My last Sunday at Gautier May 28

It is always a pleasure to attend church on Sunday, a day to worship and praise our Lord. Today was my last Sunday at Gautier Presby. When I stood up to introduce the group from my village, I let them know that this was my last one. After 2 months I've gotten to know a few people and had to share some hugs. But I told them I would be back sometime. They are trying to live a normal life but half of the people in attendance on Sun are volunteers who are only here for a week, staying at my village or at the church. But they welcome all of us and are so thankful for the volunteers who are helping them get back into their homes.

I want to share an interaction that happened to me. A couple weeks ago a couple came into my village looking for a place to stay for a few nights. I didn't know what to do as I have only volunteers here and they looked pretty tough. He had a job but the boss had left for a few days so they had no place to stay, no work to do, no money. There was one other person here with me and we decided to call Gautier Presby church to see if they could stay over there. When I gave them directions, I found out they were walking so I went to get them water. As I'm heading to the dining area, the thought comes to me about entertaining angels unaware. But as I'm walking back with the water, I realize it is lunchtime, so I invite them to have lunch. He declined but she admitted she was hungry as they hadn't eaten since the night before. So I fix some lunch for them and for me and sit and eat with them. We talk and find out they had come from FL with a good job offer but it wasn't panning out as planned. A lot of things seemed strange but I felt okay helping them. I drove them to the church and wondered if I'd see them again. The next evening (Wed) I go to the vespers service at church and they are there. On Sun they were attending church also and I talked with them. He had found some paid work or worked as a volunteer and she was helping out at the church, too. For now they have a place to stay (in a tent on the church grounds), food to eat and making friends. Today when I talked to her, she told me they were going to join the church. They found a place to rent and would move in this week. Their children are in FL and will come after school is out. Today she gave me a big hug and thanked me for helping them. I almost didn't go the extra mile to help them but look at the blessing I would have missed. We never know when God puts opportunities in our path. THANK YOU LORD!!

Normally on Sun the volunteer groups get to do their own thing, tour some of areas that were devastated, etc. The homeowners need a day for themselves, also, if they have had groups in their home all week. It is a different routine for them to have 6 or 10 people in and out, lack of privacy, need to be available.

One of the fun things of my job is talking with the team leader of groups that are planning to come to this village so I talked with 3 team leaders today. I love my village, think it is a neat place so I try do my best PR job to encourage these groups. I want them to have a pleasant experience while they are here in MS and this is their home for a week. I answer all their questions which can cover a wide range of topics, tell them a little of what they may experience down here, what kinds of jobs there are. People apologize for taking my time but that is a big part of my job which I enjoy.

Blessings to you. God loves you and so do I.
Phyllis

A Hot day in the village May 27

It is hot today or seems especially hot. By 8 am we were all sweaty and shirts were wet after loading the cars. I'm glad both groups left after breakfast as they would have fried on the roof today. There is a small corner section of the roof left but I will get someone to finish it next week. Both groups worked on the house with 3 or 4 concentrating on doing some of the interior work and the overhang to her door. There was a lot of repair work as they had to replace much of the sheathing under the tar paper, fascia, ridge vents. They installed insulation in the attic but did it from the roof when it was open. One guy handled all the insulation which is hot, sticky work. These 2 crews were among the best I've had. They stayed with the jobs, didn't complain about the heat, lack of sleep, were up early to do breakfast, go back to the job site after dinner but it's pleasant by 5 pm with a breeze. One lady cleaned all the showers and Potties every day which allowed the others to leave early. Sometimes she stayed in the office if I needed to be gone or she went late to the job site.

Last week I realized there were no more love bugs around. I sure don't miss them.

I was to have a crew come from GA last night but they couldn't get enough people to come this weekend so they cancelled. Then I received a message on the group to arrive on Sun. Their team leader had a heart attack so that group cancelled, too. So instead of having 40 people in the village, I will only have 13. Larger groups are better and easier to work with as I can spread the jobs around better. June will be quite full every week. Every week I receive calls from people needing assistance or yesterday 2 ladies stopped by in person. We could only work on one site this week so I'm accumulating more than what are being finished. There were also some visitors this week to see the village as they may be coming back in the fall.

