Volunteers in Mission

“Be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.” (Joel 2:21)

This is the motto for your 2009 DUMC Volunteers in Mission (VIM) team which is headed back to Louisiana / New Orleans Jan. 10th to 18th.  Thanks to the generous donation of one DUMC family and the support for and the work of the Tongues of Fire BBQ team, the VIM program is very strong financially this year.  What is needed now is your physical presence.  Skilled or unskilled, we’ve got a job for you.  Along the way we’ll meet some interesting folks, eat well, eat well, eat well and be doing God’s work on earth.  Don’t think that you can’t help or that you’ve not got the time.  Come and learn how to roof a house or drywall a home.  Maybe you just want to smash down a wall.  As for time, many of us are still working and find that this period spent working for the Lord rather than for ourselves is the most rewarding that we’ll do all year.  Contact Blair Smith at 410.798.7236 or for more details or to join the VIM team mission in January.

DUMC participates in two major volunteer programs, Volunteers in Mission (VIM) and the Appalachian Service Project (ASP).  Here are some summaries of past trips.  Photos are available under the VIM category of the photo gallery.

• VIM 2006 - Moss Point, MS
• VIM 2006 - Bay St. Louis, MS
• VIM 2007 - New Orleans, LA
• VIM 2008 - D'Alberville, MS
• VIM 2009 - New Orleans, LA

Moss Point, MS 2006

Bay St. Louis, MS 2006

New Orleans, LA 2007 - by Blair Smith & Tim McArdle

Reflections by Blair Smith 01.23.07:  Thanks to all of the DUMC family for helping to make the trip to New Orleans (N.O.) a success. There were 23 of us in all, a 24th, a cousin of Joann’s, having dropped out due to illness.

Blair, Joann, and , Mo headed south on Thursday, Jan. 4th, and arrived in N.O. on the 5th. We checked out a roofing job and then dropped by the Eastbank Storm Station (EBSS). Mo did what he could to help out with roofing while Blair and Joann then went on to visit friends in Lafayette.

On Saturday the 6th most of the team departed for N.O. from Davidsonville in the “new” DUMC mini-bus (named “Goldie” by Jo and named both the "Champagne Short Bus" and "I'm not riding back in that thing" by Tim) and the Vales’s van, relying heavily on “Natalie”, Frank’s GPS system for navigation.  They arrived in N.O. the evening of Sunday the 7th at Munholland UMC in Metairie.  Later, 3 others arrived by air.  That evening the folks at the church gave us a welcoming dinner.  Also there were 15 VIM participants from 7 churches in PG County.  The 38 of us had separate quarters in the church, but shared the 6 showers.

With the exception of the roofing team and those who arrived by air later on Monday, the rest of us attended an orientation at the EBSS. Then it was off to the job sites.  Our largest team was charged with mucking and gutting. They finished a house begun by an earlier team, and then proceeded to strip 3 other houses down to the studs! (Ask Frank or Tim about roaches, rats or snakes.)

Viola, owner of the house where the roofers worked, was so appreciative of their efforts that she twice brought them lunches of fried chicken, red beans and rice and cornbread. She owned a little ramshackle restaurant “in the hood” as she called it.

The teenage sons of Shelia, the owner of the house where our drywallers labored, had previously mucked and gutted their home. Jim and Tom affected many structural repairs while the rest of that team prepped, cut, installed and mudded drywall.

**** Update on Shelia and her family 02/27/07 from Vonda Vales: "Two crews have been there since we left in January. They finished the spackling, and removed the kitchen cabinets and dry walled behind them and put up a new kitchen ceiling. The kitchen sub floor needs to be finished and she is waiting for appliances. A new water heater was installed and the gas leak fixed. She is thrilled because the crew last week painted the entire house in a Sherman Williams "Blonde" and it looks beautiful and brings life back into the house! She thinks she will be able to move back in in about a month. After we were there, it was 3 weeks before the next crew came so it has been slow but sure progress. Shelia asked me to express her gratitude and love for all the help given her. She and her sons are so happy to see her house come alive again and can't wait to move from the trailer into their home!"

