Sunday, April 22, 2012

Re: Minot2 home

All,
 
        My car was in Pipestone at 7 p.m.  Just a half hour behind.  It was a good half hour spent in Moorhead seeing the Hjemkost.  Ask Barb, Louie, or Annie about it.
 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Rod Stemme
We are home.  The St. Paul people got in around 6:30.  There was some bad weather on the way back.  We ran into some sleet or snow or hail or something white and slippery on the expressway.  There were a few cars in the ditch.  But Jeff S. was driving and kept us "between the ditches" and "greasy side down."  
 
The Pipestone group got back around 6:30pm and the second vehicle arrived around 7:30am.  (Rod St. cannot go to an area that has any sort of tourist attraction or oddity without going to look at it.)
 
I will write more later and sum it all up, but for now, thank you for keeping us in your prayers and thinking happy thoughts and sending notes and cookies. 
 
More to come.
 
R
 
--
True faith is never found alone; it is accompanied by expectation.  --C.S. Lewis.


Minot2 home

We are home.  The St. Paul people got in around 6:30.  There was some bad weather on the way back.  We ran into some sleet or snow or hail or something white and slippery on the expressway.  There were a few cars in the ditch.  But Jeff S. was driving and kept us "between the ditches" and "greasy side down."  

The Pipestone group got back around 6:30pm and the second vehicle arrived around 7:30am.  (Rod St. cannot go to an area that has any sort of tourist attraction or oddity without going to look at it.)

I will write more later and sum it all up, but for now, thank you for keeping us in your prayers and thinking happy thoughts and sending notes and cookies.  

More to come.

R

--
True faith is never found alone; it is accompanied by expectation.  --C.S. Lewis.


Friday, April 20, 2012

Last day in Minot

It was a good day.  

Bob's team finished the first layer of tape/mud.  
Howard's team got as far as they could with the flooring
Dave's team finished hanging the all the drywall in the basement.  

Everyone worked well together.  When we met for devotions, there was a lot of discussion about how well this team worked together.  We were all excited about our interactions with our homeowners.  We all felt like we were called to this mission trip.  And that God used us.  

Today was cold.  The tent in Hope Village was cold and not a great set up for what they wanted to use it for.  (breakfast)

We knocked off work around 2:00pm and brought back our tools, cleaned up, and drove around Minot and looked at areas that are still devastated.  When you put this into the perspective of the flood having been almost a year ago, it gets a little sobering.  

After the tour, we met with the pastor of the church that hosted us last fall.  She recommended a restaurant that was pretty good.  LOTS of food.  Tasty.  

I added more pictures to the picture site, and added them to our Facebook page.  www.picasaweb.com/rodscofield/minot2 is the link for the pictures.  On Facebook, search "Riverbend Mission Team"

We are leaving early in the morning.  Expect to be home around 5 or 6pm.  

More final thoughts after we get back.  

Pray for safe travel.  We have worked hard and have had a good trip.  And we are ready to come home.  

More to come.

R

--
True faith is never found alone; it is accompanied by expectation.  --C.S. Lewis.


Re: Minot- Thursday

Great job everyone. Lot of need in the paths of the spring tornadoes

Still praying.

In Christ's Love and Service,

Pastor Paul Marzahn

Minot- Thursday

The big thing for me today was Hope Village.  

Sometimes, it's hard to know what to write in these emails because there is a pretty wide range of people reading them, and I don't want to put any of my ugliness out for everyone to see.  It's kind of like writing five days worth of Christmas letters.  (Everything is great!  Howard figured out a solution to an insulation problem!)  But the truth is, sometimes on trips like these, a person can get crabby and not look at things in a Christ-like way.  I am happy to say, though, that God got through to me pretty quick, and I was able to turn it around.  Back to Hope Village-

Up until now, we have been meeting in the church for meals.  Our group has also done devotions in the building.  There is a strong wifi signal and I can get all my photos uploaded, an email sent out, and even play my turn in my on-line Scrabble game with my mom.  Yesterday, however, they set up a tent.  (54x54 round rope and pole with a blue and white striped top and sidewalls in case anyone is interested.)  today they added a floor, and said we would have dinner and the rest of our meals in the tent from now on, and in fact, there really isn't a reason to be in the church anymore, so well, try to stay out of there.  I was a little disgruntled.  I found myself being crabby about losing our space (the tent is colder and the heater makes a LOT of noise-  not conducive to devotions and prayer time.)  So I smugly noticed that there is no way they will be able to feed as many people as they think they want to under that tent.  And then all of a sudden it hit me.  I have nothing to complain about.  I didn't lose my home to a flood.  I lost a little "comfort" and maybe perceived convenience, but I'm not here to be comfortable, I"m here to serve people as best I can.  Then in devotions, other people talked about the same thing.  It has been a little discombobulated since we got here, but we are one of the first groups to come through.  There will be kinks, and flexibility is a must.  The different agencies here need to get their feet underneath them, but it will happen and maybe we are part of that learning curve for them.  We are honored to be able to serve.  That's it.  

