Friday, November 7, 2014
Ron and I are so incredibly blessed. We have a wonderful family, fantastic friends and are living our dream; we love our life!
A couple of years ago we joined the Nomads. "Nomads" is an acronym for Nomads On a Mission Active in Divine Service. Nomads provide volunteer labor for United Methodist Organizations. We do new construction, remodeling, and repairs for churches, children's homes, camps, colleges, outreach missions and disaster recovery.
We arrived in Hattiesburg, Mississippi today where we joined six other Nomads. While here, we will be staying in Oak Grove, at the Oak Grove United Methodist Church. We will be doing disaster rebuilding.
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| Oak Grove United Methodist Church |
The church has put in five RV sites with full hook-ups for the Nomads to use...
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| the church's cemetery across the parking lot from our RVs |
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| Cooper and his girlfriend, Muffin |
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| isn't Muffin cute? |
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| our team ~ back row, Ron, Dan, Larry, Cindy & Tony next to me is Nula (Dan's friend), Dottie (married to Larry) Cindy & Tony are unrelated |
Hattiesburg is a large city (we were surprised at how large it is). This is the largest city we've been to since we were in the Dallas/Fort Worth area this past April. Located in the Pine Belt, (named after the longleaf pine trees that are abundant in the region) Hattiesburg is home to The University of Southern Mississippi.
On Sunday, February 10, 2013 a violent EF4 multiple-vortex wedge tornado struck and devastated parts of Hattiesburg, West Hattiesburg and surrounding areas. It was one of eight tornadoes that touched down in southern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama that day. The tornado reached a maximum width of 0.75 mile and reached maximum estimated sustained winds of 170 mph. The tornado did over 35 million dollars worth of damage. Hattiesburg was declared a federal disaster area.
Nomads have been doing disaster rebuilding in Hattiesburg for the past year. They will complete their service on December 18, 2014.
Our team worked on two homes. Dan, Ron and myself worked at Miss Kenya's home. The tornado tore part of the roof off of her home and did interior damage.
Dottie, Larry, Cindy and Tony worked on Larry's home. His home also sustained considerable damage.
Our "job" at Miss Kenya's was to finish up the kitchen; flooring, trim and odds and ends. Our goal was to be finished in time for her to move in by Thanksgiving. We succeeded. She was able to move back in the week before Thanksgiving.
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| Miss Kenya's home |
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| Dan sanding the floor in preparation for the vinyl flooring that will be put down |
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| rolling up the vinyl flooring |
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| I learned how to use the router |
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| Dan's turn |
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| cutting out a notch |
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| hold it steady |
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| that was a tricky piece. we put boards on top of the new flooring to protect it while we worked |
The first part of the first week we were working, the weather was beautiful. Sunny, warm with temps in the mid to upper 70's. We took advantage of it and ate our lunch outside. Larry, Dottie and Cindy joined us a couple of times...
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| Cindy and Dan soaking up some rays |
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| Dottie and Larry |
All too soon the weather changed. Thanks to winter storm Bozeman!! Hattiesburg, like much of the country, was in a deep freeze. Low's in the 20's with highs in the mid-30's. We were blessed to have heat while working at Miss Kenya's. The rest of the team working at Larry's were not so lucky. They did not have electricity nor heat. They used a generator and propane heater to keep themselves warm.
Finishing up at Miss Kenya's...
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| working on the trim |
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| moving the refrigerator back in |
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| it fit! never a doubt!! |
All that remains is to install a couple of lights...
On Monday, November 17 our entire team gathered at Miss Kenya's. We blessed her home and presented her with a bible. The bible was signed by all of the Nomads that have worked on her home over the past months...
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| Kenya, her son and Mavis (Kenya's social worker) |
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| Tony, Ray (the volunteer coordinator for all volunteers), Darryl (who is in charge of all the disaster remodeling) and Dan. |
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| Cindy, Kenya, (still smiling) Mavis & Tony |
It was very touching and humbling to witness Kenya's joy and happiness.
That evening our team went to Golden Corral for dinner. Golden Corral was celebrating veterans that evening and as Ron, Dan, Tony, and Larry are all veterans, it was a no-brainer to dine there...
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| good food, good fellowship |
The rest of our time in Hattiesburg was spent working at Larry's house...
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| getting the generator started |
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| stuffing insulation in crevices |
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| consulting on the lattice work |
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| Dottie |
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| Cindy was dressed for the weather- both inside & outside! |
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| Tony cutting sheetrock for the bathroom |
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| Larry. we didn't always have the best lighting |
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| Larry, the homeowner. He told us stories of his life growing up in this home. |
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| warming up... |
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| by our "campfire" |
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| Darryl working on plumbing |
As Ron and I were leaving the next day, we felt duty-bound to honor the DR (disaster rebuilding) Nomad tradition of dining out with the remainder of the team. It's a nice way to end our time with the Nomads. We chose to dine at Leatha's BBQ. By far, the best BBQ I have ever eaten! And, believe me, I have eaten a lot of BBQ!!
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| Dan, Tony, Dottie & Larry. Cindy (who went to NOLA for the weekend) & Nula (still having back pain) you were missed!! |
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| the only pigs that were safe!! |
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| Yum!! |
Friday, November 21
We enjoyed our time here in Hattiesburg and have met some great friends. It is time to move on. After lots of hugs and best wishes we hit the road...
Next stop Texas!
Til next time,
Dawn, Ron & Cooper