We have worked with the air conditioners this week and have maybe finally figured out how to keep them running without tripping the breakers. Some of it depends on where the tubing is placed and we learned how to connect the yellow tubing correctly. There were no operating manuals with these so a lot of trial and error. Yesterday the large dorm tent was comfortable for a few people to take a nap in the afternoon. These huts get extremely hot during the day and are cool at night. But I can leave the village knowing that some improvements have been made. Someone will have to do the ductwork into the huts after I leave though.

Blessings to you. Have a good Sunday and attend church. Memorial Day is special to me as I'm quite military oriented and know the price our military pays for us to have the freedom to worship, to speak, and live our lives.

Phyllis

Tuesday at Gautier May 23

Another warm day but people did a little better today than yesterday. Many of them did not sleep much Sun night so were tired Mon plus they aren't used to this heat and humidity. They were dragging when they got back to the village. Last night they slept but you do when you are tired enough.

We tried a new schedule today. Breakfast was at 6 am, made their lunches so were leaving by 7 am. It was very humid and dewy this morning. Early afternoon some came back to the village to rest, cool off, start dinner. We had an early dinner at 5 pm and by 6 some of them were back on the roof for a couple more hours. It became overcast this afternoon and with a breeze, it becomes pleasant. We have an air conditioner hooked up to one of the big huts with 7 cots so people could rest in there. The small huts aren't air conditioned yet but nights aren't bad yet. But we still have some issues with circuit breakers popping when 2 are going. There isn't much else plugged in but they must take a lot of power.

Talk to you later. Take care. Phyllis

Sunday May 21

2 new groups came into the village this afternoon which is always an exciting time. One group was from Ohio and the other one from Michigan. I give them a tour of showers, dining area, their huts, and then let them unload their stuff to get settled. They will be doing a roofing job so are starting at 6 am. They got all the tools loaded tonite, mostly on my truck so we'll be ready to go right after breakfast. Several will work on the inside of the house tearing down the ceilings in some rooms. The roofers will take a break during the hot part of the day and work on something else or on the inside. One must always be flexible.

It's a good thing I like to shop. However, my trips are always to Lowes, at least every other day so am becoming very familiar with all that stuff. I'm learning about number 8 or 16 or 6 nails, coated or bright finish, coils for the pneumatic nailers, single gang box with 3 hubs, different grades and thicknesses of plywood, if we can get what we want. There are times when they are out of certain products. The volume of stuff that goes out of there is incredible. Then I shop once in a while at Wal-mart for food.

It was hot today but evening is okay. It is to be hotter the rest of the week and no rain but we'll manage. Blessings to you.

Phyllis

Finally Saturday, May 20

I've had a busy last few days. Wed I took time away from the village as another manager came and stayed for the day. I got my hair cut finally. I did my laundry. Then I went to Biloxi to see some of the devastation but is a little difficult to drive and look. I stopped a few times to take some pictures. Each town has a beach blvd which was hard hit. Where I drove, there were only parts of 2 structures between the water and Beach Blvd. Just amazing. Stopped at a cemetery which has been written about with damage.

Then I stopped over at the Salvation Army area where Beaverton Foursquare houses its volunteers. I keep in contact with Pastor Mike Mercer and he was here this past week. He didn't have time to show me around but I found someone else to give me the tour. They are housed under the stands of a ball stadium which has showers and bathrooms. They partitioned off areas for several rooms to hold 8 people (4 bunk beds so not much space). It dark down there but is air conditioned and has a kitchen (former concession stand). It works very well for them. One of these days he wants to come see my village but doesn't have much time as I leave May 31.

Thur we had the village managers' meeting in Pearlington so over an hour drive for me. They are in the area where the towns are wiped off the map. Village in on sand and more primitive and hotter than mine. It is so sad to see so many structures mostly gone, lots of trailers but people are starting to come back.

The group this week left this morning. They think I can relax, have the day to myself!!! If only people knew what I did on weekends. I go thru each hut, checking them before the next group comes, I clean up the tool tent as people just don't get many things put back where they belong (that's the chaos area of the village), check messages, paperwork, etc. Today my machine holding ice was delivered. I had been told it would be 60 inches long. We built a platform for it and had a space. Well, it was 72 inches long so wouldn't fit where we had planned. So I had to rearrange the dining area, move the drinks to another table, kept only the coffee pots in the original space with a smaller table, redo the tables for eating. Of course, there's no one else in the village today.

