills and also his hammer(not simultaneous). Glen physician and demo team leader. Paul Sale good with a crow bar and moving trash cans and being the roadmaster. Bob Hinton is a workhorse with lots of talent. Helen Hinton has been making a difference in the office, organizing. Brenda Smith took on warehouse organization. Jim Smith is working on facilities projects. Rose and Tina too on the sheetrock demo today with a flair. Oleta Sipes works and works (and has a great sense of humor). Brian Smith has a heart of Gold and does a great joke about Cal Trans(ask him about the Cal Trans Calendar). Lynn Couch is dilegent. Monte and Joan are a great team. Pam and Art are a great brother/sister combo. I thank God forletting me be on this team each moment.
Tonite six team members got to say good-bye to the group. I felt moisture on my cheeks as each of them talked about what an impression this place has made on them. It must have been dew or something 'cause real men don't show emotions do they? What a swirl of emotions tonite, missing family, laughing at stories of our team, sad for those who have lost most of what mattered to them except for family. I wish each of you could be here with me.
Its late, its time for bed, we have more adventures tomorrow.
Pray for us!
Buddy
Chad Thatcher
Chad Thatcher is a NASA aerospace engineer who had finished remodeling the home he bought in Slidell just a month ago. The whole neighborhood caught a six-foot storm surge that remained as a four-foot lake for several days.
When we arrived, Chad had already removed the bottom four feet of drywall and insulation in most of the rooms. The bathrooms were still “intact,” with black mold all the way to the ceilings. It smelled nastier than words can describe, forcing us to wear filters all day.
Today was relatively comfortable—80 degrees and 80% humidity. We still sweated about a gallon, as measured by our water intake and the fact that no one needed to use the porta-potty.
In three and a half hours, fourteen of us removed all drywall, insulation and the remaining possessions. By the time we left, you could see clear through the rooms, with only the skeleton of studs remaining.
Chad said, “I can’t find words to tell you all how grateful I am. This would have taken me forever to complete.”
We came to be a blessing to others and left blessed ourselves.
Tonight we are invited to eat with the next door neighbor. The neighbor has many trees on the back end of his property. Many of those trees were either blown down or snapped off halfway to the top. A FEMA-approved contractor bid on the tree removal job--$50,000. That same day, Rich (King of Chainsaws) walked over to ask the neighbor, as a favor to the Hilltop organization, could we please use his damaged trees for practice in training chainsaw apprentices? Heh. Our crews have been "practicing" there ever since. The menu includes Gator Sausage, some crawfish dish, and I heard the word Etoufee in the list of a dozen or more items. Yummy! I believe the dish with Nutria in it was intended as a joke. Nutrias look like a rat on steroids, probably containing plenty of meat, but rodents are not normally my style.
Jack [filthy but happy]
When we arrived, Chad had already removed the bottom four feet of drywall and insulation in most of the rooms. The bathrooms were still “intact,” with black mold all the way to the ceilings. It smelled nastier than words can describe, forcing us to wear filters all day.
Today was relatively comfortable—80 degrees and 80% humidity. We still sweated about a gallon, as measured by our water intake and the fact that no one needed to use the porta-potty.
In three and a half hours, fourteen of us removed all drywall, insulation and the remaining possessions. By the time we left, you could see clear through the rooms, with only the skeleton of studs remaining.
Chad said, “I can’t find words to tell you all how grateful I am. This would have taken me forever to complete.”
We came to be a blessing to others and left blessed ourselves.
Tonight we are invited to eat with the next door neighbor. The neighbor has many trees on the back end of his property. Many of those trees were either blown down or snapped off halfway to the top. A FEMA-approved contractor bid on the tree removal job--$50,000. That same day, Rich (King of Chainsaws) walked over to ask the neighbor, as a favor to the Hilltop organization, could we please use his damaged trees for practice in training chainsaw apprentices? Heh. Our crews have been "practicing" there ever since. The menu includes Gator Sausage, some crawfish dish, and I heard the word Etoufee in the list of a dozen or more items. Yummy! I believe the dish with Nutria in it was intended as a joke. Nutrias look like a rat on steroids, probably containing plenty of meat, but rodents are not normally my style.
Jack [filthy but happy]
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