House Blessing - Thanksgiving - Christmas Light Show

 Annette and I did the remaining jobs before the house blessing.

 Tuesday Jim installed carpeting at Ms Candice's home.

This week Tuesday the MDS family gathered with Mr. Frank and Ms Mary and their family, friends and the Florida Recovery Team personnel for a time of sharing heart felt feelings. A welcome and introductions was followed by Ken sharing a brief history of MDS.
The program included a house blessing litany including everyone in some way.

The presentations of a Bible by Keith and Carol, a quilted wall hanging by Jim & Annette and a quilt by Bert and Doreen.

Their daughter Brenda presented plaques to MDS and the Florida Recovery Team extending the heart-felt thanks from the family.
A slow southern style song of thanks to God flowed from the souls of the black members of the audience.
The pastor of their church had the closing prayer. The refreshments for this event was a "Welcome Home" cake and coffee and pop. It was a joy for us to bring another family home.

Ms Brenda with the Florida Recovery Team.

After the presentations, opportunity was given for responses. Ms Mary began by thanking all the volunteers, followed by Mr. Frank with his thank you and then telling us that he did not think he had that much time left here on earth but that he would be waiting to greet us when we came to heaven meaning that he was a Christian and knew that we were. Tears were wiped and heart strings were tugged.

The November MDS group.

It was once again a very memorable experience for us and all of our group that bound more people to our hearts, confirming in our minds the value of our service to others.

 

Our Thursday American Thanksgiving work day was interrupted by an invitation for a Thanksgiving lunch meal at the Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church. In the evening a couple in the campground graciously provided supper for us too.

 

On a sunny but cool Friday our group went to Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile, AL to see the gardens and the evening Christmas light show. We walked through the gardens in the afternoon but stayed till they turned on the lights at night. Here are a few pictures of the magnificent Christmas light show.

 A bamboo grove made a good setting for the "Under the Sea" feature complete with Caribbean steel drum music.

 Water reflections.

Hard Work makes for Hearty Appetites

Service to others is the reason for our work here. While our group has been working at four different homes Jim and I have been at only two. On Monday Annette went to Ms Candice's home while Jim returned to Mr. Frank's house to work at cutting the remaining baseboards for the rooms that require carpet installation. These were marked and set aside so the carpet layers could do their job. The weather cooled down considerably which made it difficult for floor tiles to stick, so Carol used a heat gun to improve on that. Another item for Jim was to move a wall mounted light fixture from behind the door to a more central spot to illuminate the room better.

Ms Candice's home had been flooded and four feet of wall cut out by another group. Her walls were wood boards and that is hard to replace. Our group put in drywall, as well as new plywood and floor tile and a moulding to tie the boards and drywall together. For Annette the work this week has been everything from sanding drywall, painting walls, staining and varnishing trim boards and a variety of miscellaneous jobs.
Jim installed the tub surround and some door trim and baseboard in this home.

After a cool morning we enjoyed the sunshine while having our break.

Bert and Harold putting up the crown molding to create that finished look.

Jim installed the medicine cabinet which Annette refurbished with a new coat of spray paint.

Ms Candice with the guys who were working there on Thursday.

This week was our turn to treat our fellow MDSers with a stir fry cooked in our large wok. The stir fry was complimented by the others bringing salads and desserts. Thanks to Ken for the use of his propane heater. The meal was enjoyed by all.

Friday breakfast at a restaurant is a tradition with most MDS groups and it seems like we try out as many local restaurants as possible! This time we went to "Another Broken Egg", a southern version of our Canadian "Cora's" chain.
Annette had the Cinnamon Roll French Toast - a great choice while Jim had Sweet Potato Pancakes.

Friday after breakfast Jim and I went to Foley AL to an Outlet Mall to do some shopping. We found some bargains to make the trip worthwhile. On our way there we spotted a place selling pecans so we stopped at this family run pecan farm which was in the midst of harvesting their new crop and running them through their cracker. We had a choice of three varieties all of which tasted great. We chose a 10 lb. bag of the Mooreland variety which should easily last till spring. As time allows we will crack some and roast them to bring out their tasty flavors. Looking forward to some tasty Pecan Pie. Sorry no picture here.

In our volunteering we often cross paths with other church related recovery teams. It is said that the Methodists and the Mennonites stay the long term, after other groups have pulled out. The Methodists and the Mennonites are referred to the M&M's by others.

The Revamped Tool Trailer Arrives

Years ago as we started a new term of service at an MDS site we began to learn where to find the tools we needed for the job at hand. Each time with a different trailer and a different layout of where to find the required tools. Well this week we received a newly revamped tool trailer with boxes and shelves for seemingly all that was needed. This is the second of three similiarly laid out units. With its arrival comes one more retraining where to find and return tools too. With time the needed equipment will hopefully come together. The one and half hour turn over of checking for and moving any items we wanted from the old trailer to the new trailer was too short and created all sorts of frustrations.
For example, next day as Jim worked on hooking up the kitchen sink drain, he realized the box of "surplus plumbing parts" stayed in the old trailer and that went back to Columbus MS where the MDS warehouse is located.
Canvas covers are fastened over the front to hold things in place while driving.

