Still Alot To Do

In closing out this blog, I think this sign says it all. The residents of Texas still need your help, please consider serving our Brothers and Sisters in need---















With many hands working together we can acheive anything.

When the Lord asked "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" Isaiah answered "Here am I. Send me!"

What will your answer be?

Peace to all of you and thanks for following our journey. Your prayers and continued support were felt by us and helped to lift us all week.
To God be the glory for the gifts He gave us to share!
In His service,
Todd

Hmm, Which way do I go?

There were a few times we were not sure which way to go---or what exactly to do, however---

We always seemed to find our direction!

Thank you Lord for watching over us.

Miss Norvella's needs

At Miss Norvella's we had to install a new subfloor. This sounds easy enough, until we realize that floor joist need replaced and many floor elevations need to be reinstated.

Jess, just before the band-aids were needed!! OUCH!

The team making great progress on Miss Norvella's "dance floor". Thanks Linwood, Paul, Jess, Kim, Tom, and Matt.

Norvella and her great grandson with the team. She was well pleased with the progress we made here in two days.

Miss Hellen's Window Casings & Drywall

Linwood training Jess "in the way she should go", or was it the other way around this week?

Yes! My thumbs are still in tact, now if I can just keep it that way the rest of the week.

Roof repair at Miss Betty's

Paul securing Linwood. It appears someone was watching over Linwood most of the time!

Working in tight spaces.

Hi Mom!!!

Working at Willie's house

Mike and Kim replacing windows.

Miss Julia's floor

Chris measuring twice sometimes even 3, 4, or 5 times before she cuts. These were some really difficult pieces to fit.

Matt and Paul finally standing on solid ground or is that floor! Miss Julia, almost 80, was delighted at the progress.

Todd and Paul getting down to some dirty work!

Kim pondering the job before her!

Lloyd and Hilda's

The team made a lot of progress at Lloyd and Hildas' house. Chris led them through much mudding, sanding, and a major bathroom repair.

Sometimes by force!!!

Home Safe and Sound-More to follow

Hello everyone the team is safely home and smiling at what God has done in our lives. I will post more photos in the next few days, but as for now, I am going to enjoy some family time with my girls. Thanks to everyone on the team for pulling like "Warwick" all week!
Blessings,
Todd

Dinner at Vautrot's

The team anticipating their dining experience of local Cajun cuisine. We were treated to a special meal from Mom Vautrot at her restaurant in Beaumont, Texas. We had a delightful meal and enjoyed the fellowship with our construction coordinators Ward and Susan Smith.

Our fearless leader. Is he a crawfish or a crab? It must have been a good day - tonight he's a happy crawfish.

Ward and Susan are construction supervisors with UMCOR Texas. They are truly using their gifts from God in a manner that honors Him. They are the light of Jesus in this community and give hope to the homeowners as they build relationships and help to rebuild lives. Their organizational skills and work behind the scenes is a blessing to all the volunteers that come here to help. Thanks Ward and Susan!

Norvella's house

Look at how happy Kim and Jess are to be removing nails, hundreds of nails, from the floor joists of Norvella's home.






















As you can see, to repair the damage from the flooding, there is a lot of work that needs to go on inside the home. From the exterior this home looks fine - as do most homes in the neighborhood. The drying out process takes some time. Once the home is gutted, it needs to be bleached and then dry out to prevent future mold growth.





















The team hard at work and making progress installing the new sub-floor the first day at Norvella's house. 160 square feet finished, 1000 more to go! Keep up the great work team!

Lloyd and Chris

You might be wondering if the homeowners have an interest in helping. Here Lloyd assists Chris with the installation of their new bathroom. Lloyd like many other homeowners take pride in doing what they can to help in their own restoration.

A bed fit for a king Alvin

Linwood, Kim and Paul built a specialized bed frame for a handicapped man. When Alvin first saw his new bed frame, he almost went into tears of joy as he exclaimed "how did you know to build it this way, did you have pictures?" You see, this was exactly what he wanted because it was just like the one he lost in the flood. Alvin's legs don't work and he needs to crawl everywhere he goes.

Lloyd and Hilda's home

Chris and Hilda in Orange, Texas.

Lloyd and Hilda had about 4 feet of water in their home after Hurricane Ike went through. This is the first time they've ever had flood water in their home. Hilda described to Todd that before they evacuated, she walked through the house room by room and prayed over each room turning them over to God's care. She is completely at peace with the devastation knowing that she can't take any of her possessions with her to heaven. Hilda's faith will be a light within the community as it rebuilds.

Lloyd in his weld shop beside his rocking chair he made out of rebar. He still lives next door to the house he was born and raised in. He was a businessman in his community and has a great relationships with his neighbors.