My washer was plumbed in yesterday so did a load of kitchen towels today. I only have cold water so far and no dryer until the propane people come out to finish hooking up the gas. But there is a clothesline and a nice breeze so that will do. Now I can do laundry without leaving the village unattended. That tub is huge compared to the washers at the laundrymat. Day is about done for me. I do get some of reading done on weekends but am behind trying to go thru the Bible in a year.

Enough for today. I will fill you in on the rest of my weekend tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Blessings to you.

Phyllis

Surprises for the day May 16

Monday is usually a slower morning getting the groups out to the work site as they are getting their tools, directions to the home, what is involved with the job, etc. The weather has been cool these few days so has been nice for the roofing crew although it is hot around noon before the breezes come in. Mon night was cold and many were scrambling for more covers. It was 54 degrees this morning and should be again tomorrow and that's cool sleeping outdoors. Some people brought only sheets or blankets and not sleeping bags so were cold. This is unusual weather but great for the roofers as we have many to do.

My first surprise on Mon was finding a little critter in my kitchen area about noon. I went down for lunch and saw this tail, then a body by the sinks. It was a little possum chewing on a pot scrubber that had food scraps in it. I shooed him away after I recovered from the shock and he went under the platform next to the water heater so must have his nest down there. A couple hours later I went back to the kitchen and something was moved so I looked and he had fallen into the sink and couldn't get out. They are deep sinks so he was trapped. When the crews came back I got someone to get him out as I didn't want the cooks to find him. This guy picks him up by the tail and carrying it around. Someone else took him down to the woods in back of us. I have to admit he was kinda cute but I do not like mice or rats. Everytime I went to the kitchen today, I would look around. The previous manager said critters are out day or night and to keep the place closed up.

Then late afternoon I got a phone call that my washer and dryer were at the Orange Grove church and I was to come get it. My tool trailers were there, also, and were filled with tools so I made a trip over to pick up the washer and dryer and bring one trailer home. They aren't hooked up yet but need the propane people to come out to do the dryer. Someone will plumb my washer; then I will be in business. There are really a lot of nice tools in the trailer: 2 generators, 2 air compressors,2 pneumatic roofing nailers, finishing nailers, brad nailers, reciprocating saws, 6 cordless drill/drivers, ladders, cords, wheelbarrows, 6 drywall screw guns, sets of screwdrivers, hammers, plier sets, staple guns, wrenches, utility knives, a pressure washer, roofing spades,etc. So today another person and I did an inventory and mark each item with PDA. Very impressive.

One of the volunteers had asked his parents from New Orleans area to bring seafood gumbo over for dinner tonite. Their house was totally spared but relatives lost their homes. The food was good and she also brought red beans with rice, dessert. We feasted. A family from Biloxi came for dinner tonite also who knew one of the volunteers and they shared their story of staying in their house. The house is on concrete pillars 22 feet high and water surge was 21 feet high. He had a couple pictures. They were attaching devices to their bodies that would float as they were sure they would end up in the water. But they talked about it being like a war zone for several days afterwards and no food, little water, no cars as they were washed away, major damage to the house and they have now just moved back into it after he rebuilt it, stronger but next time they leave. Everyone had compared the storm to Camille and survived it but it was a small storm in diameter while Katrina was about 10 times bigger in area so it covered so much more land. Several people in their neighborhood died that day. Their 9 year old son really loved my village and thought it would be neat to stay here for a week.

Enough excitement for the day so I'm going to bed. Wed I'm taking the day off as another manager is coming to stay in my village.
Phyllis

May 14 - starting a new week

Today started a new week with a new group arriving from VA. They arrived mid afternoon so I was able to do my orientation tonite and get their jobs lined up. One group will be doing a roof. We've had a couple of cooler days which has been great.

I went to church this morning and met a few members of a group from VA also who are staying at the Gautier Presby Church. These volunteers served a brunch today for everyone right after the service which was nice. It beat coming back to the village and raid the refrigerator and eat by myself. Some of them want to come and see my village. Since I had no one in the village today, I wore a skirt to church which is a challenge getting into my truck. Normally I wear my PDA shirt and jeans just like the volunteers.

When we had all that rain in the last 2 weeks, the dining area had several inches of water in places. The landowner got a free load of finely crushed asphalt for me and they put it into the dining area Thur. It built up the floor a couple inches so we'll see what happens with the next rain storm. It packs down well with a hard surface.