As for the work teams, Howard's team did get a solution to the insulation problem.  Bob's team went back to their 2nd site and worked on mudding and taping.  I never knew you could use a paint brush to "mud."  Dave's team is almost done with the drywall in the basement.  Most groups think we will not get everything done.  Most groups also report having some very positive interaction with the homeowners.  It really makes what we're doing seem like it's meaningful when we get to meet the people we are serving.  

I didn't get any new pictures put online today.   And tomorrow is a busy day with trying to get everything done we can, but I'll try to get some more pictures posted.  I did put pictures in our Facebook album for those people that are on FB.  

Lastly, tonight at devotions, we talked about "where next?"  Any suggestions?

Peace!
R
--
True faith is never found alone; it is accompanied by expectation.  --C.S. Lewis.


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

RE: Why not Minot? Day 3

Hi Rod (and Minot Team),
Thank you very much for including me on the emails. I love tracking your experiences and progress on a daily basis. Today at our staff meeting, I shared your emails and the CROSSROADS staff lifted you all up in prayer. You all remain in our prayers until God brings you home safely.
Blessings,
Pastor Deb Marzahn


Why not Minot? Day 3

Today saw Bob's team finish their first assignment.  The homeowners didn't show up today, but the previous two days, they had shown up and helped us work, and told us a little about themselves.  It really makes a difference when we get to meet the homeowners.  After finishing the subfloor at this house, we went to help Dave's team move 12 foot sheets of drywall from the garage into the basement of the house they were working on.  Then we went back to get another work assignment.  They asked us to remove a subfloor.  When we got there, though, we found that the "subfloor" was actually THE floor.  It was 1" plywood on 48" on center joists.  Bob said that if we took off too many of these pieces, the house would be unstable and could fall in.  We called the construction foreperson and she came down to check.  We convinced her that this wasn't a good idea.  So she assigned us to mud and tape the drywall that had already been hung.  So we started that.  We met our homeowner and she worked right alongside us.  

Dave's team got done more of finishing the basement they were working on.  Nothing much exciting about drywall....  

Howard's team finished their assignment and were rewarded by their homeowner with BIG pieces of pie.  You can see one of these pieces of pie if you go to our pictures site.  (www.picasaweb.com/rodscofield/minot2).  After that, they went to get another assignment.  They were assigned a subfloor.  It sounds like they didn't get much done, and have some challenges to overcome.  Howard says the homeowner and the construction people here are asking him to put fiberglass insulation between the floor joists, which is above a cement slab under the house.  There isn't a vapor barrier.  And there isn't any way to make the insulation NOT sag to the cement over time.  This would eventually make everything wet.  Howard knows this isn't the way to do it and so he doesn't want to do it that way.   He is having a hard time convincing the homeowner that it would be harmful to the house to do it the way he thinks it should be done.  Stay tuned for further developments!

Hope Village got a tent today.  Apparently they are eventually going to use it for a recreation area with a floor, a tv, and I think they are going to serve meals in there, too.  Rumor is that tomorrow they are putting a floor under it.  I took several pictures of Hope Village today.  I posted them on the picture site.  

I think a lot of us are getting antsy to see things besides Hope Village and our job site (and Menards)  A couple people went to Walmart and other places to get away for awhile.  I'm hoping someone brings me back a Diet Coke.  :-)  

My next task for tonight is to reconcile the money.  I'm a little nervous things are kind of tight.  We have spent more in supplies this trip than I had planned on.  I might have to confiscate a couple of our credit cards.  

Thank you to everyone that is praying for us.   I read any messages you sent.  

I also added pics of Leanne signing a 2x4 in the wall of our first house, a rainbow over Hope Village, Hub eating pie, Howard tying a ladder to his truck, and several others.  

Please pray of a participant from another team named Pete.  He took a fall and ended up with a concussion in the hospital.  I heard that he is back, but I don't know for sure.  

More tomorrow!

Peace!

--
True faith is never found alone; it is accompanied by expectation.  --C.S. Lewis.


Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Minot 2 Day 2

I can say I am sore.  Bob decided that instead of the screws we used on our subfloor, we needed to use ring shank nails.  So Rod St. and I hammered in, we figured, about 1300 nails.  The floor is almost done.  We anticipate being done tomorrow.  We will get another work assignment then.

Howard's team almost finished their siding job, also.  They will also get another work assignment.  

Dave's team got much accomplished, but still have a long way to go.  

The team dynamic with this group is pretty good.  Half from the Twin Cities and half from Pipesone/Slayton, MN  (I want to say the "other Twin Cities of MN"  but I'm not sure it's funny to anyone but me.  -  They are from way southwest MN.)  We all work well together.  And there are people from each location on each team.  This group is fun to be around.  

You may have noticed that on our awesome bright yellow tearm t-shirts, the letters, JAP are printed on the left sleeve.  We wear those initials to honor Jim Parry, who was a part of this team since the beginning, and died of cancer last January.  Jim only got to actually GO with us once to the Gulf in 2007, (where he broke his leg)  but he was involved in the logistic support and fundraising, I think for every trip.  For our first trip, Jim picked the color for the t-shirts ("cyber raspberry" was the official name of the color.  But really, it was hot pink) So I think he would appreciate this bright color.  We miss Jim's laugh and wisdom.  

