Crisfield2- on the way home

River Bend Mission Team had a "first" today.  On the road earlier than we planned.  Not by much, but every little bit helps.  We had a good day of driving.  Uneventful.  

We arrived at our overnight stop earlier than we thought we would.  (about 6:00pm).  Sandi H. (who happens to be my godmother) organized dinner for us.  GREAT SOUP!!!  And Lewis did devotions.  

I know I haven't talked much about insights and some of the epiphany aspects of the mission trip yet.  I will.  But I have to get them together still.  And I haven't had the time to do that yet.  -  I must have worked harder on this trip because I went to bed earlier, and fell asleep typing these before I even said much of anything besides, "we worked on houses today."  -  But maybe that's the point this time.  Going to Crisfield, kind of like going to Minot, doesn't have much of a tourist component.  The structure of the agency we worked with (did I tell you it was the Mennonite Disaster Service?)  was more full-  or didn't really allow for much down time that was our own.  When we got back each day from the worksite, they had us scheduled until about 7:00ish, and then we did our own devotions, and by 7:30, it was dark out and seemed like time to go to bed.  We worked hard.  And that's what we were there to do.  

And I mentioned before that we had FUN!  We had fun and worked hard.  

More thoughts on wrapping it up later.  

I have some pictures that I took with my phone, but they are all of things you have seen before if you looked at the pictures.  I will add them to Facebook (click here for River Bend's Facebook page and our Picasa site.  (click here:  Picasa site (pictures))  

Lastly-  (for now)-  our next trip is scheduled for April 18th-26th.  Going to Slidell, Louisiana.  Let me know if you want to come or have questions.  There is room on the bus.  

Ok-  that's all for now.  We are leaving in the morning earlyish and hoping to pull back into the Twin Cities between 6:00pm and 7:00pm

R

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

Crisfield2- the last work day

We worked a partial day today.  Howard, Lewis, Ron and I finished putting up the stud walls in the house and the plates on the top for the trusses to sit on.  Michelle, the home owner we are working for has really blessed us.  She and her family are very excited for Michelle and her husband to get back into their home.  I feel like we were kind of slow at it.  But Michelle is joyful.  -  And it brings up a point about expectations and what is the "best practice" for these situations.  Would it have been better to hire someone who does this for a living (and presumed faster and more skilled than us)?  We have dealt with this question before and I'll deal with it again at the after-trip email.

It seems sometimes that the closer you get to being done with a house, the more things you find to do, and the further you get away from being done.  Bob's group kept ticking off things to get closer and closer to let their home owner, (whose name is Jennifer) get back into her house.  We didn't have the same interactions with Jenny as we did with our other home owner, but we were grateful to be able to work on her house, too.  

We took Michelle and the home owner from last year, (Annie) and the longer term volunteers at Mennonite Disaster Service out to dinner tonight.  Fun time.  Good food.  Cold night.  

I won't write again until after we get home.  Please pray for our safe travels.  More thoughts at the end.  

R

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

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

Crisfield2 - the 4th Work day

Both teams got a lot done today, but that's not the coolest thing that happened.

Michelle, one of the home owners stopped by after hours and told us how much she appreciated our help getting her house ready.  (She has framed walls and can see where her living room is going to be!)  She told us her story about the storm-  (see previous blog post).  And she gave us a Smith Island Cake click here for more info on Smith Island Cake.  Home made.  The best part wasn't the cake, but that was good, too.

In our crowd funding, we promised to write donors names on building material we were using.  That got done today.  See the pictures on Facebook or our Picasa Site to see them.  -  It's kinda neat to see all those names together.

Tomorrow we wrap up and cleaning out our rooms and the site we're staying at.  Then if we have time we will bum around town for a little bit, and then we have reservations for dinner at 6:30 at a local restaurant.  And then Saturday morning, we kick out of here early.

It's been a good week.  -

R

Michelle and Royce's Story:

(Rod's note-  Michelle and Royce are the people whose house Howard's team is working on this week.  The following is in Michelle's own words)

Michelle's truck

Royce's Truck- both lost in the storm

It has been almost two years since Super Storm Sandy made her appearance. We have lived in Crisfield all our lives and have ridden out all the Hurricanes and Storms that have come our way. We planned to do the same with Sandy. Such an easy name on the tongue. We have been through Gloria, Isabell, Andrew, Hugo and more. Surely this would not be a large worry.  My mother was staying with me and my husband Royce and we were prepared for the storm. Water, candles, flashlights, batteries, food, blankets, magazines, etc… One hour into the storm my husband looks out the door and then at me. “You need to get your Mom out of here.” He’s a waterman and knows currents and tides and wind. He didn’t want to leave our home and I didn’t want to leave him and my Mom wouldn’t leave without me. And we all know that if Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy! So my Mom and I made the decision to leave and Royce would stay behind as long as he could to protect our home. The water rose so fast, it was too late to drive out. We called 911 for a rescue and were told they would do their best to get us out.

