The end of month two Oct 28

This has been a strange weather week down here. A couple nights were so cold, yesterday it rained a lot and the night was warm. Today was cool but the sun came out mid morning and is pleasant this afternoon. But the north breeze is cool but it is so neat to see the sun. I can'tbelieve I'm saying it is great to stand in the sun and get warmed up after Sept and most of Oct. Oh well.

My groups all left this morning after breakfast but they cleaned up their pods and the sinks, showers, etc before they left. Someone even mopped up the water in the kitchen/pantry area and it looks so nice. When it finally stopped raining, we got the wet vac out to start mopping up water in my office, tool tent, everyone's pods. It is just a way of life here. Someone said we shouldn't complain about an inch of water when many of these families had 4 - 6 feet of water in their homes.

The last night of sharing with the groups is always special. It is interesting the comments some people make about their week in MS. But they all go home changed people and want to come back next spring. Some churches are committed to coming once or twice a year as the need will be great for a long time. People from their home areas didn't understand why they were still coming as they figured everything would be done by now as it has been a year. There are so many areas where nothing has been started yet towards recovery. In the New Orleans area, there is only mucking out of the debris and no rebuilding yet.

Tomorrow is the day set aside for us to worship our Lord. May you find a place to do that. Blessings to you
Phyllis

A stormy, rainy day Oct 27

I'm starting to think we are in the rainy season. We were to have rain yesterday but it held off until during the night or early morning hours. At 6:30 am today there was a tornado warning for George county which is just north of us and the storms were moving northeast into AL. It poured rain for awhile that I hated to get up but I knew the breakfast crew was at it already. We are to have 100% showers or thunderstorms today. People made comments about my big boots but they keep my pant legs and feet dry. It is warm today so will be humid.

Crews are all working on inside jobs today but some of them are quitting early afternoon and try to see some of the devastation before dinner. I have a person who has done devotions twice already and will again tonite. The last night of the groups is usually a special time. He did them Wed night and did something different. He had Mical and me get up and everyone came and laid hands on us as he prayed for our ministry here. That was very meaningful plus the hugs afterwards always help. We don't come close to walking in the shoes of the local people who live in some terrible conditions but it is their home. The smiles come as they see rooms take shape as the drywall goes up.

Tomorrow all the groups will be leaving for home which is a downer for awhile but I have a lot to do on Saturdays. Someone asked me if it was hard to get to know the groups and then they leave after a week. It is but then a new group comes.


Take care all of you. God's blessings on you.
Phyllis

Mid week and busy Oct 25

It hardly seems that a week has gone by since my last blog entry. Some days get busy and I quit at night by 9 pm. After that it's my time to unwind, read, go to bed, etc.

Last Thur Oct 19 we had a manager's meeting in Luling village on the south side of New Orleans which is 2 1/2 hours from Gautier. We left at 9 am and didn't get home until 5 pm which is hard. I had to have everything there for the people doing dinner and they were in the midst of preparation when we got home. The meetings are good but someone ends driving a lot. I got a nice blue windbreaker with the PDA symbols on it as there happened to be an extra jacket.

I have used that jacket often this week as we got down into the 40's on 2 nights. Many of the people got cold as they were expecting warm weather. They used all my extra blankets and sleeping bags, slept with a couple layers of clothes on. I have 54 people here this week which makes a pretty full village. Amounts of food seem to disappear as people eat much more than the suggested serving sizes but they are working hard each day.

Last week on one day I got out to visit 4 of the 5 work sites which I need to do each week. The volunteers like to have their "boss" come to see what they are doing. Yesterday I visited 2 sites but we have 8 jobs going. There are 2 roofing projects trying to finish today as rain arrives tomorrow again. We have a professional roofer overseeing the 2 jobs which are going well. We have groups from Fairfax, VA; Allentown, PA; Cincinnata, OH; Westlake, CA; and New Alexandria, PA. They are all mixed up on the work crews which they wanted and liked to do as they get to know other people better. Anyone willing to be on a roof regardless where they were from got assigned to a roofing job. That is still a priority here before winter and the rainy season starts.

Next week a large group (57) from Corvallis and the Cascade Presbytery in OR are coming to Luling, LA. I'm planning to get over there one day to see them and visit with them. I know a couple people coming so I'm excited about that. It's always special to see people from home.

God's blessings on you this week. Take care.
Phyllis

What a week so far Oct 17

This has been a stormy week with rain, thunder and lightning, tornado watches and warnings all in 2 days. It started to rain Sun night and had a tornado warning by Biloxi and Ocean Springs about 6 am on Mon. the storms were moving north so we stayed put. In fact the cooks for breakfast had started cooking and serving by 6:30. I kept an eye on the clouds but they were moving mighty fast to the north. We have a NOAA satellite radio and it kept going off for several hours. We were under a tornado watch until 9 am. It rained about 1/2 inch Mon so water was standing around.