I gave my camera to Matt S. today, to take some pictures at his job site.  He took some, which I have posted on our pictures site.  Howard and Louie also gave me some pictures.  click here:  www.picasaweb.com/rodscofield/minot2 to see them.  

Thanks to everyone that is supporting us!  We are grateful for your prayers and thoughts.  

Peace!
R

--
True faith is never found alone; it is accompanied by expectation.  --C.S. Lewis.


Monday, April 16, 2012

Minot 2- The drive out and the first day

If you're following us on Facebook, you'll know we made it to Minot.  

The weather driving out was VERY windy and at times, pretty rainy.  This made the drive somewhat challenging.  We arrived in Minot at a whopping 10:00pm.  The facility we are staying at is a compound called Hope Village.  Hope Village is made up of several trailers and is located at a Lutheran church in Minot.  They are just barely up and running.  There are porta-potties to use if the church is locked.  And it was snowing.  -  but also very muddy where the semi's that moved the trailers in tore up the ground.  There was a lot of confusion about which trailers we were supposed to use, and etc.  The people organizing it are very nice, but they were dealt a pretty messy hand.  

The last time I was out here, I heard that there is a rule that in a disaster response, agencies cannot duplicate efforts.  The best I can tell, the Presbyterians are in charge of housing and hospitality for volunteers.  The Lutherans are in charge of work assignments.  The Methodists are in charge of case management.  That's the best I've been able to figure out so far.  

The work assignment department wasn't all that well oiled, either.  This isn't a criticism.  It's an observation.  They have a new volunteer coordinator.  And new systems in place with Hope Village, and more people than have been here in a long time.  But the whole thing did cause confusion with getting tools, work assignments, clarification about the work, and then more tools once we got to the site and discovered we needed something else.  

Bob had a good point.  He said that if they (work coordinators) could tell us what the projects would be that we would be working on, then we could bring the right tools, and we could avoid all that confusion.  The problems with that, though, are that 1.)-  I didn't now for sure who was coming from our team until we got on the bus.  (I let people sign up until the bus pulls out of the parking lot, and even then, it's a loose boundary.)  and if I don't know who's coming, I can't tell them what we are capable of, and then they don't know what to assign.  2.)-  It takes away flexibility on the part of the work coordinators.  In this kind of setting, things happen and stuff comes up.  3.)-  Some people fly here or have other transportation limitations and can't bring the tools they need.  BUT-  Bob's idea, I think, is still worth kicking around.  

The work assignments look like this:  Bob's team is putting down a sub floor.  He has Rod Sc., Rod St., Barb A, and Leanne C.  Howard's team is replacing siding on a house.  He has Lewis W., Louie L., Hub S., and Jon M. with him.  Annie stayed back and worked on sack lunches for the teams, and other meals.  Dave's team is putting in drywall in a basement.  Working with him are, Ron C., Jeff S., and Matt. S.  Everyone reported getting a lot done once the tool situation cleared itself up.  Bob's team and Howard's team both met their homeowners, who are very willing to be involved in their own reconstruction. 

We ended up with 15 people on the team.  Eight from the Twin Cities (including Bob from Indianapolis) and seven from the Pipestone, MN area.  Everyone is working well together and seems to get along well.  

I have a few pictures from our commissioning (Pastor Deb and Pastor Mike from Crossroads Church prayed over the people that were at Crossroads.  They also gave us each a pair of gloves and read a very cool devotional from a book I "borrowed" from Pastor Deb until further notice.)  and from Bob's team's worksite.  I have them posted on www.picasaweb.com/rodscofield/minot2 .  I'll add to those each night.  

Prayer requests:  I THINK we're ok on our finances, but it's going to be tight.  Praise God for providing!  health and safety of our entire team.  An ability to reflect Jesus' love to the homeowners we're working for.  

Ok-  that's it for now.  

If you want to be removed from this email list, let me know and I'll take you off.  

Peace!
R

--
True faith is never found alone; it is accompanied by expectation.  --C.S. Lewis.


Sunday, April 15, 2012

Minot 2- Here we go!

Hello all!

First-  as always, let me tell everyone who just got added to this list without warning or provocation, welcome!  If you don't want to receive these daily updates from our mission trip, let me know and I'll remove you from the list.  If you don't want to follow us this way, but would like to check in us from time to time, there is a blog (www.rodscof.blogspot.com) and a Facebook page you could check out.  (River Bend Mission Team).

We leave for Minot in about 4 hours.  I'm almost ready...  

Thank you to everyone who participated in the "Nifty Fifty"  Let me know if you want to "skype" in to our devotions some time this week and I'll tell you how to do it. 

We have 16 people going.  More on that later.

Pray for safe travel, team unity, and the price of gas to keep falling.  :-)  

Thanks all!

R

--
True faith is never found alone; it is accompanied by expectation.  --C.S. Lewis.