A windy day on the hill April 29

Another week is over and it was so windy today, the windiest day so far here. Even my trailer would rock a little sometimes. It started before daylight today and has been so strong all day - am tired of it. I found out today that our village is on the highest ground in Jackson County, elevation 60 ft. Mr Martin the landowner came by today and we chatted so he showed me around a little. Behind the trees the ground drops down about 60 ft so the village and where the homestead is( where he lives) were never underwater. Water came by at about 25 ft but no water on his land. That was great news as I was to find higher ground where we may evacuate in case of flooding.

The sharing on Friday night is usually a special time as many are in tears knowing they are leaving and some aren't ready to go. I ask them what this week has meant, what will they remember from their trip here. So sharing time gets a little longer than other nights. I was also presented with some gifts as many people come with extra money or buy things to leave in the village. One man bought a table saw that they could use this week and left it for us. Another group left a pneumatic nailer that makes roofing go twice as fast as this group did 2 roofs this week. They also had some leftover money so suggested I buy another compressor (already have one). One church group sent a large donation of gift cards to Wal-Mart ($25 and $50) and Lowes ($50 and $100) which I am to give to families. Another person asked how their church could sponsor a family as there are many families who don't have the resources to repair their home. Volunteers are wonderful people.

This week there was a group of 26 from Geneva Presbytery in New York representing 16 churches. Most of these people didn't know each other before coming but made new friends from their home area as well as other states. The group from Monmouth OR was from several demoninations so it isn't just Presbyterians here. Most of these groups left today but I got a new group from MI and one person who came from PA after the Board of Pensions meeting in Atlanta. The people from MI have been reading my blog but then I realized I had given the web site to the team leader. He was rather upset that he was unable to come. That is spooky to have my reputation precede me before they get here. One person said it has had 3000 hits so a lot of people are reading it.


We also have some fun times. There are numerous small calves in the pasture with the cows and they come up to the fence. There is a pile of dirt there and they like to play "king of the hill" just like us kids did. One gets on top and one will push it off.

A rainy day back at the cow pasture April 26

When it starts to rain here, it pours. Our village was rather swampy this morning. Rain started at 4 pm on Tues and ended (we think) about 11 am Wed and we received 3.5 inches in that time period. But you'll be happy to know the rain didn't leak thru the ceilings of the huts, it just comes thru around the bottom. Some huts have several inches of water on the floor. The kitchen pantry, office had lots of water. People started mopping up the water, gallons at a time. One trick I had never tried before today was using a broom and dust pan and you can scoop up water that way. Most everyone had waterproof boots to their knees, mine were only ankle deep so had to watch a little where I went.Some people just wore their flip-flops and slooshed thru the water puddles. We were all wet but who cares, it wasn't cold. The dining area was 5-6 inches deep in a couple spots but has disappeared this afternoon.

Every evening about 7 pm I meet with the leaders from the job sites and last night we had plan B in case it was raining. It was nice in the evening and not raining so we hoped for a nice day. But about 5:15 am it started to pour for several hours. We had arranged inside jobs today so the crews were nearly all able to go out today. The weather is to be nice and a bit cooler the next couple days so I want as many roofing crews out as possible. We got some extra ladders for the groups. Soon the roofing jobs will stop for the summer. And I want to take advantage of those willing to climb 2 stories or a 3rd story on back of one house now. We did go out today to put a tarp on one roof for a lady whose roof was leaking. A couple people's sleeping bag/blankets got wet as it was touching the floor. So a few people did laundry for the village and got the bedding dried. This was also the day to do the towels for the kitchen plus my laundry so I have clean clothes again. Some days I change 2 or 3 times with the heat and humidity so I go thru them faster. I will be very glad when my washer and dryer get delivered to the village. They got the shed put up today.


Last night we had 2 guests for dinner. They were sisters whose houses we've been working on but the volunteers were so impressed by their positive attitude. They spent the evening with us and stayed until after the devotion time. One of them shared how much they appreciate all the volunteers, work, etc. It was a special time for everyone.

Blessings to you all. Hi Christian and all the youth.
Phyllis

A new week April 24

What a day!!! The morning was crazy as 2 of us were looking for some jobs for about 15 people who had come in late yesterday afternoon. We have numerous roofing jobs yet but some of these people don't want to get on a roof, which is their right. But we had everyone going somewhere by noon. Mondays are usually confusing, frustrating, challenging mornings with new groups. It takes a day or so to get everyone organized into the routine of village life. Some one complimented me on running a tight ship and really appreciated it.