The 4th DUMC team was absolutely crucial to all of our efforts. They prepared and cleaned up our meals, picked up and dropped off folks at job sites and the airport, and made runs for supplies and paperwork at the EBSS and other locations. They knew the city well by the end of the week. They also burned up an entire tank of fuel, about 400 miles of city driving! Often up at 5am, they usually didn’t get to relax until late in the evening.

Mo left us Thursday evening, Erik Friday afternoon, Gerry and Scott Saturday morning, and Tim, Georgia, Amie and Cathie Sunday morning.  Roger and Vonda went on to Texas. The rest of the team headed for home in the mini-bus and Blair & Joann’s SUV at 5:45 am Sunday morning, with an overnight in Greenville, SC. “Goldie” had a flat which was repaired 1st thing Monday morning, and we arrived safely at DUMC about 6:00 pm. Tired, but with a sense of satisfaction for helping to do God’s work, the team truly lived up to its directive and motto from Nehemiah 2:18, “Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.” 

Reflections on an unusual encounter by Tim McArdle 01.23.07

The 2007 New Orleans VIM mucking/gutting team was greeted with an unusual surprise visitor close to lunchtime on Wednesday, January 10 while working on the Canal Blvd house.  While vigorously at work Rusty shouted from out side of our house for someone who spoke Spanish as our visitor was speaking Spanish to him.  Being fluent in that language I volunteered promptly to help out.  I was greeted warmly by a gentleman and we proceeded to carry on a conversation during which I noticed a number of curious flaws in his Spanish language skills.  I became a little cautious at this point as I was certain many scams were taking place in our work zones.  I asked a fairly difficult question and it was at this time the gentleman began to speak English and introduce himself as a Reverend from the 9th Ward who noticed our church bus and wished to stop by and pay his respects and speak a bit about what has transpired in his home city.  While having an auspicious beginning to say the least, Reverend Charles Garrison (inset #1) was very well spoken and heartfelt in his words about his home.  We all stopped our work to listen to his words as he recited a couple of poems to us; one of which he autographed and presented to us (see inset #2) dedicated to DUMC.  He said a prayer for our team, our church, and a wish that more of us come to the aid of his city.  His second poem which we do not have a copy of was tremendously poignant as well and spoke about a New Orleans of his childhood.  One that wasn’t driven by the debauchery that it is today but one that was about family, music, and food.  I’ve written to the Reverend to try to get a copy of this poem and if we get one I will submit it here and in a future Lamplighter should we receive it.  We still don’t know why he began his encounter with us in Spanish – that will perhaps remain one of the trip’s many amazing mysteries!!!

D'Alberville, MS 2008 - Journal by Nancy Paczosa

January 4  flew to Baltimore and stayed in Annapolis with Rog and Vonda.  Jeff, Nicky, and the boys joined us for dinner.  

January 5 and 6  traveled via bus, car, or van.  Began at the Davidsonville Methodist Church Men’s Club Breakfast. We were 23 men and women ranging in age from 32 to 80.   We drove in Vales’s van and Nathan age 32 joined us.   Nathan is on his second volunteer mission.  He served 8 years in the Marines and is now a financial planner.  We traveled in a caravan to Henderson, N.C. for lunch then on to “La Quinta Inn” in Anderson, S.C. where we had dinner and slept.  The second travel day was uneventful except for the stop at Wintzel’s Oyster House in Saraland, Ala, where we ate fabulous fried green tomatoes with crawfish and Creole sauce    Arrived around 7:00 in D’Iberville just outside of Biloxi Miss.   Group leader Blair wrote, ”we stayed at a dormitory/dining facility that had been built by the Indiana Annual Conference of the UMC, and was on the grounds of Heritage UMC.   Also there was a large warehouse with equipment and supplies.  Heritage’s Sheila was a nearly fulltime volunteer who coordinated the job sites.  We shared space with a 7-member team from Loda, IL. and with 19 folks from P.G. County.  Cooking responsibilities were also shared, and Pastor Jim set up a cleaning schedule.”    “The roofing crew had Mo, Blair, Scott (Blair’s bro), Matt and Georgia (Joann’s cousin), Karen (a friend of Georgia) and Amie.  They totally stripped and reroofed a house with multiple roof pitches in 5 days.”      Just down the street the drywall crew dealt with a difficult house that had cathedral ceilings and crooked walls.  That crew had Roger, Nancy and Bruce, Vonda, Cathie, Sue, and Nathan (Blair’s friend).   Rog and Bruce worked together with the rest in a crew that called itself ’the Sheetrockin’ Mommas and Their Boy”.  Amie, Georgia and Karen also helped at that job site when not busy elsewhere.”      “ Pastor Jim, Rusty, Adam and Dave comprised the Plumbing and Electrical crew.  They totally re-plumbed one house, and insulated the floor, installed a 240 line and a small heatpump in another.  Georgia also helped there one day.”      “Joann, Barbara, Betty and Beth made up the Swing Crew.  They cooked, cleaned, ran errands, picked up and dropped off folks at the airport and helped out where needed.”

