Virgina Came and . . .

Last day of October and this has been a very eventful month. Not only have we had a good amount of teams but we also got a GREAT amount of work done on many of the homes.

The many (i think about 5,but anyway) readers who so happen to glance here at our blog site know that we have been working on 50 differnt projects since last Novmeber. We are now proud to say that we have 14 projects left to complete. This does call for a great celebration with many thanks to our teams, and volunteers who have come to help. However, above all, our greatest thanks must and does go to our Heavenly Abba- our Lord God!

A couple weeks ago we had another team who came in just as NJ and Kentucky left. In fact, it was two teams who collaborated their efforts together from the beginning. Two churches from the Virginia Nazarene District; Lynchburg, and Charlottesville joined forces and helped us get a lot of work done on a number of projects as well as add a little bit or humor along the way. I think their motto was; "If you can't work with a little sarcasim, you might as well hit the road"! "Yeah, I think it goes right there. Good job man!"
Truthfully, they were a great bunch of people and we hope they return as well.
Thanks to all the ladies and gentlemen who came! May God bless you and your church families greatly!

Tag your It!

This past week we had two great teams with us. While TNU was heading out, Edison, NJ and Somerset, KY got “tagged” and then spent the next week helping and serving in the Bayou. It was truly great to have two tremendously flexible teams helping out wherever we needed them. I (Tim) also need to send a special shout out to Edison because part of the team was family—Thanks for coming Uncle Abe and Aunt Agar. It was really good to have family around!

In any case, as the week carried on we had not only beautiful weather but at the same time enjoyed getting to see two homes move further along in the rebuilding process. The Johnson home took a bid turn with all the mudding, sanding, and priming getting done. And NJ hit it hard with even getting a number of the rooms painted.The kids just love that they will be in their home in a matter of weeks! Thank the Lord, and thank you mission teams!

We also had Somerset helping us on some of the siding at the Johnson home, while also working to help us finish up the Jones’s home.Somerset and Edison also tag-teamed on some major jobs at a couple of our homes . . . fun times deep in trash and debris pick-up, organization, and removal!Which we know the best part of it for the girls was hanging out at the dump, right?!

Thanks again to Edison and Somerset.You guys were a blessing and it was not only great to have you pose for some pics, I mean, help us in the Bayou, but it was tremendous to see how well you worked, ate, and just were with each other and those “neighbors” you met in the Deep South!

Until next time . . . when you eat any shrimp think of us here in Bubba Gump land!

Back In The Bayou

September closed up pretty quietly, but October has been full of hustle and bustle.

We are back in the Bayou and have already seen a beautiful influx of teams. Many a thanks to Hendersonville Church of the Nazarene for bringing their team of three to the Bayou. Even though they may have been small in number, they did the work of twenty! And we are looking forward to seeing them bring another team in the future. As Hendersonville pulled out, Trevecca Nazarene University pulled in! Located in Nashville, TN, TNU brought a group of about 30 students and sponsors to help during their "fall break". (You go "volunteer state" - Tennessee).

It was a HUGE blessing to have them with us.
They helped us paint a home, landscape some property, sand some sheetrock walls, and clean up a local park in the Bayou. We (Danielle and Tim) have had many encounters with TNU mission teams before and we are continually amazed at the top-notch and most enthusiastically driven young people who come to serve.

We also had TNU help us participate in a unique on-going ministry that we find to be even more important than building homes or landscaping property-- and that's "prayer-walking". Many may find this to be senseless when there is so much "work" to be done. Or others might find that they could be used more effectively in some sort of manual labor instead of walking around the community and praying. But we know that there truly is no other tool more powerful than prayer. So, we must thank TNU for participating in what may have seemed "fruitless", even though they got a fee meal out of it at one of the best seafood restaurant in the area, due to an encounter with a generous gentleman on the road into the Bayou!.

Again, thanks to everyone and many blessings to you all. It is always a blessing to see missional minded servants in action. And from these servants still down here, keep us in your prayers.