The view out our front door

We packed a bag of clothes and medicine for my Mom, who was undergoing treatment for cancer. For the first time (and probably the last time!) I was thankful for the many boats in our yard. Afraid to wait any longer for the rescue, Royce pulled a skiff to the front door and loaded us up to take us somewhere safer. The water was rising fast and furious. He pulled us down Cove St. where we saw a National Guard truck headed our way. They quickly loaded us up in the truck. 10 minutes later Royce called on the cell phone and said a large tree had just crashed through the roof on our back deck and had missed him by inches. Sadly, our 19 year old cat was not so fortunate and perished under the tree and roof.
Suddenly the truck we were in stalled. It was stuck on what might have been a U.S. Mailbox. Another truck was called in to help us out. There were several of us on the truck. We were cold, wet from the rain, and impatient to get to higher ground. While we waited, calls for help came in and the Guardsmen left the truck and came back with a little baby, maybe 2 months old and his mother. Another call for help and they came back with a man with only one leg. Our complaining stopped. We realized how serious this whole situation was.
Finally another truck arrived. We needed to transfer to that truck and the only way to do that was to swim. My mother was too weak to do this so these wonderful guardsmen carried her to the other truck while I waded chest deep with our bags held above my head. I had just been diagnosed with pneumonia three days before.  Within an hour our rescue was complete and we were safe at my brother Preston’s house in Kingston.
This memory is bittersweet for me. Four months after "Sandy" my mother passed away. From the cancer that caused her to be staying with me, that caused me to seek rescue, on a truck that came to Cove St. for that rescue, that got stalled and while stalled heard the cries for help, that rescued a little baby and a man with only one leg. Life puts us on a strange path sometimes. And as my Mom always said “There is a silver lining in every cloud”.

Seeing this propane tank floating away made us decide to leave

Afraid to wait any longer for the Ntl. Guard Royce pulled the skiff up to the front door.

We loaded my mom and myself up and sailed out looking for higher ground

The water was rising rapidly as we sailed away

Rescuing the mom and her little baby

Rescuing the man with one leg

Crisfield2-  The third Work Day

Just a work day.  Kind of.

The first part of the day was pretty impressive when all the people working for the United Methodist group in town came to help us lift our walls.  Before we knew they were coming, we were pretty sure there was going to be imminent disaster by either somebody getting hurt because this wall was going to fall on him when we couldn't lift it, or we would push it right over the edge.  Well none of those things happened and now two walls are standing.

This team (although with all the extra help gone) finished framing up the next two walls and putting the plywood on.  It rained and everyone got wet.  

The other team was also hard at work.  

After the army to help lift the walls, and not taking into consideration the rain, it was a pretty nondescript day.   

From here, we start looking at what we can get done realistically.  We now have fewer days here than we have been here.  

I will post more photos from today on our Facebook page:  click here for our Facebook page.  Or you can go to our Picasa website:  click here for our Picasa site.  

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Rod

Crisfield2- the 2nd work day

First let me say that it WAS an accident.  And he's fine.  And yes, I did shoot Howard in the hand with a nail gun.

So there we were, framing up a wall and I was running the nailer.  I couldn't get the nail to go in and then, POP right into Howard's hand.  Didn't go through anything really important.  Just skin and soft tissue.  Dale was right there and said that had happened to him a dozen or so times and that injury was not a big deal.  We sat Howard down, got the appropriate first aid equipment ready, and then Dale pulled out the nail.  It didn't really even bleed that much.  Howard went right back to work and I spent the next hour apologizing.  Check out the picture on our blog or Facebook page.  

And yes, the let me use the nailer again after that.  

Ray's team (Howard's) put together- framed up the two longer walls- 40 feet each, and put the outside OSB on them.  Tomorrow we have to lift them into place and I have no idea how that is going to happen without 1.)-  pushing them over the side, and 2.)- Wow there is a lot of weight on those walls.  I will see if Lewis will video it for us.  

Dale is going home tomorrow morning.  We LOVED having him with us these past two days and are going to miss him a lot the rest of the week.

Ted's (Bob's) team got the 2nd layer of cabinets hung, more flooring laid down, and word on the street is that The Colonel finished all the paint projects.  

The other REALLY cool thing that we did was go to visit the homeowner we worked for last year.  Last year, they assigned us a house to tear down.  Then they later volunteer teams rebuild her a new house.  Today we went to see her in her new house.  She has been in since July.  It's GREAT!  See the pictures.  We don't always get a chance to see the end results.  So it was such a joy to see the results and to share the joy that she experiences being in her new home, and the glory she gives to God for the opportunity to live in her new home.  Pictures on the blog.

Things to pray about~

~  safety on our job sites tomorrow.  

~ Pray for my son and wife.  Ira is sick with an ear infection and possibly pink eye.   

~  Safe travel home for Dale and a productive work week at his recovery sites.  

~  Quick healing for Howard's hand.  And no infection.  