January 7  awakened at 6:00.   Vonda looked at watch, which read 7:00 Annapolis time. Oops.  Had cereal, zucchini bread, pumpkin bread or Betty’s coffee cake, juice, coffee and banana.      Made lunch: cold meat sandwiches, chips, half apples, cookies and brownies.      Left for the 15-minute trip to the job site at 7:19   Roofing crew was already on site at the first house.  We drove three down to our house 317 Haise, Biloxi, Miss.  Weather was sunshine and 60s.      House had new siding and roof and was gutted and insulated by earlier teams.  We were to put up ceilings and sheetrock six rooms.  Sheetrock was 12 feet by 4 feet and was very heavy.   We took our time getting screw guns and drills charged and learning techniques.  We did manage.      Don Balius arrived to thank us.  He was 80 years old.  His wife had died from lung cancer.  He had worked for his Daddy’s Ironwork Company. He had 4 sons and 1 daughter (she lived by the church where we were staying.)   The first house our team was roofing was his and this was his son’s. He told us that they did not leave when Katrina hit because when Camille hit just 2 years before they only got 2 feet of water in the street.  He said that the water in their house started about 6:00 AM    Water came up 8 feet.  They made it to the attic via a hole in the kitchen ceiling.  His son was on top of the refrigerator and the water pushed it over.  Eventually he also was pulled through the hole in the ceiling.  Part of the roof was blown off and they saw their week old uninsured truck bobbing in the water.  All around them was water and they were afraid they would drown.  Water receded quickly and was gone in 12 hours leaving mud and sand.      We had no washroom so we traveled back to the church for a picnic lunch outside the facility.  By late afternoon a port a pot  was delivered.  We discovered square nails and very old wainscoting in the house.  We were told it was a shotgun house and was more than 100 years old.  One could stand at the front door and shoot a bullet through the house.  It did have a newer addition, which accounted for the 12-foot pitch ceilings in 2 of the rooms.      Back at the church 6:30 dinner was broccoli chicken bake, salad and cake with cherry pie filling.   

January 8  breakfast at 6:30 was scrambled eggs and sausage patties.  On the road by 7:30.  Don came by and we talked again.  He was able to go to his daughter’s house after Katrina because her area by the church did not flood.  The water rose from the bay and from the gulf that day.  He went to live in a FEMA trailer.  He was very sick and lost 30 pounds.  His Doctor told him it was from the formaldehyde in the trailer.    His daughter made phone calls and was able to get him a FEMA home that he has parked next to his house.  They will take that away eventually.  He sleeps on the couch by the front door because a lady he knew was asleep in her FEMA trailer when a fire started in the kitchen.  There is only the front door so she died trapped in the bedroom.      Since everything was wet and ruined by floodwaters in his house, he has been there for two and one half years.  He has been on a list for volunteer help and finally work has begun.      Don mentioned Jefferson Davis’s home on the gulf, which is close by where we were working.  On the way home we drove by it and noted the sign asking for donations to help restore it.       We had to learn how to use the dremel saw and the screw gun that cost $300.  The 12-foot ceilings and drop ceilings were left while we honed our skills on the walls. Gutting team had left many square nails that had to be pulled for sheetrock to lay flat.  We also pulled out some paneling The sheetrock had some moldy corners and was misshapen because it was leaning against a big new refrigerator.  Also in the house was a boxed range and a 45inch Mitsubishi TV Toward end of the second day we had removed most of the materials stacked against the frig and we smelled something rotten.  Cathie opened it and we had to clear the house because the smell was so terrible.    Betty came by and put on a mask and opened it again.  It looked like meat left in the frig.  We told Don’s son and he told a story about taking a young volunteer who had never been fishing to the gulf.  They left the shrimp bait in the frig and the electricity went off.  Hence the problem.   Eventually they took it out and found the hole in the compressor was the real problem.            As we worked Rog and Vonda and others told stories about Waveland where the eye of the hurricane hit.  .  About one month after the storm hit they arrived and conditions were much different then.   Mississippi is being rebuilt by volunteers one house at a time.  Rog said it would take ten to twenty years to complete.  Louisiana is not making it easy for churches or volunteers.  They have rules and red tape and 4.5 billion dollars of government money sitting while they slowly make decisions.  

