Jim and I are volunteering with Mennonite Disaster Service at the Coastal Bend Texas RV Project. Coastal Bend is a broad term that includes nine counties that span along the curved area on the Gulf Coast. The RV park that MDS is located in is near Rockport TX.
Hurricane Harvey hit this area 2 years ago as a Category 4. It is hard to imagine but the campground we are located in was flooded, as well as the church we attended last Sunday which had 5 feet of water in it. Numerous homes and businesses are still boarded up, but much progress has been made.
Our Monday morning drive took us to Corpus Christi about 45 minutes away to the first home we are helping to finish. The traditional MDS group framed the home and we are helping to finish the inside.
So our first task was to sweep and clean the basic floor area and put in the insulation and get it inspected before we could do the drywall. It passed except for a little bit of caulking. Then the drywall installation started on the ceilings and walls.
Coffee break with our group of 9 people.
Jim's first job was to partially remove the tub so insulation could be installed behind it.
Getting a large load of drywall delivered which was then carried by the men of our group and the recovery committee.
Using the drywall lift is very helpful.
After the ceilings were in, Doug our director climbed in the attic to spread the insulation while another person funneled the insulation into the machine. It was a 30C day so it was sweat and sweat some more up there in the attic.
At devotions we were asked where did we see Jesus this week! I would have to say when I met the homeowners of the house we are helping to build. They dropped in to see us on Tuesday. They are in their sixties and she has terminal cancer and he has health issues as well. They have been living in a home without power and water and we know that they are not well off. On Wednesday they brought our group chicken, fries, bread and sweet tea for lunch.
Jim's impressions of Texas. Texas has crazy speed limits on their highways. Interstates with speeds up to 75 and 80 mph. With many state highways with 70 mph speed limits and that might be a two lane highway without shoulders. A digital highway sign states 2687 fatalities this year on TX highways. We arrived back to our camp on Thursday afternoon to police car flashers in front of our campground with a white pickup having rolled through the ditch. Maybe too much speed for rain covered roads. A real prayer concern for our team as we travel to our job site on the other side of Corpus Christi.
Enjoying Friday breakfast with our team.
As a Saturday morning outing Jim and I visited the demonstration gardens of the master gardeners open house.
The gardens are designed and maintained by Master Gardener volunteers as educational tools to demonstrate plant materials and landscape schemes suitable for the Coastal Bend.
I won one of the door prizes of a white greggii salvia shrub. We decided to offer it to our campground owner and plant it for her.
Granny's Prairie Garden is the children's garden.
A beautiful sunset taken out our back door.
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