Day 1

It's 6:20 a.m., we have finished breakfast are making bag lunches and will be heading off to our worksite by 7:00 a.m. which we are told will take about 30 minutes to get there. We will be doing demolition work at a home where the water level reached ten feet. Demolition work means tearing out all floors, wall board kitchen cabinets--everything but ceramic tile that is embedded in cement. The goal is to expose the studs and let the inside dry out. Some of the homes have been shut up for thirteen months so you can imagine the sight and smell when you first open it. We cannot do any work until the homeowner arives and gives us permission to enter. We will head back to our "home" around 4:00 p.m. to avoid rush hour traffic.

Our "home" is behind the First Union Presbyterian church and our "houses" consist of plasticized corrugated cardboard pods. Believe it or not, they do keep the water out--last night we endured about a half hour torrential downpour. Other than a stream of water running across on the floor, there were no leaks from the roof.

Please keep us in your prayers today as we head out for work that we find a good rhythm together and that we make a good connection with the homeowner we will be helping.