The big news for the day was the delivery of the new commerical stove. It has 6 burners and runs on propane. We can't use it yet until the propane tank gets delivered but we hope it is soon. My cook for the week gave it a big hug as it came out of the box. We have 65 people here this week so is a challenge cooking for that many.

I will be getting a washer/dryer one of these days also. Then we will really be a completly sufficient village. So today a couple people measured for a shed to house it. We ended up buying a metal shed placed next to the showers and propane tank. I'm excited about this as I'm the only village without a washer/dryer. We need it to do the towels for the kitchen plus mine.

Time to go for tonite. Blessings to you. Phyllis

Saturday April 22

A new exciting day. We got rain during the night after the storm fizzled out in the afternoon for the Gautier area. But areas west of us got dumped on about 4 pm. But we got the heaviest rain about 3 am, plus a lot of lightning during the night. We got about .6 inches of rain so many of the huts had a lot of water in them this morning. Thankfully, a couple people got the mops and started getting all the water out. Even our kitchen/pantry had a lot of water. Tonite it is a totally clear night with lots of stars and today was so nice. It was much cooler and lower humidity with a northerly breeze that it was just great.


2 groups came today. About 15 from Monmouth OR got here in the late morning as they flew overnight. It was so great to see Denvy and Gail Saxowsky the team leaders that I met in Dec down here. Denvy gave me the biggest hug when he got here. And some of them went out of one job this afternoon. Denvy and a couple others did go to look at a couple places to assess the situation before working on them. There are some skilled carpenters in this group and I need people who can hang doors, do finishing work, etc so they get these special jobs. They even brought me the OR flag (I had requested) to hang in our dining area. Then a group from MD and DE came later today and they are equipped to do a roof or two this week and I have numerous homes that need a roof. Having several groups here will seem like more jobs are being done. The need is so great but slow going. Some of these people can only make one decision at a time so that slows the process a lot. But the effects of stress, trauma, depression, etc that these people are suffering is overwhelming that they can't make decisions easily.

Friday night at our devotion/sharing time several were talking about places to eat out and I commented I haven't been able to eat out much. One of the guys said "You've been eating out every day here in the dining area and probably haven't done much of cooking either". He had me there. We have some smart people in the village this week. They are a joy but they keep me on my toes.

I wish you all a happy Sunday where you are. We will all be going to Gautier Presby in the morning - about 36 people, I think.

Phyllis

A new day April 21

Greetings,

Today was a new experience. This afternoon we were under a thunderstorm warning for Jackson County. We have a NOAA weather radio in the office and of course the warning came through on it. There was to be large hail, winds, heavy rain as it moved easterly and was to hit Gautier about 4 pm. It was already storming in Gulfport where my supervisor is and they were getting heavy rain. She called me to call my crews in and to go to a dry place. I was to unplug my printer and laptops and put into my trailer which would be dry. In heavy rain the huts get wet as it comes in the seams, etc. 1/2 mile south of the village there used to be a water world park which was destroyed in Katrina except for the building. Arrangements have been made that we can evacuate the village to that building which is large, heated or air conditioned and indoor bathrooms. In March the village did go there twice and it is very nice. The man owning it has fixed it up and is planning a RV Resort on the property. So I followed all the directives and we went over there. But I could tell the storm was passing us to the north. We did get a some rain and many huts had water in them but nothing else developed. The ladies who went shopping for dinner were told to stay at Walmart which they did so dinner was a little late. A couple guys got the big mop bucket and started moping up water in all the huts. I only have 16 people here tonite. Sat about 30 from 2 groups arrive.

One group of 5 is from Peachtree, GA and several of them had been here twice before. This is the 5th group from that church. Every so many weeks they send a group. But they do notice small improvements from their previous trip.

So we came back and I thought "how am I going to plug all my electronics back in" as I haven't really done that before. But I did it and they all work. I was very pleased with myself. But tonite as I write this, there is some lightning and thunder again. The watch ended at 9 pm and it is about 10 pm. So we'll see if we get more rain. It hasn't rained here since Feb 24 and they are in a drought.

Phyllis

Wednesday April 19

I've been here 3 weeks now and it is going well. I have a close male relative who commented that I didn't have many entries in my blog during the week. But most week days are rather busy that I don't get to it but am able to do it this week.

