Reconstruction Begins

After days of tearing out and fixing other structural problems along the way we began reconstructing a small portion of Alice and Daniel's home. With a little more prep work on the small bedroom off from the kitchen the group began installing drywall. What a great thing to see! New white walls over the bare spare wood plants that were used to create the original portion of the house. As you might guess, not all of us were able to work in this small room so those who weren't working in the room did other jobs around the house. As we debrief in the evenings we think our mission will serve three very vital purposes. First, we have deconstucted and torn out all portions of the home that need to be repaired. Our work will enable another group to come in and get right to reconstructing their home. Secondly, since we have some experienced people in the group our work has made the home more structurally sound and sound construction advise has been given to our coordinator, Kim, to share with the next group coming in to work. Finally, we will get to see at least one room in the home well on the way to being completed. The group hopes to stay in contact with future groups who work in this home and receive pictures of their work that builds upon what we have done.

The group made a decision to leave the worksite a little early today and take a short tour to FCC, Port Arthur, which sustained significant damage. Kay and Judy fixed us a fantastic early dinner. We then drove south a short way to Sabine Pass (pop. <400) which was the epicenter of Hurricane Rita. We saw the tremendous destruction as well as the huge oil refineries that dot the Gulf coast. Our tour guide at FCC Port Arthur, who was the choir director and property chair, told us that 1/3 of all oil is refined in Port Arthur. While at Sabine Pass we stopped at the fire station which some of you may have seen on the ABC T.V. show Extreme Makeover. The firefighters gave us a tour (and shared their feelings about local politics - very interesting) and showed us their facility. After the tour we had our picture taken on the fire truck.

Tomorrow we plan on finishing up the small bedroom with drywall, wrapping up any loose ends, and packing up the trailer to head home. Our game plan is to leave early Saturday morning around 2 a.m. for Paducah. Keep us in your prayers as we finish up our mission work with Alice, Daniel, and their son, Christian.

Wednesday - Unforeseen Adventures in Construction

Each night after cleaning up and eating dinner we have a time of devotion and game planning for the next day. Our plan for Wednesday was to complete a few last tear out projects and move on to doing some drywall work. The main focus for our work today was going to be reconstructing the small bedroom off of the kitchen. The group had noticed that the ceiling was sagging or bowing in the middle. Since the home is almost 80 years old no one thought too much about it - that's what happens in older homes. We will work around it.

During one of her routine stops by the house to check out our progress the site manager, Kim, asked about the bowed ceiling. She was watching and asking questions about how the ceiling was going to be drywalled, all the while sitting on the steps that looked into the room from the exposed wall. This exposed wall allowed her not only to see into the room we were working in, but to also see very clearing into the section of attic over the room being worked on. Kim noticed that the ceiling joists holding the ceiling up were in poor condition and that structurally it was unsafe. Andy went upstairs to investigate and came up with a game plan to help stabilize the ceiling and remove the bowing. The only problem was that Andy and Phil spent considerable time in the attic working on a project we did not plan on doing. This also meant that the rest of the work crew had to work on small jobs until the room was safe to resume work. Jason built a huge t-bar that was used to brace the ceiling and raise it up to the proper level and then the guys in the attic secured it - fixing the problem. We are blessed to have some talented people on this trip.

Once the ceiling was back in place the next phase of the project could being. Strips of 2x4 had to be nailed on onto the ceiling so that sheet rock could be connected to something of substance to form the new ceiling. This was no small feet but Andy, Del, and Jason got it done. Ben, Phil, and I cut lumber and took care of details as they arose.

Kay and Judy provided a fantastic lunch and helped clean up some of the messes we made as well as placing a new bracket in the living room for an existing ceiling fan.

The next big adventure surrounded the replacement of a window in the room. The old window was hanging in there by a prayer. Jason built a new structural support, bracing, and framing for a new, bigger window to be installed.

At the end of the day from an outsiders perspective it didn't look like much had been accomplished. Yet, from an insiders view the group got a whole lot done that will serve the house and the family well into the future and provide a safe living environment for them.

Tomorrow the group hopes to begin the process of drywalling and then taking a short trip to Port Arthur to see hurricane damage and then traveling on to Sabine Pass which was the epicenter of Hurricane Rita. This location was also highlighted on a recent episode of Extreme Makeover because of the new firestation that was built for the town. Pray that our efforts go as planned tomorrow.