May you have a good week with God's grace which is new every morning. Take care.

Phyllis

Village improvements May 12 & 13

I had wanted Bob or Jim to write this Thur but it didnt' get done so I will. Their comment was "We wired today". Since Jim is an electrician, he rewired part of the village so we don't keep popping circuit breakers. The 4 men stayed here and did the work with Jim's guidance. They added another panel box for the area where a kitchen will be built. The new stove can't stay in the big white tent and has to be moved. We selected a spot at the end of the pantry to house the stove, refrigerator, some cupboards with counter top space, small window air conditioner, etc. They put another conduit line on the fence with wiring for the dining area.



These pictures show Bob pulling the wire thru the conduit at the new end while Jim was pushing it at the other end. Then Jim combines the 3 colored wires using the non-union spool holders. What a team they were!!!



They ran a line into the dining area and pounded posts (by J R) into the ground to hold the outlets. Here Bob is sitting down on the job as he attached the outlets to the post. Now all the coffee pots can be in one outlet, the freezers have their own outlet, the toaster has an outlet, refrigerator has an outlet. Can you believe there are no extension cords in the dining area!! A miracle!! All you people who have been here in the village know what an improvement that will be as they often popped the breakers and someone would have to trace down the culprit. I was tired of asking people (with some electrical background)to help reset the circuit breakers and the GFI's. We even got rid of some cords by the office and tool tent but my air conditioner in the office is still a problem.

The ladies had gone to a painting job on Thur which they completed. Then on Fri everyone (7) was in the village for clean up. They mowed the tall, tall grass with a new weed/trimmer/mower someone gave me money to buy. Someone used the weed wacker all along the fence, between huts, under the trailers, etc. They moved and reorganized everything along the fence (wonder how long that will stay). Someone went thru all the huts to clean them, replace a couple broken cots, straightened up the tool tents. It all looks so wonderful and many thanks to them for all their hard work. I enjoyed having them here. Bob even got to be the "boss" on Fri as I took Jim to a couple ladies' homes to check an electrical problem.




Their treat Friday evening was a seafood dinner prepared by a lady who has received much assistance from PDA. She was a delight to have with us. The last night in the village is a special time with sharing by everyone, taking pictures as they are realizing they are going home the next day. This was their home for a week so I try to make it a pleasant experience. We ended up with another guest who is a Lutheran pastor from Iowa down here for 2 weeks doing visitation, spiritual counseling. He is staying at Christus Victor Lutheran but sure enjoyed our dinner with us and will be back before he goes home. He even wants a PDA shirt. They have pastors who rotate every 2 weeks for this work.

We had another big thunderstorm Wed night with some close lightning strikes. A couple people considered going to their cars. We only got about 1/2 inch during the night. Thur was really cool and not humid, a great day for working outside. Thur night was right chilly, people were scrambling for extra blankets or covers. High on Thur was 75 but 55 that night. Sure was different from our 83 degree days and 70 at night.

Everyone left this morning so I am alone until Sun afternoon when my next group arrives. It gets a bit lonely after having so many people around all the time.

Blessings to everyone and Happy Mother's Day. I thought my daughter would be here for the weekend but she has an eye infection which is painful and can't wear her contacts, no driving per doctor's orders. So hopefully it will all be well next week.

Phyllis

Life in a day at Gautier with HPC May 10

J R came to MS from Hillsboro this week and has taken a lot of photos which he downloaded for me to use. This way I get on some of the pictures. Check yesterday as I added some pictures to that day also. But I want to describe a day in their life here.


The group from Oregon last month left one of their magnetic signs to be passed on to the next OR group. However a couple CO people reacted a little and doctored it up.


The day starts with everyone helping with breakfast or setting out all the makings for them to make their lunch. Clean up and then a trip to the tool tent, which is well stocked and kept orderly. (Every couple days I go in and resort things to their proper place.) I'm helping Bob, Jim and Molly get the items they will need to do drywall, taping, some electrical, etc.


They are to take breaks every hour in this heat and humidity and replenish with water. This is a lunch break that day. Some homeowners bring them drinks and snacks also. They all learned how to do taping the proper way as Jim is explaining to Molly. I heard the ladies did an excellent job.