I only have 1 small group in the village so I have some free time. I did have a group of 26 sleep here for 2 nights and only have breakfast. They were doing other things for the rest of the day. It was a group called ANTHROPOSOPHICAL - Inner Spiritual Wisdom Society in America. They had a cook so he did the breakfasts both days. They did replanting of trees, bushes one day. They all had their own mess kits and washed them so didn't use our paper dishes or cups. There was even one man from Germany and he was going back to tell people back there about the work here for Katrina victims. They were all so impressed with the village, were expecting more primitive conditions. This is one of the best villages according to some PDA people so I have some big steps to fill to keep it that way and we are.

I have come across some people who were here previously, too. I was in the D'lberville village last night and someone said to me, "There's a man there who knows me". It was Dr Bill from New York. He's retired and comes down for a week about every month or two. D'lberville has a free medical clinic but need a licensed doctor to operate it so they use volunteers. Anyway, it was so neat to see him and he reached across the table to give me a hug. I hardly recognized him without his cap and coat as Dec was much cooler. We often sat at the same table in an unheated tent for breakfast, sometimes dinner which was at the sports complex for volunteers, locals, homeless people, etc in D'lberville. That village is set up differently than mine but I stayed there the first week I was in MS while we built Gautier.

Hi to (my) youth group as I hope you are getting news reports from by blog. Take care. Blessings to you.

Phyllis

Life at Gautier April 18

Welcome to the land of the warm and humid. this morning it was 70 degrees when we got up and we were covered in low lying fog. Temps are in the mid 80's which seems so hot. The guy thought he might air condition my office today or tomorrow. I said he'd get a big hug if he got it asap. I can't work in the office during the middle of the day.

Things keep improving. My upright freezer was delivered yesterday so now we can have more ice on hand. People usually freeze their water bottles and put in with their lunch and are still cold by lunchtime. One village had several with heat stroke Mon as everyone needs to take a 10 min break every hour and drink water. We send extra water with the groups as they can't run out. My commercial stove was promised over a week ago but haven't seen it yet. We are patiently waiting for it.

We are back into the world. I had been told I could get a newspaper delivered to the village. So I bought the Sun Herald this morning so I could call them. Well, the Sun Herald out of Gulfport won the Pulitzer for public service for 2006. You may have seen the news about it but the paper never missed a day of publishing. People stayed at the office thru the storm, staff were fed and sheltered for weeks even though some of them lost everything. There are some great tributes to the employees of the newspaper. Anyway they will deliver us one free newspaper for volunteers to share as we often feel at a loss at what is happening outside of the village.

Have a great day and think about you back in cool Oregon.

Phyllis

Saturday at Gautier April 15

Everyone went home yesterday so they could be home for Easter so it has been a long quiet weekend. A group comes in Sun evening from New York. So I spent today going thru all the huts and cleaning them for the next group. Everyone is to clean them before leaving but some do a better job than others. I can only work a few hours in the morning and after 6 pm as during the day, those huts are too hot. Thank goodness only half of them were used this week so I didn't have to do all 30 of them.

Gautier was on the receiving end of a "Convoy of Hope" today sponsored by the Assembly of God churches throughout the nation. The sign said "free lunch, free haircuts, many activities for children". I'm not sure what else they were doing as I only talked to one of guys guarding the gate. It was on the campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College which is among the top 100 associate degree schools in the country. And here's a news item for you: Pres Bush will speak at their graduation on May 11. About 1/3 of the students dropped out after Katrina hit due to life circumstances. The school was only closed 3 weeks even though several of their campuses were hard hit. About 1500 will be graduating so this is special for Gautier to have the president visit.



We had a group from upper MI (third week in a row that we had people from that area) who put sheeting and tyreking on a 2 story house. (I'm learning all kinds of construction terms these days.) The homeowner rented scaffolding for the month so someone else will have to finish it next week. But directly across the street are only concrete slabs as they were closer to the water and the storm surge. Amazing!!!


Last week I drove thru some neighborhoods where every house had a FEMA trailer in the driveway or yard. Their homes were intact from the outside but they had several feet of water in the homes, ruining most everything.

Time to find something to eat. It gets a little lonely out here but I have paperwork and procedures to redo so there's no time to get too bored. Took time to clean my trailer and get some things put away. I had a new experience there, too. I dumped the holding tanks this week (for the first time) and the hose had a leak. Drain hose also has to go up a little incline so didn't empty without assistance. Our field operations (or logistics) guy replaced the hose this week so hopefully next time all will work as it should.