January 9  was picture day by the large sign outside of the church.  We all wore the lime green shirts the church had given us.  Breakfast was French toast and cereal and fruit       We are pros now.  Bruce and Rog nearly finished the kitchen and Sue, Cathy, Vonda, Nathan and I were able to sheetrock the 12 foot sloping ceiling.  They had rented a scaffold for $30 for a week and we put it together and climbed up.   Two retired gentlemen delivered more supplies.   We   also started taping as we went along.      Wal-Mart opened in a huge tent outside of Waveland since everything for 35 miles in was destroyed by the 35-foot tall wave of water.  Wal-Mart brought in water and clean-up supplies and food and didn’t over charge.  Our group drove to the Biloxi Wal-Mart   on the way home to show our support.  Called Jen and found out temperature in Chicago was 70.  We had 78 high.  Dinner was spaghetti, French bread, salad, and Mississippi mud dessert      Rusty and Georgia talked about sliding under a woman’s house (22inch space) with a hazmet uniform and mask and insulating the underneath.  Georgia is a 50-year-old grandmother and she took vacation time to make this trip.   Rusty owns a custom window and door company with his wife Sue.  They left their big dog in the kennel to volunteer.  They have been on four missions.  

January 10  breakfast was biscuits and gravy and peppers and potatoes.  To the work site by 7:30.  Roofers finished the roof and Rusty joined us.  We quit work at 11:00 and cleaned up.  We returned to church for leftovers and cleaned up for trip to Waveland and New Orleans.      Only 35 houses remained for over 6000 people after Katrina.  After water receded everything was rubble.  Rog and Vonda could not believe how much had been cleaned up.  Just hard to believe this happened in America.  A large tent was erected just after the storm on a slab of cement.  Black plaster was hung to divide it into rooms for sleeping.  People brought their own sleeping bags and slept on the cement.  They had two large pots for cooking.  One held the sauce and the other held the spaghetti.  When that ran out the one barbeque place in town had opened in a tent.  That was open daily until they ran out of food.  Some days both ran out of food so people ate cheese and crackers and snacks after working hard all day.   There were still many FEMA trailers and contractor trailers.  A few scraggly trees were there but even trees were mostly destroyed.  We had seen bulldozers on the coast of Biloxi cleaning up the sand, but we didn’t see that here,      Traveled on to New Orleans.  Saw houses on the way to the French Quarter that still had the TWW written on.  This meant toxic wastewater.   People were in them as lights were on.  Not much changed in some neighborhoods since the storm.   We were glad to get to the French Quarter and enjoy some free time shopping in the fun shops.  Our group stopped and listened to a live band and then met the rest of the group at Acme Oyster House.  Found where we parked but had to have chicory coffee and Beignets (dough deep fried and lots of powdered sugar.)   We returned to our Heritage Church.  The building behind it where we stayed that the Indiana volunteers built had 2 washroom areas. One was for men and the other for women.  Each had 4 showers, 4 toilets and 3 sinks.  There was space on one side to hang towels.  Next to the women’s area there was a large stocked kitchen.  There were lots of pans and utensils and packaged food.  The swing team went to the grocery store the first day and bought the supplies for the week.  If they forgot an ingredient they used the stock.  What was left after the week was cleaned out or donated. Next to the kitchen was a small room with a stacked washer and dryer and more supplies. Then came the rooms for sleeping.  Each room had 4 bunk beds except for the corner rooms where there were 6.  We brought our own sheets, pillows and blankets.  Rog and Bruce and Rusty and Adam shared a room.  Adam was 80 years old and climbed up the top bunk nightly.  He used to own a marina in New York City and he knew how to do everything. I shared a room with Vonda, Beth, Georgia, Karen and Amie the pastor’s daughter.  Amie’s mom Cathie was the pastor’s wife and also a nurse.  Thankfully the only need for her skills was when Blair hit his thumb with a 20-pound roofing hammer.  Cathie and Betty were in the room next door.  Betty is 80 and could outwork any of us.  She worked in an administrative office of a school before retiring.  She is a hard working volunteer on the Saturdays their Maryland church has their barbeque sales.  This earns the church enough for two mission trips per year.  

