Subject: Re: Electrical inspection
Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2007

Earl wrote:

The electrical inspector was there this morning and we passed with flying colors! He suggested that I put the refrigerator on a circuit of its own, which I said I'd do. He said, "Well y'all really don't have to..." and I said I'd be glad to do it. He smiled and made a note. He had a suggestion or two for the plumbing guys and then after looking around some more said, in that Mississippi drawl, "Ya know, ah believe thet you folks will do what y'all say ya will; a'm goin' ta sighn this fannel inspection form and ah won't be back."

> Are Richard and Lisa happy to see the new team?

They don't think of us as strangers any more and they're interacting with us much more now. I feel a real bond of friendship forming. Lisa accessed our website and put a thank you note on it saying,"I would like to express, our gratitude toward this Church. We are recovering from Hurricane Katrina, and the kind people of this church has came to help us..We are very blessed to have some of the members working on our house. May God Bless each and everyone of you.. Lisa Collins"

> How is the plumbing coming along?

They're still working on it.

> Did the power and water get trenched to the home?

We called the power company today right after passing the inspection, so they are coming out tomorrow for a site survey to scope out the installation. Of course, up until now, nobody had said anything about a circuit for the water pump, but luckily there's room left in the outside entrance panel. We'll trench in the power cable and water line at the same time. They really need an insulated enclosure around the pump and pressure tank, too... they had a blanket over them with a heat lamp underneath....

> We are supposed to get a little dusting(?) of snow tonight, but it is
> not to amount to much. the temp is been in the single digits at
> night, but is to return to the 20's and maybe 30's towards the end of
> the week.

Subject: Re: Thanks
Date: Wed, Mar 7, 2007
Karen Bullock wrote:

> David

> Rev. Karen Bullock
> Associate Pastor
> Westminster Presbyterian Church
> Gulfport, MS

Rev. Bullock,
It is we who must thank you and the people of Westminster Presbyterian for your hospitality and support of our ministry here. Your actions have touched thousands of lives, both hurricane victims and the volunteers who have come here to do the Lord's work.

I just got back from the Wednesday church supper... soup and sandwiches.... I was standing there beforehand talking to some church members and a tiny little grey haired lady came over with her tripod cane and said with a big smile, "My name is Helen, will you be my man tonight?" So I sat with her and Margaret and Maybelle; they all had stories and they all were glad to see me. The people of Westminster Pres. are so hospitable, so resilient, so appreciative, so centered; I could almost begin to believe that a hurricane is a good thing for a community.

Blessings to you,

Subject: Wednesday Hospitality Supper
Date: Thu, Mar 8, 2007

I just got back from the church supper... soup and sandwiches.... I was standing there beforehand talking to some church members and a tiny little grey haired lady came over with her tripod cane and said with a big smile, "My name is Helen, will you be my man tonight?" So I sat with her and Margaret and Maybelle; they all had stories and they were all a lot of fun.

Maybelle was the youngest, in her 70's; her late husband an FBI agent. She stayed here during the storm and carried a gun with her afterward until services were restored. Imagine staying by yourself with no power, no water, no gasoline, no lights. She said for a while that it was practically every man for himself. When you looked her in the eye, you could see that there was a warrior inside....

Margaret and her husband, both in their 80's, took refuge in their attic and their lives were spared when the storm surge finally leveled out with six feet of water in the house! They lost most of their belongings, including all the antique china that belonged to Margaret's parents. They were able to save the house.

Helen was the oldest, in her late 80's, a great sense of humor and a charter member of the church. Her family made her go to her son's place during the storm. She said when she finally came back and drove down her street, her first impulse was to turn around and never come back. Everybody's furniture and appliances and most belongings were piled on both sides of the road. Armageddon. Her house was mostly untouched by the storm because of her late husband, "C.A." deciding to build the house on high ground on an elevated foundation. Many of her lady friends lost their homes and decided to leave Gulfport, but she's still here, picking up strange men....

These people are so hospitable, so resilient, so appreciative, so centered; you begin to believe that a hurricane is a good thing for a community.

Subject: Water Line and Gumbo
Date: Thu, Mar 8, 2007

Today was grueling! We were supposed to get a trenching machine out there to run the water line and pump wiring from the house some 75 feet to the well. I talked to Lynn Lanier, the volunteer coordinator, this morning and he said that not only would it be difficult to get the machine out there anytime soon, but it would be very expensive by the time all was said and done. So-o-o, I decided to get my three weeks worth of exercise in one day. When we got there this morning I set up a string along the route I wanted the water line to run and started digging. I dug until noon, had lunch, and dug some more.... I got about 3/4 of the way done when Jim Haag and his son Dan finished up another job they were doing and offered to help me. We had the digging completed in another half an hour and then I asked them to help me start to hook up the water line.

Well, Jim runs water lines for a living in such places as hospitals and dialysis centers, so he and Dan took hold of fabricating some metal transitions from the water tank to the plastic water line, while I started assembling the lengths of plastic line. In about an hour, the entire water line was hooked up! All I have to do now is run the electrical wiring in the trench, hook it up, and shovel the dirt back.

If the Haags hadn't come along, I'd probably just be finished with the digging. It was hot out there, too. I had to drink a lot plus keep wetting down my arms and head with cold water out of a garden hose.

Everybody else was working in the house at or beyond their own personal capacities, trying to get the drywall up and mudded. Wait until you see some pictures of the goings on; people covered with drywall dust, obviously exhausted, and still smiling!

Part of the reason they were smiling was that Richard and Lisa Collins put on a homemade chicken/sausage gumbo lunch for us with peach cobbler for dessert.

God doesn't give you anything you can't handle... I'm sure that's in the scriptures some place....

> Are you finished with wiring?

