DAY ONE

We started early this morning, arriving in Galveston at Crockett United Methodist Church, where our work was under the auspices of UMCOR, the Methodist equivalent of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.  Here on the Gulf Coast, an umbrella organization has been formed that includes Presbyterians, Methodists, Catholics, and others.  The Presbyterians are the ones who focus on hospitality---the housing, the planning, and a limited amount of supplied tools.  The Methodists focus on establishing the bona fides of those in need and in connecting the work crews with the appropriate clients.

While waiting for Sandy, the project manager, we spent time talking to a group from Redstone Presbytery in Pennsylvania and after some delay were ushered into the orientation session.  There we learned that we would be working on a house that had been in the course of restoration to ADA standards by various groups since the storm.  Over the course of the work, the handicapped husband of the couple died and yet because of the age of  his widow, the house remained a likely candidate not only for return to its pre-storm state but also for handicapped accessibility.  The electrical box had to be lowered, along with all the complications that come along with moving a box loaded with wires from every corner of the house.  In addition, we would be installing insulation, sheetrocking the entire house, and taping and floating to finish.

Jim, Ron, and I tackled the box.  The rest of the folks essentially had the insulation finished by lunchtime.  One of the staff members then arrived with a load of sheetrock---lots of sheetrock.  Using a forklift, he loaded it onto pallets close to the porch of the house.  For the next twenty minutes everyone was carrying sheetrock into the house---some of it 1/2 inch, some of it 5/8; and some of it "green" (moisture resistant).  Carrying sheetrock can prove difficult, as Jim McLean can attest.  After tripping over the uneven detritus that our work site contains, he sustained scrapes, cuts, and (likely later) bruises.  Fortunately, Joan Thomson came to the rescue with our first aid kit!

The afternoon proved a bit more frustrating:  some worked while others waited for the tools that were in very short supply and were being used by those who were working.  Then the roles reversed---the grasshoppers became ants.  With the right tools, anyone can work (a riff on my contention that a person can do anything with the right tool).  Tomorrow the project manager assures us that we will have all the tools we'll need for everyone to work at the same time in the same place.  In spite of all, we have returned home exhausted and dragging tail to a fine spaghetti dinner prepared by Beth, Shiela, and Maria (a former staff member at Mo Ranch, now working at a camp in Colorado).

We are confident that not only will we do a good job---we will finish all the work that has been set before us.  Let the pictures tell the story, because this boy's off to bed. 

The mission trip group left St. B around 1:50 p.m. today in a loose caravan of cars chauffeured by intrepid drivers Harold Biggs, Carl Thomson, Ron Hiscock, Charlie Hood, and Jim McLean.  We rode without incident until the Houston traffic forced exclamations from those of us who have not had to drive there in many years.

Our dinner at Goode Company BBQ in the West U section of the city was filling and good---the jalapeno bread was a big plus.  Just as the Metroplex has expanded in stunning ways, so has the sprawl of Houston.  One more strip center is followed by one more immense mall which is followed by one more strip center...you get the idea.  Texas City is a bit farther south than Clear Lake City/Webster, with plenty of refineries lining its waterfront on Galveston Bay.  The day has been so beautiful throughout this drive that it's hard to believe that before long the smothering heat, huge thunderstorms, and 90% humidity will usher Houston and the Gulf Coast into its breathless summer. In addition to the church buildings, the PDA (that's Presbyterian Disaster "pods" house most of us.  There's one large pod for the women, one for the men, and a third that contains 2 toilets, 2 sinks, and 3 shower stalls for each gender.  Although the pods are air conditioned and the bed platforms reasonably comfortable, the close quarters were too much for four of our number.  We have defected to a large fellowship hall where there is plenty of room, but the little climate control and aluminum cots for sleeping.  Nevertheless, this will be home for all of us until Friday.

Orientation was this evening and we have discovered that we're here with people from Colorado, Nebraska, and California.  There's no sign yet of the Austinites whom we expected to find.  Jane Woods, the PDA Village Manager for Texas City calmly laid down the ground rules for our life together:  work teams to keep this group well fed and the site cleaned up...all this addition to our off-site work.  Dan Ketchum is the Work Assignment Manager, a title that he claims simply means that he is the gofer for all the groups.  His charge is to give us the materials to keep us busy.  Our project manager Sandy will be the one who really puts our shoulders to the wheel tomorrow.

Well, it's late and this has been a very long day.  The pictures are worth a thousand words...

Peace to all,
Tom

Joan Thomson, who has laid all the groundwork for our trip, has provided some news prior to our departure.  We will be working in Galveston, which is about a 20 minute drive from Texas City.  Our orientation will take place at 8:30 a.m. at Crockett United Methodist Church in Galveston, where our assignments will be parceled out:  sheetrocking, trim work, painting, and some other tasks.

Two other groups---one from Austin and another from Colorado---will be working with us.  One of them will be sharing our quarters in Texas City while the other has another village site.

The project director, a man named Sandy, has said that we are welcome to bring our own tools.  He also claims that he has all the tools required for the jobs we're going to be doing, which sounds like a better deal than lugging any heavy tools of our own.  We're pretty much agreed that perhaps a tape measure and a nail apron would be among the few convenient personal items to take to the workplace.

Looking forward to the trip!

Preparation

Tomorrow is Easter, the celebration of Christ's resurrection.  It also marks one week until our departure for Texas City on our adult mission trip.  Fifteen St. Barnabas folk will be journeying to the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance base in Texas City.  Housed at First Presbyterian Church, the facilities serve a large number of workers in mobile housing where we'll eat and sleep, along with 25-30 workers from other places. 

On Sunday, April 11, we'll get an orientation from the PDA staff and on Monday morning we'll be broken up into groups and assigned particular tasks.  Those may include but not be limited to sheetrocking, framing, roofing, hanging siding, site clean up, mold abatement, and similar chores which are still needed more than eighteen months after Hurricane Ike made landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast.

It's my hope to keep this blog updated every evening that we're gone, so those of you who are interested may keep track of our doings.  Photos will be included so that you can see some of your friends in action.  Rest assured that what we may lack in youthfulness, we make up for with experience and willingness!

Peace,

Tom