January 11  we worked our final day.  We had to take down and return the scaffold and pack up the trailer behind the bus that held all the tools and equipment and would also carry bedding and luggage back to Maryland the next day.                                                                                                                                                      

 January 12  we were packed and on the road home by 7:30.  When we stopped again at the same restaurant the same waiter from the previous week decided to share his sister’s story.  She was 6 months pregnant and lived in a first floor apartment in Biloxi just off highway 10 when Katrina hit. She was wading through knee deep water and a stranger stopped and took her across the bay to high ground.  He paid for a hotel for her and came back the next day with his wife and gave her his second car to drive to her family in Illinois.  

January 13  was an uneventful drive until we met a lady in a washroom in Virginia.  She was just returning from her 83-year-old mother’s apartment in Biloxi.  On the day Katrina hit the mother left her beachfront home and went to higher ground.  When she returned only a tree on the property remained.  She was given $114000 for her house, but the code now says she must build it much higher and her old knees cannot go up all those stairs.  So her daughter was visiting her mom and helping her sell the property so she can build in D’Iberville.  The daughter had attended the elementary school that is at the end of the block where Don Balius’s house is.  Small world.  Next door to the son’s house where we worked was the Fred Haise home.  The plaque on the door told us he was an astronaut who was born and raised in that home.  He no longer owns the home but it is of historical significance and needs to be redone like the house we worked on.

January 14  we flew back to Chicago.  We have many stories to tell since we have seen first hand the destruction of Katrina and the slow rebuilding process.  We met many wonderful people willing to give of their time and energy.  We have learned   how to put up sheetrock and rehab shotgun homes.  We are thankful to Rog and Vonda for allowing us the opportunity to go with the Volunteers In Mission.      Nancy Paczosa

New Orleans, LA 2009

With the pack up of the church van (not the short bus) we a discovery was made that the brake lines were leaking.  Parts could not be obtained in time so the backup plan was the trailer and the short bus (as some call “Goldie” and I coined “I’m never riding in that thing again” after the 2007 trip).  We left Davidsonville on a very cold January 10th morning relatively on time and began the long haul to Atlanta.  Rusty drove the short bus for the first shift and we had two escort vehicles along in Pastor Jim and Roger’s mini-SuVs.  All 3 vehicles had GPS assistance however with the short bus and shift drivers, some of which not familiar with using GPS had a few minor twists and turns along the trip.  There was also a section where we came about a quarter mile away from running out of fuel.  Mild sedatives kept me reasonably calm.   With Blair running the third shift of driving we pulled into the outskirts of Atlanta around 6pm, checked into the La Quinta and headed to the only reasonable restaurant nearby; the ever reliable and campy Cracker Barrel.  Accommodations were particularly nice at the La Quinta and after a healthy breakfast of eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy (or bran and yogurt depending on your preferences), the team headed back out the road on the way to the traditional Wintzells Oyster House in Alabama for lunch.  More to come…