Blessings to all and Happy Easter. I do plan to go to church Sun. Take care y'all.
Phyllis

Thursday at Gautier April 13, 2006

This has been quite a week. I didn't have much office help but we already had lined up jobs for the groups so that helped me a lot. Everyday I was training someone how to answer the phones, get into the computer, etc. It is a great help to have a couple people all week so it frees me up for some other things. Tues we had a meeting with the Presbytery of MS Disaster Force and making some plans and changes as we continue to work together. Many churches down here under Presbytery of MS host volunteers and assign them to worksites, too. My village is one of 6 that is under PDA and we both do the same things but in different ways.


I had a large group from near Richmond VA, half of them youth. The other morning a few cows came up to the fence and many of these kids had never seen a real cow. They were even able to touch them or pet them. Then we have our mascot Sir Francis Drake who usually shows up about dinner time. He is allowed to have a half of a bagel or bread. Then we are near a couple sandhill crane wildlife refuges but I've only seen and heard them fly over us twice.

A couple groups were combined and shingled a large hip roof. The kids are excited to learn how to do some of these things as we had several supervisors or skilled workers in that area. They finished the roof Wed and then helped put up sheetrock in another house which they helped complete, also. This lady was so excited to see it becoming a house. We have some resources to help people who had no insurance.


Wed night our MI group cooked dinner. They bought 2 charcoal grills and donated them to the village. They were the Yellow Dog River cook shack and served "road kill" chicken, corn on the cob, sink trap cole slaw, lumberjack baked beans, grilled yams, strawberry shortcake. We eat well but the volunteers need it as they work out in the hot sun somedays. We go thru a lot of lemonade and iced tea which are kept cold in large water coolers in the dining area.

Tis enough for one day. Will add my pictures later. Phyllis

Sunday and Saturday at Gautier April 9

Sat I finally got pictures added to my former blogs so you will have to recheck them if you have read them already. You gotta see my truck anyway.

Sat was a long day as one group left at 4 AM and the others left at 6:30 am. 2 groups were to arrive Sat pm. One group arrived 9 pm and the other one about midnight. Camp had been left quite clean but we had some heavy rain starting about 5:30 am so many of the tents had water on the floors. I didn't get it all cleaned up so some of the kids were doing theirs. The group of 20 has 10 youth with lots of energy which we need to get channeled into the work sites soon. They will be split and part of them will redo a roof and the other part will do drywall, tape, sand, etc. I had some great helpers in the kitchen and office areas last week but now I have to train new people again this week. Hopefully the right people volunteer for them. the day was long and I could not leave as there must be someone in the village at all times. There was one guy around part of the day as he had arrived a day early but was doing some assessments of work to be done. When I find people with certain skills I use them.

Friday nights in the village are really special if the groups have been here a few days. They start out the week by sitting together,staying to themselves, etc. Gradually that changes and by the end of the week they will be all mixed up. It is also a special time of sharing before they go home. Their question was "What is the one thing they will take home with them or remember from this week?" They all admitted how their lives, attitudes were changed by this experience. I would tell them what they may experience while here in the orientation I give but they stay skeptical. Several found out and shared that what I told them really happened. It is so neat to see that. Those are the blessings to me. It was a great week but the people (volunteers) make it that way and bless me. One group comes today and another one Monday so we'll have about 45 in the village. It cooled off last night as a cool front moved thru the area.

I went to church this morning and found an old friend (from Dec). Brian was there from VA. I helped set up the village with him and we got along so well so it was such a surprise to see him. But he was more surprised to see me as the manager at Gautier. He came by to see all the changes/improvements since Dec and had lunch with us. He and I laughed as we shared our stories about those days. I met his wife and they are staying at Long Beach with a group from their church for this week.

Grace to you all, Phyllis

What a day - April 7

This has been quite a day. There was a major roofing job which lasted 4 days this week. The group from MI started on Mon and as they got into it, they had to do a lot of carpentry to repair it. Trusses had to be replaced, edges of the roof, put in soffits, etc before shingling. A total of 15 people (9 from MI, 6 from KY) worked most of 3 hot days but finished Thur afternoon. They put up 80 bundles of shingles (2700 sq ft)by hand, no pneumatic nailers for the inexperienced. They even did some small extra finishing touches which overwhelmed the lady. She was giving them all several hugs when they left.