When I stopped that day with extra supplies a debris truck was there across the street picking up debris. This must be insulation, sheetrock, contents, etc that are being disposed of, no food. The guy sits on the lift operating the claws to get it and dump it into the truck. Then they move on to the next spot. Debris is taken to a couple landfills near Gulfport and burned. The piles aren't nearly as huge as the ones I saw in Dec.


With a small group, everyone helps with the meals but the guys do the cooking. After dinner we have our sharing time, devotions, or whatever. I'm giving a geography lesson as several wondered where the water was located in relation to homes they were working on. I have maps and love explaining where to go.

Blessings to you, Phyllis

Another wet day in Gautier May 9

Did we get dumped on again last night. About 11 pm it got very windy for a short time which bothered me. Garbage cans all over and the trailer rocked a little. Should I take the group to our evacuation place or wait it out? There is one group of 16 from Habitat for Humanity sleeping here but no meals. Then the group of 7 from Oregon. I checked the NOAA weather and no storm predicted but it was lightning and thunder and started to rain. By then the wind had calmed down to normal. I'm not sure when it stopped but we had 3.3 inches in a couple hours. So for the week we've had over 7 inches, water doesn't recede very fast anymore so today one really needed hip boots as water in places was deep. But the dining area didn't have much water as we had put a little dike around it Sun pm to keep water out. Showers are still predicted for 2 more days so we'll see. Huts get water on floor but that's okay. We decided that we wouldn't use these pictures in our PR brochure for the village, however. With the white roofs, the lightning storms are rather pretty.



Yesterday the crew of 5 went out to a house to tear out old sheetrock, some paneling, etc. They were dragging when they came in carrying their stuff but had finished the job. Jim is a master electrician so he is rewiring my village as it is in bad need, has extension cords everywhere, etc. But we need more current as we add freezers, washer, other appliances and we are always blowing the circuit breakers. He made this big list of supplies and we went shopping. Yvonne stayed back in the village, also, to help clean and restraighten the kitchen, answer phone, etc. Today they are all doing a drywall job, mostly ceilings so I'm alone in the village.

This group of 7 have really bonded and gotten to know each other as they are from different places. Bob thinks he has a tougher time as his sister runs the village but the team leader doesn't give him any slack either. It has been a really fun time together so far. I will have someone else write tomorrow. They all can have a chance.

Blessings to you. Phyllis

Sunday at Gautier May 7

Awoke early to a warm cloudy morning, the first full day for the latest team to join Camp Gautier. During breakfast, Phyllis kicks-off the week with an orientation, discussing guidelines and what to expect in the days ahead. Shortly thereafter, the team is officially part of the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) group...designated by blue T-shirts and badges worn around the neck. Dressed in PDA attire, the team attends service at the Gautier Presbyterian Church. During lunch back at the campsite, showers come pouring down for 30-40 minutes. With lunch over, a small group heads out to New Orleans and another group to a city nearby, Ocean Springs. Both groups witness the devastation firsthand, the general reaction was a sense of awe...this after 8 months since Katrina.

JR Bolen on behalf of Phyllis

May at Gautier May 2

It is May already and my time here as manager is half over. We had another highlight today as we got our propane tank and it was hooked up to our commercial stove and water heater. So the oven was "christened" today when she baked something in it.

The week has been a bit cooler so there is a group doing a roof. Today 4 ladies also tore down a ceiling which they weren't sure they could do. But once they started they enjoyed doing some demolition. It is very dirty work but it's a way to take out your frustrations. Showers always feel good in the late afternoon but today the men had been complaining that the water was cold but the ladies had warm water. They thought the propane tank was empty but it wasn't. We discovered that the burner didn't come on when the men turned on the water. These are instant-on-demand heaters for the showers. There are separate burners for the ladies and men's showers. They did something and they had hot water tonite. I think it hasn't worked right for a while. Many just showered regardless the temperature of the water.

It is very different having only 18 in the village this week but one person left today and one leaves tomorrow. But next week I should have about 45. Two of the people here are commissioned lay pastors who serve churches in their areas, both in PA. Churches are short pastors so they have become commissioned after they retired from other jobs. I think there has been at least one pastor in the groups every week.

We changed our schedule this week to having devotions at 7 pm, meeting with the job leaders about 7:45 pm so I get done a little earlier in the evening. But that may change again, depending on the groups and the number of volunteers. Some days it takes a while to get thru the line to get everyone fed.

Good night y'all. Tis cool this evening so will be nice sleeping weather. Blessings to you.

Phyllis