Day 2 January 11, 2009

Atlanta to Metairie.  Stan took the first drive shift from the La Quinta and we set out to Louisiana without much of a hitch.  Adam took over after a 3 hour shift from Stan right around the time we crossed into Alabama.  The Alabama/Mississippi leg of the trip is through a lot of swamp land and nothingness so gas awareness is a must.  When I awoke from a sedative-induced haze the bus was on an off ramp out in the middle of Alabama running on fumes and Adam announcing ‘we need gas’.  Another mile down the road the next announcement was ‘we are OUT of gas’.  And so we were – a call to one of the escort vehicles and about 30 minutes later and we had a gas can and it turned out we were only about a ¼ mile away from Ossawa AL and the only gas station anywhere in the area.  We filled up and stowed the gas can aboard the bus so we could inhale the gas fumes for the rest of the trip.  Rusty took over driving the last leg and about 5 miles from the Mississippi border a strange vibration began to occur (one much larger than the natural ‘hum and din’ of the short bus).  Debate within the bus crew began over whether that was the road or something was awry.  We crossed a bridge overpass and it seemed to appear the hum was the road – but upon crossing the road-bridge joice a loud bang took place under the bus accompanied by some violent swerving and a collective “pull over” as we were traveling a good 75 MPH at the time.  Rusty did a pretty good job of bringing her down and once on the roadside and off the bus it was discovered the inside wheel of the 2 on the back right rear had blown completely out and was basically threadbare.  With tractor trailers whizzing by at 100MPH and the state line rest area about a quarter mile further up we limped the bus into the parking log and assessed what our next move would be.  Adam valiantly took the lead charge and found a spare, a jack, and a tire wrench.  Unfortunately it would seem the tires on the bus hadn’t been changed in some 10-15 years and the bolts were essentially rusted on.  With some good engineering Adam managed to put the jack under one side if the tire wrench and him standing on the other end to jar all 9 nuts loose.  With a collective effort from all of us we managed to get all 9 nuts off and the first tire off.  The second tire (the blown one) was also rusted to the rotor and would not budge.  We were limited on tools out of the bus itself however there were lots of tools in trailer – problem was they were at the FRONT of the fully loaded trailer hidden by a considerable amount of luggage.  After a little luggage-mining we did come across some crowbars and small hammers.  Banging and prying on the tire Adam and I managed to pop it loose but it was still difficult to pull off the bolts.  Using my feet propped under the tire we managed to leverage the second tire off.  After a couple failed attempts to put the new tire on and the discovery of the lubricating effect of Off Deep Woods spray found on the bus we managed to get both tires back on and with some trepidation continued on.  We were only slightly behind schedule arriving in Saraland AL and to our second lunch destination; Winztells Oyster House (famous for fried green tomatoes with creole sauce).  Filled up on some fabulous food for lunch we headed to our final destination (we hoped); Metairie.  Following Roger’s escort vehicle we had a slight detour into Gulfport and Waveland to review progress of the rebuild.  Unfortunately much of the detour we took involved off-road and no-road driving which the bus was NOT suited for (heck the bus isn’t suited for highway driving much less off-roading).  Upon refueling and re-inspection of critical systems on the bus we finally hit the last part of the trip and arrived in Metairie weak, weary, and hungry at around 7pm.  We unloaded, landed in various rooms for the snoring, non-snoring, snoring-assisted, and male/female, grabbed whatever grub we could find and then were in the sack by 9:30.  I was up Monday at 5am looking for hot water and food.  The group was generally up at 6:30 and we were ready to hit the road by 7:30 to the VIM orientation meetings.  More to come!!!

Day 3 – January 12, 2009 – First Day of Work.  After breakfast the teams joined together for the required orientation at Peoples United Methodist Church.  There were originally six centers for relief setup within the VIM system immediately after Katrina – because of budget cutbacks and fortunately progress with the relief there are now only two.  The folks running the orientation threw out several interesting statistics; not many of them I remember – two that stood out was as of Sept ’08 there had been over 2.5 million volunteer hours put in and through a program with the federal government equates to $19.51 per volunteer hour in funding back to the disaster areas.  Some 90,000 plus homes have been restored and even more had ‘cases closed’ where at least a disposition had been made on the home.  We obtained our assignments and split up into groups able to handle the tasks.  Adam, Stan, and Pastor Jim got a kitchen counter and sink project.  Blair, Ken, Tim, Georgia, Rusty, and Matt took on a roofing project.  And Roger, Susan, Vonda, Bruce, and Nancy were supposed to get a drywall project but in true VIM fashion that which you expect and VIM don’t often collide in the same sentence and thus they were assigned to painting.  We divvied up the tools to the appropriate teams and everyone went about their merry way.   My team arrived at our location about a half hour away from the relief center and after an hour of inspection we determined that our crew was not able to do the job properly.  The homeowner had hired a rogue contractor crew (common story in this region) which did a very poor job especially on the framing which led to an even worse job of shingling.  As a result the house was leaking badly in several places and set to leak even worse in the future.  It was a shame because the homeowner really needed an entire new roof but we didn’t have the staff or time to do it.  We were assigned another house on a completely different side of town in Waswego and this was a house we could help out in a week.  After only starting at noon we were able to nearly completely strip the old roof off and assess our supply needs for completing the job.  A shopping trip to Home Depot on the way back to our bivouac filled out a lot of the finishing materials we would need and we arrived back as the last crew to check in.  Georgia and I ventured out into the local Metairie scene for dinner which included a meal of white beans and rice (white limas) and green onion sausage (a take on the classic creole red beans and rice).  It was fabulous!  A shower and a little downtime and it was lights out by 9:30 for us.