Having a seafood dinner has become a weekly tradition at the village as this is shrimp country. Brian, a young man from near Savannah, GA helped 3 northerners (men from MI) prepare a genuine southern dinner. Southern dinners are mostly fried food. The village has a large deep cooker so all things were cooked in peanut oil. We had red snapper, shrimp, hush puppies, sweet potato slices, corn on the cob which was boiled, salads. There was also chicken for the non-seafood eaters. Dinner was late but was well worth it. Brownies and ice cream topped off the meal.

We had some visitors. A group from WY (other demoninations) stopped by on their way home as they drove by our village every day. They left us a few things they hadn't used. Tom, chairman of advisory board of Presbyterian Disaster Response Team came by to meet me, see how things were going, looking for suggestions, etc. Then people who were here months ago stopped to see how the village had changed, what is happening. Blessings to yoy. Phyllis

Life at Gautier April 5

Hi to everyone. I hope all is going well with youth group tonite. It was beautiful today - upper 70's but it got cold last night that I had to grab more covers. Many were cold this morning as they didn't know how to turn on the kerosene heaters. We thought the cold nights might be over but they hadn't removed the heaters yet.


I finally started driving my truck Mon. It is a Chev Silverado, has 8 cylinders so has a little power. They got the big ones to pull the trailers in case of evacuation. It is taking a little getting used to in parking lots so I park farther away and sometimes use 2 spots. Can't you see me tooling down the highway?

2 more groups arrived on Mon - 15 from Lexington KY and 3 from Hilton Head SC. I shared with a couple of them that I had been there 2 weeks ago. We had a large group doing a roof on a large house which had many challeges but they're getting it done. If we had a few people each week with their skills we could get to more jobs. These groups will all leave Sat but 2 new ones come again.

Talk to you later. Phyllis

Sunday at Gautier April 2

I did an entry Sunday but something happened and it didn't get saved or sent so I am starting over. I went to church with the MI people and half of the people in the church were volunteers. There are numerous people who stay at the Gautier Presby Church and some have been there for several months. They are snowbirds but this is where they stayed and worked. I'm having fun with the "Hollanders" this week from MI as it is similar to my background. Many of the people in my church in Sioux Falls were Dutch so I'm at home with them. Some of the volunteers were introduced on Sun and the pastor introduced me specifically as the manager at the Gautier village as we will work together. A highlight for me at church was the statment of faith which was Q 21 from the Heidelberg Cathecism on faith. And it was communion Sunday also. The 2nd neat thing was to see a Rogers Organ newly installed and played. Martha is trying to learn it but she really appreciated getting all the music so thanks Sandy for arranging that.

We also have a group of 6 from Calhoun GA who are working today. They are only here for 3 days so wanted to work every day. We were able to find a place for them. Most of the jobs are roofing as we need to get that done before we do much on the inside. The MI group spent the afternoon looking at the devastation and going into the water on the gulf.

It has been so hot about 85 every afternoon and some people are having a hard time with it. air conditioning will be done in the huts later this month so that will be nice. I will try to get some pictures added to my blogs this week, found someone who can help me. So check my earlier days as I can edit any time. Blessings to you.

Gautier Village April 1

This is my 1st day of being village manager. 2 groups left for home right after breakfast and 1 small group of 3 left at noon. 1 group of 31 (mostly youth)were here from upper MI in a chartered bus.They as a group had gone to Home Depot to take some training in putting up sheet rock which helped them a lot. It takes them 2 long days to get home. Their youth pastor and a couple youth brought their guitars so we'd sing each evening at the devotions. Hey, Christian - I learned a couple new songs which are crazier than any of yours. Groups bringing musical instruments really add to the devotion time.

Everyone was assigned jobs to help keep the place picked up and clean which are done in the morning. Each person has to sweep and mop out their hut before leaving for home. The village is empty this afternoon (except for me) but 2 groups totaling 20 come later today. So part of my task is to go thru each hut - picking up things left behind, resweeping, etc if needed so that they are ready for the next group. It is hot today as thermometer outside the office says 85.


Village has a bell which rings at 7 am for breakfast, 8 am for short devotion and a send-off to the sites, 6 pm for dinner and 8 pm for devotions. I kinda like it but it's not the cowbell someone said was here. I'm really glad to have my cowboy hat though for the hot sunny afternoons.

Fri night we had a seafod dinner which was really enjoyed by all. I even sampled alligator - but can't tell you what it tasted like. It seemed more stringy but some say it tastes like chicken. (They say that about everything though.)

My group from Muskegon MI just arrived. They are a group of 10 from Christian Reformed Church there. On to other things.
Blessings to you, Phyllis