Mon mornings are rather chaotic getting the groups out to their work sites on a normal day so this was really a challenge with the rain. The groups got their stuff loaded finally and were given their directions about an hour later than usual. Rest of the day had light rain off and on (like the OR rain). Come evening the storms were there again. One guy had a GPS for his airplane which also has weather so he was keeping track of the storm during the night. This time we had some lightning and thunder but not too close. It pours again at breakfast time. Today I dug out my big rain boots so I could just sloosh thru the puddles and didn't have to be careful where I walked. Yesterday I looked like a drowned rat as my poncho didn't protect me much as it was very windy with the rain. Today wasn't windy and didn't keep raining.


I spend most of my morning mopping up water in my office, tool tent and pantry tent with a shop vac. When the volunteers all come back in they will be using the vac to mop up the water in their pods. It comes in on the floor seams the way they are built. It is to rain for 2 more days yet.

A new group from Ocala, FL arrived last night so were out on the job this morning. No roofing jobs this week with all the rain so most every group was doing drywall in its various stages.

No other exciting news so will close for today. God's blessings on you.
Phyllis

Saturday Oct 14

Saturdays can be a more down day as the groups left this morning. One group left at 6 am and I am up to have a circle of prayer and see them off. The other group was up and getting ready to leave also but several were heading to the airport while others were driving so they left at different times. One has worked and talked with these people all week so some bonds are made and when they leave, part of you goes with them. But Sun evening 2 new groups arrive so I start all over again.

The first thing I do after a group leaves is go thru the pods. I check for forgotten items, be sure it is clean. Today I tossed out a few cots as some had bent legs and won't hold you. Then I sweep and mop the floor, if necessary. Some leave their pod very clean and others are not so clean. They are to be presentable for the new people staying in them.

Someone told me they didn't deliver food on Sat but my order came at 8 am. So I had to do some rearranging in the freezers. We need to do first in, first out so I put the newer stuff under the other. My freezers are quite full but 40 people will eat a good amount this next week.

Yesterday we got rain but not a lot. But it was cool, windy with high at 71. Last night was cold, even I got cold in my trailer. This morning people hated to get out of their sleeping bags as temp was 47. Rather chilly for MS. But many of these people were going back to places that had snow Thur and Fri. Today will be back to normal temps of about 80. I realized I don't have clothes for cool weather as I only packed for Sep and Oct. I will need to get a couple long sleeve shirts and another sweatshirt.

Tomorrow is Sunday so take time to worship our Lord and praise Him, whereever you are. He is mighty and greatly to be praised. blessings on you.

Phyllis

Life in the village Oct 12

I enjoy my job as manager at the Gautier village because of all the interesting and different volunteers that stay here. One meets all kinds of people from all walks of life. Many are retired, some were over 80 years of age but they have the wisdom and knowledge of doing the jobs even if they can't do them as well anymore. This week I had an ER doctor who took his off week to be in MS. He stayed off the roofs and didn't use any electrical saws for his own protection. I also have 3 sisters who came together to celebrate one of their birthdays (they do different events to celebrate birthdays) and what a way to honor the Lord. I've had a mayor of a city stay here, a couple who were traveling across the US on their sabbatical who stayed here to work for 3 days.

It is the volunteers who make my job such a joy and blessing. If some of you didn't know it but I have the gift of hospitality which helps explain why I like my role here. I can't do some of the physical work but I can run the village. (my brother I'm sure has some comments on that statment.) I've been called the "mayor" or Madame Mayor some weeks, "Kommodant" this past week, manager. The title doesn't matter but I have fun when I give my orientation speech to the groups or during the evening sharing times. This is their home for a week and I hope to build them into a community while they are here. It takes a day or two for them to learn the routine in the village but this week they are cleaning the showers, toilets, etc before breakfast which is amazing. I greet each group when they arrive and I send each group off, regardless of the time.

I have extended my stay thru Nov since they didn't have someone to replace me at the end of Oct. The next 6 weeks will be rather full each week but Dec has volunteers only one week that month so they can manage without me then. A new manager will come Dec 26. The need for volunteers continues as homeowners often call me to see if I have many volunteers in the village that week. These people depend on volunteers to help them get back into their homes. Spread the word!!!!

I enjoy being here as I've made some new good friends from both other staff people and volunteers, have a cool, dry place to live in with a good bed, 3 good meals a day from the new kitchen, washer and dryer to keep up my laundry, hot showers, place to worship on Sundays, beautiful sunny days, stars at night and a beautiful big full moon this past week, truck to drive. So what more could I ask for? Less ant and mosquito bites would be nice.

Thanks to all of you for the opportunity to serve our Lord in Mississippi. May you be blessed whereever you are.