Day 4 – January 13, 2009 – First Full Day of Project Work.  The VIM cooks prepared us a fabulous breakfast strata (casserole) along with our usual cereals and breads.  Carbo loading is important on these trips.  Departure of all teams was at 7:30.  Today was perhaps the hardest this team will work during this trip.  In addition to completing the final pieces of old shingle and felt removal (down to the details) we began the process of old shingle hauling to the dumpster which was delivered, and a tremendous amount of repair work as there were many sections of the roof that had to be cut out and either replaced or improved.  Weak spots abound in this 1/3” thick plywood roof so walking on it is a delicate balancing act.  Blair found this out the hard way by putting his foot through a section which had to be added to the list of repairs.  Miss Betty’s back yard was littered with junk which the team also offered to remove since we now had a roll-off dumpster to work with.  The swing team of Brenda, Betty, and JoAnne arrived mid-day and helped a lot with shingle hauling and debris removal.  Our supply truck also arrived early in the afternoon much to our rejoicing followed by some dismay.  There was a $100 delivery deposit due which we thought the homeowner was covering however she wasn’t home at the time of the delivery.  A MUCH bigger problem was the new shingles which came on the supply truck; there was no lift on the truck.  7200 lbs of shingles had to be carried by hand up to the roof!  After shoveling old shingles to the dumpster for 3+ hours I wasn’t really too thrilled to start hauling 7200 lbs of NEW shingles up a ladder and then up the weak roof to stack at the very top as best we could.  Blair and Rusty ran 2 sets of ladders in a cycle and I ran stacking from the edge of the roof to the apexes, stacking carefully as to not overload and crush the framing from the weight.  Add to this that the shingles delivered were soaking wet; thus doubling their usual weight.  We added Matt to the rotation and believe it or not we managed to get all 72 stacks of 100lb shingles moved up – typically being brought in 1/3 stacks per person up.  Rusty and Blair were soaked at quitting time and not ready to even walk up a short flight of stairs when it was all said and done.   One of the funny moments was when we tried to offer cash to the fellows unloading the supply truck.  We offered them 50$ to help carry the shingles up and since they only spoke Spanish Joann and I translated.  I don’t personally think these guys would have done it for 200$ - they knew it was an ugly job.  At lunchtime Joann graciously drove Ken and I to a local chicken joint down the street so we could try out some nearby cuisine.  We both got some fried chicken and I got some red beans with mine – all of it was fabulous – from a place called Brothers which is basically a gas station right next to one of the levies.  As Ken mentioned in our post day wrap up – this was the hardest work we’ll have this week.  We finished out the day by finally getting some felt onto the roof and getting drip edge corners on nearly half the non rake edges.  Exhausted but still needing yet another trip to Home Depot for more supplies; mostly for the repair work we arrived back in Metairie around 6 – just in time for dinner.  Pork loin, potato salad, and green salad and of course dessert.  Dinner was great and in usual VIM fashion was the precursor to a shower and bed – lots to do around this area but you’re just simply too tired to do anything after a day of work like this.  We are seeing progress and that helps drive you to keep going.  I’m off to my air mattress – more to come!!!