Dusty and Rusty

Who's Who in Bridge City? (Texas that is) Tom and Jess after half a day's work at Miss Helen's house. Miss Helen is looking forward to the completion of her home and very much appreciated the hard work of all the volunteers, even the ones we can't recognize. So Louise, can Tom wear the same clothes tomorrow?

The crew at Miss Helen's house before the work started. We can tell not only by the absence of dirt, but also by their smiles.

Texan Hospitality at the Lombardo home

We were treated to some genuine southern hospitality by Tom and Michele at their home on Tuesday night. Beef brisket, baked beans, potato salad, almond tea and chocolate cake (with Blue Bell ice cream) were on the menu for the evening. Followed by a stroll in their fabulous garden. Their gift of hospitality was very much appreciated by the team. This gift of service was a special treat and the Lombardo's way of serving us while we are here to serve others.

Kim looks just as happy after her fourth piece of chocolate cake as she did after her first. Our generous hosts even sent Kim home with the leftover cake, which she decided to share with the team at the work site the next day. We would be happy to sell the recipe to anyone willing to fund our next trip.

SUNDAY'S DRIVE & MONDAY'S - 1st WORK DAY !

These 2 photos show some of the remnants of the devastation seen on Sunday as we drove along the coast. A house once sat upon the pillars at 1072 where Matt sat down to take a break.

Today was our 1st work day. We split up into 2 teams & went to 2 different properties to work.

Both our home owners were real sweethearts and they were so excited to have us working on their homes. One will turn 90 next month. See her pic above with the team (Matt, Paul, Chris, Kim & Todd) who ran some new joists and installed sub floor in a few of her rooms. Her home has a long way to go to completion, and she is anxious to return to it.

The other homeowner is in her 90's and her team was working on drywall projects all day. They installed corner bead, cut drywall & sanded. Tom, Linwood, Mike & Jess are doing a great job !

Tomorrow we will all work part of the day finishing up what we started today then move on to other jobs that are waiting for us at some other homes. It sounds like our week is going to be split up in lots of different directions but we are willing to go wherever we are needed.

Finally in Beaumont

Well, God's time is not our time, it seldom is! After an uneventful check in at BWI we all were anticipating our approaching departure for Houston. Then the news came "due to inclement weather in Houston your flight is delayed 1 hour, please don't go anywhere though because if the storms clear out of the area we will board immediately". Well we boarded, waited, unloaded, re boarded, and finally took off after a 5 hour delay. Houston got hammered with about 5 inches of rain. No problem though one local resident said, "we were behind and needed some more", what an outlook.

We arrived on the tarmac @ 8:30 pm and sat there untill a gate could be cleared for us to deplane, then picked up the van, and finally arrived at Christ Covenant Church in Beaumont at around 12:30 am Sunday morning. Tired but safe and sound. Thanks prayer warriors!

We worshipped with our hosts this morning and then drove to the beach area of the Bolivar Peninsula. This area was devastated, and still is! We will post some pictures tomorrow, but at the present time we are in need of some rest as we will need to be on site @ 7:15 tomorrow to begin our work day.

Blessings to you all,

The "Trekkin' to the Triangle" Team

Wet but not wintery!

As we make final preparations for tommorows departure I am excited about the opportunities before us. The weather in Texas is to be very wet when we land, however it looks like God is going to bless us again with a beautiful week. Ward, our constuction coordinator in Texas, has contacted me about a few of our jobs for the week. It looks like we will have a full plate and lots of opportunities to serve, and grow with Christ as we Trek off to the Golden Triangle.

Please keep the team in your prayers. Pray that we listen for, and hear, God's voice and are empowered to do his will. Pray also for safe travels, and for our families that are left at home to carry on the daily routine without our help.

Greetings Everyone!
Welcome to the Blog post for our Texas disaster recovery trip. This team will be departing York, PA on Saturday morning April 18. We will be heading to the Beaumont Texas area, also know as the "Golden Triangle" to do disaster recovery work as a result of hurricane Ike that hit that area in September of 2008. Ike created vast devastation in coastal Texas.
We are a team of 9 volunteers from churches in York, Carlisle, and Red Lion, PA. Please keep Linwood, Kim, Mike, Paul, Todd, Chris, Jessica, Tom, and Randy in your thoughts and prayers as we step out in faith to serve our Brothers and Sisters in Texas.
Stop back often to experience this journey with us. We will try to post frequently so that you can "go with us and grow with us" as we serve our Great God. Your comments and encouragement are a blessing to the team so feel free to interact with us on the journey!
In His service,
Todd