The wiring itself is all run, except for the pump circuit. I still have all the outlets, switches, and lights to install.

> What does it look like Jan & I will be doing at the house?

They're still trying to finish drywalling, although part of the crew has been taping and mudding as much as possible. Right now it looks like you'll probably still be taping and mudding. Depending on how many other workers get assigned to us, we may get to priming and painting next week.

> Can you ask Judy Jaggard what food of Charlie's is left, & if she can check the supply freezer in the hall? She may have an idea what Jan & I should bring, or pick up on the way.

You guys shouldn't have to worry about the food. You need to be out on the job and let some other group take hold of it. Judy said she was going to take an inventory, but she agreed that it wouldn't be your responsibility.

I'm going to lay low on Saturday. What time do you think you'll roll in on Sunday?

Subject: Milestone
Date: Tue, Mar 13, 2007

The power company is also scheduled to hook us up tomorrow, so things are coming together. The septic tank was pumped today but no word on the drain field yet.

We had another late day and almost didn't make it back in time for 6:30 supper. Jan and Marilyn were primarily mudding and sanding but also did stints on keeping the house in order and Marilyn even did some work on the wiring for me.

When we first got there 2-1/2 weeks ago, with just the framing, it was dark like a cave inside; but the house is really bright inside now even with no paint!

If anybody has any text about the first two weeks they'd o.k. for use on the website, email it and we'll try to get to it. It's all part of our team effort!

Subject: More Progress
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 15, 2007
Hi,

Wednesday morning the electric company knifed in the power line and and connected up the transformer on the pole. Unfortunately, the latest word is that the power company won't put in the meter, thus giving us power in the house, until the bathroom and kitchen are "functional". Oh well....

The good news is that the Fort Collins crew and Jan and Marilyn got to the priming stage in some areas of the house, hence the smiles and rollers!

Subject: Richard and Lisa
Date: Thu, Mar 15, 2007

Multiple notes this morning during breakfast, Here is Lisa's latest entry in the website guestbook:
"This is the last week that we are being blessed with members from the Rock Prairie Presbyterian Church. They may be leaving our home, but they will never be forgotten. When I walk into our home, I will always remember the Blessing that God brought to us by putting us in this Wonderful Church's path. May God Bless Each and everyone...with all our love, Richard and Lisa Collins.
Lisa Collins, Saucier, Mississippi U.S.A. - Wednesday, March 14, 2007"

Wednesday at the Westminister fellowship dinner,Marilyn and Jan and I sat with some of my church lady friends and one of them, 87 year old Helen Walker, invited the three of us over to her home afterward to visit with her. She only lived three blocks away from the church so she drove us over to her place and then we walked back after a pleasant time with her. Helen volunteers at the church three days a week, answering the phone and putting the bulletin together.

Subject: Katrina Update
Date: Thu, Mar 15, 2007

Hi Everybody,
More progress today. Lots of priming and finish painting! Also some more mudding and sanding. The Fort Collins crew is doing a great job, but stuff isn't drying as fast as we'd like. We had some storms go through and the humidity is slowing down the process. I guess we're on God's schedule.

It's going to be really hard to leave without seeing Richard and Lisa move in. It just dawned on us that we might have to say our goodbyes tomorrow.... I told Marilyn that there is a good liklihood of our having "car trouble" and not being able to leave on schedule.

Today Lisa made red beans and rice for us with more banana pudding. Also homemade corn bread and corn fritters, plus chips and homemade hot salsa. The picture is of her telling all of us the story of the first time she went to the Piggly Wiggly in Wiggins, MS, and nobody in the store had any shoes on.... Hilarious!

So far there have been 21 different Fort Collins people out at the house during the week. I have a complete list of names. I know God will provide people with just the right gifts for next week, like He did this week. I'd just like to stick around and meet them.

Subject: Friday of third week
Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2007

Just a picture to show the hard-working Fort Collins crew.... And another to show the kitchen ceiling with fixtures and finished paint.

Lynn says that next week will bring some painting experts to finish the walls and baseboard painting, and some people with flooring experience. The Lord is providing.... The window sills are all primed and painted and ready to install.

The kitchen cabinets are all picked out with Lisa's approval, thanks to Earl's "sheetrock blueprint". We even ran it through a copy machine. Bathroom sinks and vaniities are also picked out.

Jackie sent Lisa a CD with over 200 pictures from the first two weeks of construction and she was thrilled with it!

Subject: The End
Date: Mon, Mar 19, 2007
Hello Fellow Missionaries,

Rock Prairie's current involvement with the Collins home ended today as we finished up the last electrical circuit around 5:30pm! Even though the power company didn't have us hooked up, I was able to check my work with the "Presbyterian Power Company". It was so great to see the porch lights and kitchen lights go on... the place is really looking more like a home all the time! Richard and Lisa were pleased.

We were joined by six people from Meyers Park Presbyterian in Charlotte, NC. A 4000 member church! This time God sent all adults who were talented in painting, finish carpentry, door installation, and just plain hard work. Zach's friend, Solie, also worked with us today. The Lord does provide.

All the painting is completed with a few nice touchups on some of the rougher mudding. The place is pretty much all cleared out, cleaned out, vacuumed out, and the window sills plus some trim underneath are all done.

Lynn asked for a door estimate from Lowe's the middle of last week and they still hadn't gotten to it by Friday, so he went to 84 Lumber Friday. Consequently, Meyers Park ran out of materials and projects around 4:00 today so they went back early. They'll regroup tomorrow and get with Lynn for some direction.

Marilyn and I are heading down to the Florida Panhandle to get some sand in our shorts. We hope you all are experiencing the high that comes with a job well done... you all deserve it! We'll see you next week, God willing.