Phyllis

A beautiful day in the country Oct 10

We have been having cooler weather for several days now. The nights are chilly that everyone grabs a sweat shirt so is great sleeping weather. We haven't used the air conditioners since Sat. But the days are pleasant so one doesn't get so sweaty. We are to have rain or possible thunderstorms for the rest of the week starting tonite.

I have 37 people in the village this week and I have forgotten how much food it requires. We ran short of a couple things as I haven't been watching the inventory as closely as I should. There is plenty to eat, however. My biggest challenge is having 35 bananas every morning. Those I have to buy locally and we don't have a big grocery store closeby. Walmart is 11 miles to the east or 11 to the west of where we are. People are enjoying the new kitchen.

We added a parking lot to the village over the weekend. We lost the space outside the fence where people used to park their vehicles so we had to put them in the village and there wasn't room for 10 vehicles and allow people to get in or out. Mr Martin said we could expand so we added about 45 ft along the back side next to the dining area. There was a gate there already which helped. A group put in the fence posts, did braced corners and put up wire fence. Looks nice and allows about 10 vehicles to park there. We had to fence it to keep the horses and cattle away from the cars.


We have 7 groups working on homes this week. One is doing a roof while most of the rest are doing drywall in its various stages from putting up to priming. One group of 25 is from Washington Presbytery in PA representing 7 or 8 churches so many of these people did not know each other before. But living in close quarters and working together creates bonds and friendships that can last a lifetime.

May you have a pleasant day - one the Lord has given us to enjoy to its fullest.

Phyllis

Another week gone Oct 7

This has been a busy week with other things besides the volunteers in the village. On Wed 3 of us went to Houma, LA to help the YAV's get their village ready for volunteers. People hadn't been there for a while so everything gets very dirty, etc during those times. We helped clean all the showers, wash the shower curtains, clean the pods to get rid of the slime that collects where water had been, got the freezer out of the box and set up and plugged in, records, etc put into their computers. The 2 girls there needed moral support as much as anything. It was a very hot, sweaty day but worth the work. It is a long trip (2 1/2 hours) from here so is a long day.

Thur we had a managers' meeting at Pearlington. They had just finished getting a wood floor in the dining tent which is so nice. Every dining area will have a wood floor in time. But it was neat to finally have all the staff and managers together as we shared our joys and challenges in the villages, got updates of what is happening, etc. That's a half day away from the village.

The kitchen was totally finished on Fri with trim around doors and window, insulation put in the ceiling. Everyone is impressed with it and it looks very nice.


Thur pm a small group from Orlando area arrived for the weekend. Then on Sat afternoon 22 from Washington Presbytery in PA arrived for a week. Several of them had been here in Feb so there were many changes in that length of time. Sun night there will be a group of 12 arriving so a good size village for this week. The weather has cooled off some that the nights are in the upper 50's so nice sleeping. The last 2 days had low humidity so the days were pleasant and only upper 70's for highs. I can handle this weather.

Take care all of you.
Phyllis

A special guest Oct 3

This week I have a special volunteer in the village. He is a missionary in Guatamala where he and his family have lived for over 20 years. They are back in TX on furlough for a few months but decided to come to a PDA village with a friend. He is used to having groups come there to do mission projects but he commented they don't have near as nice facilities to house the people. He's on the other side this time so was a good experience for him. He's with a friend's group from FL who are doing a roof this week. Yesterday was hot for the crews out there. One crew goes out at daylight which is 6:30 to start on their roof. We will do 2 roofs this week and have many more to do. We're wanting cooler weather.

We also have a HVAC person here for 3 days and he's been checking out or servicing some of the ac's where our groups are working. It was nice having 24 volunteers in the village and finding jobs for them and sending them out. They were all willing to do whatever I needed. It makes it easier to get all the chores done with this many people. I had to take the truck with large tools to one site plus a trip to Lowe's - same routine as in the spring which I sorta enjoy.

I will relate an incident that happened to me last Friday. It took me a day to recover but am doing fine. I'm coming back to Gautier after a farewell breakfast for our finance person. I'm going along at the speed limit on a 4 lane highway when a vehicle that had been parked on the side pulled out in front of me. There is a full lane of traffic on my left side plus another vehicle parked along the right side of the road. My only flash of memory is that the car that had pulled out became very small compared to my truck and I went thru the middle of these lanes of traffic. The only explanation is divine intervention as I had no where to go. God's angels were there. When I arrive in the village, the first carload of volunteers from VA have just arrived but I couldn't deal with them for about an hour. My friend Sue was here and immediately started thanking God and His angels for sparing all of us from a major accident. The Lord God still performs miracles for us, that's all I can say.

"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it". PS 118:24. May we live one day at a time as we don't know what tomorrow will bring.

Phyllis