Such a Rewarding Day

We arrived at Carol and Emerson's home at 8:15 this morning anxious and ready to work. Our crew consisted of Matt from Ohio, Skyler, and Katie, Will and Wendy. Our crew leader is David, from Texas. Carol and Emerson were waiting for us on the front porch with hot coffee in the kitchen. We thankfully helped ourselves to coffee and visited for a spell before starting work. David and Matt worked on a handicap ramp for most of the day while the St. Jame's crew went to work demolishing two rooms in the back of the house. We removed walls and ceilings, tore out insulation and removed remaining nails. This was what I call "wet demo" because these rooms have been leaking for a minimum of 6 years. As we pulled down ceiling in one room water poured over us. It had been sitting up there for who nows how long? That was a true test of "gut" for me personally. I painted a smile on my face and gritted my teeth so that the kids would not be influenced by my "yuk" reaction. The next really interesting ordeal was when Will pulled ceiling down in the second room. Approximately 2 lbs. of dog food came crashing down on him. Evidently the resident rat had been hoarding stolen dog food in the ceiling for a cold winters day. Carol said she had wondered why her dog food was disappearing so quickly. She has 7 dogs and a coop of chickens. After we got all the walls and ceilings pulled down and the rooms swept and cleaned, I sprayed one of the rooms with mildew killer. Goggles, gloves and masks were worn ALL day today for safety. Other than ripping my jeans badly enough that we had to duck tape them together so that too much skin didn't offend others, things ran very smoothly. I was very impressed with how hard the kids worked and with how much they accomplished on this first day. We look forward to our return tomorrow to visit more with Carol and Emerson and with some of their family who live next door. They are very kind, gracious and welcoming and most of thankful. David seems to have a wonderful relationship with them filled with respect and mutual care for one another. That relationship is heart-warming to witness. Tomorrow will surely hold more surprise and reward. We are tired, but feel like we accomplished good things today. No more mold and mildew!! Time for bed. Good Night!

Wendy Dunn