 Another week has flown by. Our crew was split into three, each working on different homes. Keith, Jim and I were at Mr. Frank's to move this house closer to completion. A variety of things got done this week at Mr. Frank's, kitchen counters were mounted and caulked, kitchen sink installed, laying down vinyl tile, nailing baseboard and caulking them in about half the house and a variety of small jobs. The ceramic floors were to be professionally cleaned but after getting the quote, Annette and Carol were asked to do the needed cleaning on these floors. The bathroom got completed by Keith, and is looking great.

This week Wednesday we were invited to another supper. This time at the Soundside United Methodist Church Campus. Here we got chili, hot dogs, salad and ice cream and toppings for dessert. It is great to have supper made for us.

This Catholic Church in downtown Mobile, AL was completed in 1850. We viewed it while waiting to meet our MDS friends from Hattiesburg, MS for brunch.

It was good to renew friendships over brunch at A Spot of Tea, in Mobile. After lots of eating and visiting we all went to a nearby museum called the Richards DAR House Museum. It was a house from the Victorian era, which was built in 1860. We got a guided tour which was interesting but the guide was somewhat long winded.

The original owner, Mr. Richards used his home to display products that he was selling like the fancy metal work on the exterior. The Richards family sold the home to a cement company who still own it. Now it is furnished by The Daughters of the American Revolution and run as a museum.

This home featured several ornate brass light fixtures which once burned gas and known as gasoliers.

Life is an Adventure

 The October group were glad to be joined by three more Manitoba couples for the next month.

This week Bert had a second location for some of our group and three of our men went to this home. Our fourth week at Mr. Frank's house has brought it to the point where each project is getting this job site looking more like home again. Activities included painting the remaining walls, exterior doors, touchups on walls, door trim and window sill painting, cabinet instalation and all sorts of cleaning from chandelier to ceiling fans, bathtub and windows.

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The Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church has been instrumental in getting crews of volunteers to their community. On Wednesday they invited us for an appreciation supper for volunteers. We were thanked and the pastor prayed a prayer of blessing for us.

Instead of our usual potluck on Thursday we had an evening of socializing around a campfire with the NOMADS, who are also stationed at the same campground. The NOMADS are a service mission from the United Methodist Church and are doing similar work as our MDS group. We learned that the accroymn NOMADS, could also mean - Northern Old Men Avoiding Deep Snow. We had an enjoyable time visiting with them and sharing stories about our work. They told us that we should know that the "Mennonites" as we are called are very well known and respected in disaster recovery.

Friday the NAS, Naval Air Station was putting on a free airshow for the city as a thank you for the support they receive. So Friday late afternoon and evening we joined thousands of others to enjoy the skilful showmen and their flying machines. We chose to take in the evening show because it included a nighttime show as well as fireworks. The fireworks were being set off from the planes as they were flying their aerobatic stunts. This was a new adventure for us.

 The Blue Angels aerobatic team is hard to photograph - to fast.

All lined up and on display.

 Our favorites were the 10 member Team AeroDynamix who put on a spectacular night air show.

In Acts 8:26-40 the story of Philip and the Ethiopian official makes me wonder about times when God places us in situations with people to receive or give a blessing. Read Annette's hair cut experience.
On Friday morning I went to a local hairdresser recommended to me by one of our group. I came in at 9:15 and asked if she had an opening and she said she had a 20 minute slot and yes she could do it. Then while sitting in her chair she had a call from her next client telling her that he was stuck in traffic and would be late. In talking about what we were doing here in Pensacola, she said this was to be, like a God thing that she had time to fit me in. Then when I wanted to pay at the counter the cashier, her mother went to talk to the hairdresser. She came back and said "no charge", since we were volunteering too. What a blessing to receive.

This morning we attended the church service at Flounder's Restaurant at Pensacola Beach called Worship at the Water. It was a very unique time of worship. Their warm weather services take place on the out door patio, where as today's chilly morning moved the service indoors.

MDS Happenings

The pictures the homeowners showed us indicated the water marks till the botton of the mail box. The water depth at the street would have been at Annette's hip from the April 29th rain.

 The morning routine of bringing out needed tools for the days work.

We have completed three weeks of work on Mr. Frank's house. Over half of the house is painted, the walls are textured and work has begun on hanging doors.
Annette did many hours of painting which included more doors. Last week we painted four doors that we found out were the wrong size for this house so had to be returned. Besides texturing walls, Jim created a new tub surround using fibreglass reinforced plastic. These repetitive tasks which continued day after day made for very tired bodies, with aches to match.

 The ladies appreciated Keith painting the ceilings.

On Thursday afternoon Bert and Doreen, our directors went to check out the next two places we will be working on.
One couple pulled in Friday and two more couples joined us on Saturday, so we need more jobs to keep everyone busy.
As more volunteers arrive at our campground for MDS and other organizations we are becoming more cramped for space. We had a fifth wheel with four slideouts, set up beside us in what used to be our truck parking spot.

Friday was predicted to be the last really nice day this week so we headed to Pensacola Beach and Fort Pickens which are both located on part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. At Fort Pickens we hiked the birding trails and walked the beach which made a very enjoyable afternoon.

 Here they have sand clearing instead of snow clearing.

On Saturday Jim & I went to the NAS (Navel Air Station) Museum and enjoyed about four hours there. We took in the Imax show called "The Magic of Flight".

This model aircraft carrier shows how the navy uses aircraft in their service.

 One of many vintage aircraft on display.

 This helicopter was used for the presidents travels.

 Jim thinks he should try out for the Blue Angels.

Next weeks blog post should have more photos about the amazing pilots who fly these planes.