Day 5 – The Shingles Hit the Roof.  A breakfast of French toast and oatmeal was provided by our wonderful swing team this morning and unceremoniously our teams got down to business by heading immediately to their job sites.  For the roofing team repairs moved forward with aplomb as did the remaining drip edge installations where they could be done were completed as far as they could go.  The other huge project of the day was the start of the felt laying.  Repair work above the garage was extensive and consumed 2 team members for much of the morning.  The other team members focused on laying felt and by noon at good portion of the roof had felt.  Joann and Betty from the swing team came by close to lunch and added help to the felting crew.  It was discovered the day before that our dubious transportation down here (“Goldie the Wonder Bus”) now had a headlight out as well as the open issue of the blown tire we were still hauling around, a jack that was now hemorrhaging hydraulic fluid, and the overall need that all tires be inspected before the return trip on Saturday.  Joann set out into the wilderness to try to rustle up a laundry list of missing tools and supplies we badly needed as well as to inquire as to where we could get a new tire on the blown spare and a headlight so we wouldn’t get pulled over not to mention for safety.  It took quite awhile but all missions were accomplished save for the tire issues.  Meanwhile lunchtime the team decided the day before to try out a soul food restaurant that was on the way into our job site called ‘DatsWhatItIs’ for lunch.  Joann took all the orders and made the run for us.  Menu items like chicken-fried pork chop, potato salad, mustard greens & rice, fried catfish, cornbread, and fried chicken were popular choices.  We’d been curious about a dish we’d seen advertised at several local shacks around town called ‘Yacamien’ and so two of us dared to try that as well. Turns out ‘Yacamien’ or ‘Yacameat’ as it is often referred to down here was brought over by African American Korean War vets and is basically a chicken soup made with brown chicken stock, lo-mein noodles, green and white onion, hard boiled egg, and dark meat chicken.  The team was mixed on its reviews of our lunch adventure.  I think the consensus was a C to B- on the overall grade.  Nothing to write home about but also not bad either.  By the end of the day it was becoming clear that we were going to be pushing the limit of this roofing crew as to completion by Friday evening.  Ken, our crew chief and foreman is leaving Friday morning so we only have one more day with his invaluable expertise.  After a dinner of chicken, baked potatoes, broccoli, green salad, and of course dessert provided by our hosts; the Munholland United Methodist membership, the VIM team had a meeting to assess division of labor in order to at least ensure the roofing project left the area and the house water resilient enough for the next team coming in next week to finish if not complete the project altogether which is our main goal.  We moved some personnel around and planned to gain the 3 members of the plumbing team sometime Thursday when they wrap up their projects and mapped out a precise plan of attack for the work Thursday.  This included changing our departure time from 7:30am to 7am.  Shingles did manage to get on the roof later in the day today however progress was slow.  We should have two men on the nail guns tomorrow and a support crew for each making it go much more smoothly.  Its late and I’m sunburned, exhausted, and sore.  More to come!!!

Day 6 – The Longest Day.  Finally we're down to almost nothing but shingling left to do and a handful of small details like bits and pieces of drip edging, one or two minor roof repairs (3/8” thick plywood roof – not exactly sturdy) the only remaining task was setting up the assembly line of shingle installers.  With 2 air guns working we setup 2 teams of 3 workers – one running the gun, one running measurements, placement, and custom cuts, and one feeding shingles. The system was effective but often tedious – we are not a professional roofing crew after all.  There was a housing development being built very close to our project house and after awhile the jokes started pouring in about how those crews were finishing three roofs a day to our one project that will take us a week to complete.  Some of the better jokes were things like “oh look a family just moved into that house” (that they started building on Tuesday).  Undaunted we did the best we could and mistakes were made here and there but nothing that would prevent our roof from being functional or attractive.  Today was Ken’s last day (our foreman) and so we had to do everything we could to prepare to be without him.  We left early and worked until 6pm and made considerable progress but the likelihood of completion was looking more and more distant.  Ken and I hit Brothers around the corner for lunch again – very good fried chicken and red beans & rice!  Dinner was a free-for-all tonight as this was our night to be out in the French Quarter but we postponed that due to being behind on our project.  Most of us went to Zekes around the corner which is a decent local joint – but their food pales to the mighty Wintzell’s Oyster House in Alabama!  Most of us were in bed by 9:30p – it was that kind of day.