Day 2 - May 9, 2006 -- Tear Out Continues

Today the group continued tearing out damaged portions of the home in which we are working. The eight of us split up into three different work groups.

Andy Champion worked in a very hot attic putting in additional bracing to keep the roof from sagging. The temperature in the attic had to be well over 100 degrees.



Del Fleming and Jason McHaney worked on a small bedroom in the older portion of the home which was built around 1928. They took off the sheet rock to find two layers of very old wallpaper underneath. Wall paper that was made out of fabric and still in decent condition. The home belonged to the wife, Alice's family. She grew up there and was child number 11 out of 13. Four siblings stayed in this particular room that Del and Jason worked in - which was barely big enough to hold 2 twin beds and a dresser.


Under the wallpaper, was a mismash of very old lumber. They also took down the ceiling. The structure underneath was in sore shape so there will be some reconstruction that will take place tomorrow in that room and some structural support work. The third group was Phil Justice, Ben Henry, and Papa J. The third group tore out paneling in the stairway heading up to the master suite as well as paneling on the walls in the newer portion of the house which is a family room.

Papa J. also got the fun job of cutting up insulation to fit in between ceiling and roof joists to keep outside air from easily entering the house.

Kay Henry and Judy Fleming took care of our grocery needs for the week and planned a menu. They then brought us a great lunch at the site and helped in the removal of debris that was created throughout the morning hours.

Daniel, the husband, ended up having several stints placed in his heart today and is doing well. Tomorrow there will be a little more demolition, but a majority of the day will be spent putting up sheetrock(drywall) in the small bedroom that was torn apart today.

Arrival and Day One - May 8, 2006

Trip and Arrival
The group left FCC, Paducah Sunday morning, May 7, at 4:30 a.m. The group took turns driving throughout the day and we arrived at Beaumont, Texas at around 5 p.m. With a few minor navigational errors with outer roads, highways, and turnarounds we arrived at Northwood Christian Church and met our site coordinator, Kim. We unloaded our sleeping gear and set up in an activities building which will be our new home for the next 5 days. We ate dinner at Chili's, again after a few detours due to navigating the highway and outer roads, but we finally made it.

Day One
Our work assignment changed and we are learning that they weren't kidding about being flexible. We are working on home that was damaged by Hurricane Rita. The work day began at 8 a.m. The couple, Daniel and Alice, who own it are retired and they have a 15 year old son living with them. They were fortunate enough to get a FEMA trailer which is sitting in their driveway. They also still use parts of the house that were not damaged by the hurricane. Our day consisted of tearing out dry wall and paneling both upstairs and some down mostly in bathroom and laundry areas. The upstairs bathroom had to be completely gutted down to the studs and everything removed. The attached master bedroom had to have the carpet removed. The area under this master suite is a family room area that was damaged from water in the upper part of the home. In this family room area, which the family still uses, we removed the ceiling tiles and tore out drywall in the laundry room/shower area as well as a small half bathroom.

All of the drywall and tear out had to be bagged in garbage bags and hauled to the curb for pick up. Due to dust and mold in certain parts of the home many of us wore surgical type masks which made for difficulty breathing in some instance and also were incredibly hot. The temperature here today was at least 85 degrees and high humidity. We called it a day around 4 p.m.

Upon returning to the church the shower facilities got a good workout. Around 5:30 the minister of the congregation here, and his wife, and another lay member brought us dinner. We had BBQ - sausage, beef, beans, rice, and banana pudding. Ben and Kay Henry arrived around 6:30 from Dallas to join the group.

We are glad everyone made it here safely and that we are injury free after the first day. We would ask that you keep us in your prayers as well as the family we are trying to help. The husband of the family whose house we are working on, Daniel, is a licensed minster at one of the African-American Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregations here in Beaumont. He had to go into the hospital yesterday with heart problems and as of 10 p.m. this evening we don't know if he had a stent or open heart bypass surgery.

Preparing for the Mission

Friday, May 5

On Sunday, May 7, (the day after the Kentucky Derby Day) eight members of First Christian Church, Paducah, Kentucky will leave for Beaumont, Texas, for a mission trip. This is a big deal because our congregation has not taken an adult mission trip in at least 50 years. We hope that you will check this blog site regularly to get daily updates and stories from our trip.