Monday's Survival - the First Day

Today we all got off to a great start. We met the folks at Olive Tree during our orientation and they are a great group of young folks who've commited several months and in some cases years to help with rebuilding. The group is comprised of folks from all over the states and they work with PDA as project managers and site leaders. They work with local resources selecting sites for folks like us to work on.

We have three sites, all having different stages of completion. Our Fern St group is the most complete and this week may be the last group to work there. There's plenty to work on with painting, caulking and tile work being the first things on the list. The team also hopes to get the place cleaned up so the owner can make her first visit.

Our Cartier St site has the most work to do. The structure and area has been gutted and cleaned up and now we're building back the things that need replacing. A new roof is being added to one that is structurily sound. Inside walls have been studded and now we're putting in new ceiling joists to level the ceiling. We may even get to put on shingles, siding and insulation this week. This is the plan anyway....

Our Najolia St site has the outside complete and the inside work this week will cover caulking, hanging doors and tile work on floors and bath. This site is unique in that the owner is living on site in a FEMA trailer and gets to see the daily progress.

Our cooks, George and Rod are doing a great job feeding us all. They made a significant Sam's run that boosted to local economy greatly and I'm certain our waist lines by weeks end.

Everyone had a great day today and all have great energy. With all the work we did today, we will all be sleeping well tonight. The weather has been perfect.... not too hot or humid and a nice breeze most of the day.

Think of us often this week as the time flies by. God's work is touching us all.

Bill....