~  Whether or not you are supposed to join us some time.

Here is the link to our pictures:Click here for all our pictures

And here is a link to our Facebook page:  Click here for our FB page

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.  

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

Crisfield2- the first work day

This group of people is fun.  Really fun to be around.  There is teasing and joking around, but we're also here about the business of serving.  I am having fun.  

Usually at this point, I tell what Howard's team and Bob's team and anyone else's team are doing for the week and who is on what team.  It's a little different this time.

We are working with a different agency than usual.  Mennonite Disaster Response.  And they run things a little differently than we're used to.  

Ray and Ted are volunteers with MDS that are coordinating our work projects.  They go with us to the site and direct the work.  So this year, it's Ray's team and Ted's team.  

Ray's team is the one I'm on, with Howard, Lewis, Ron, and Dale.  We are framing a house.  We started with just a cement block foundation today and rolled out aluminum flashing on it as a termite barrier.  Then we set the "plate" (treated wood going around the foundation that everything sits on.  Then we made a laminate beam and hung joists.  Then the inspector had to come take a look, which he did, and said it was ok and we could start putting on the top decking.  OSB particle board.  We got that mostly done.  

The best thing, though, was that one of the home owners came by and we got to talk to her and hear her story.  I will post it on our blog once I get permission from her to do so.  It is an awesome story about God using all things to work for the Good.  Including a stranded family and a stuck truck in rising flood waters.  I'll post the link to the story as soon as I get permission to post the story.  

Ted's team has Bob, Rod St., Carolyn and Matthew.  They are laying laminate flooring, putting in cabinets and painting.  Not having been on that site, I don't know what else to say about it except they are working right along.  It seems to be going well.  

And I can't get over how much fun we're having.  As we hang out together, work together, have dinner together, everything.  

I gave my camera to Lewis today to take pictures, and Rod St. took pictures at his site.  But Lewis takes a lot of pictures of people from behind them, and Rod St. takes a lot of pictures that document the progress of their work.  Anyway, they are on our Facebook page click here for our Facebook page.  

And here:  Click here for the Picasa website that has pictures.

We are tired tonight.  It's only 9:30 Eastern time as I type this and I am the last one up.  

As a team, we have been praying for each other's health and our families back home.  

Thank you to our friends that have been praying for us.  We love hearing from you!  

Tomorrow. 

R

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

Arriving in Crisfield

Another great day to travel.  Good fun in the van when we weren't sleeping.  Listening to Bob and Lewis interact about political and religious issues is both amusing and alarming.  I don't think Lewis meant it when he told Bob he hoped they were on the same work site so he could mess up Bob's cabinets.  But just in case, the will be working on different sites.  

We are working with an agency we have not worked with before.  They are a little more structured and require us to work within that structure.  It's nothing that we don't already do, mostly, but it sounded funny coming from them.  "We hope you get something spiritual out of your week volunteering with us, and not just hope the week gets over quickly."  

Crisfield does not have the same allure and "fun" factor that New Orleans has.  I think we are all here to put others before ourselves, be a part of something bigger than ourselves, spend a week in fellowship with like minded people, and try to give back something to society since we have been given much.  

Tonight we talked about loving people who are different than ourselves and it not mattering what they believe or why they are in the circumstances they are in.  We are here to share God's unconditional love with them.  And each other.  Sometimes we have to be intentional and deliberate about it because we otherwise don't want to, but God calls us and we answer.  

Crisfield does not have a lot of restaurants, and certainly not a lot that are open at 8:00pm on a Sunday night.  When we went out to get supper, even the McDonalds looked closed.  But we found a small Chinese restaurant called China Wok that had the best Kung Pao chicken I have had in a long time.  Who knew?  

Things we are praying for:  

Past team members and family members struggling with illness

Our own safety on the job sites

Our families who are left to deal with day to day life without us.  

Thank you for joining our team through prayer and encouragement.  Tomorrow we start a good week of working.  Onward.

Rod

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

Re: Crisfield 2- the first day traveling

Rod-

Simply put I am amazingly proud of all that you do as your brothers keeper...

Peace love and unity from Burbank Cali this morning,

Zannoram

Sent from my iPad

> On Oct 11, 2014, at 7:34 PM, Rod Scofield <rodscofield@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Couldn't have asked for a better day to travel. Great weather. Easy Roads. Some construction going through Chicago and Ohio, but nothing unbearable.
>
> We met at the church this morning at 6:00am. Rob and Krissy met us there and led devotions and it was emphasizing the Cloud of Witnesses (that's you!) that go with us on these trips in one way or another.
>
> We are a smaller team this time. Only eight people for most of the trip, but Dale K. is going to meet us there, work with us for a couple days, and then head back to Slidell where he has to lead a team of volunteers coming from Ireland to help in New Orleans/Slidell. The team this time is Rod Sc., Rod St., Howard, Lewis, Ron, Matthew, Bob, and Carolynn (The Colonel). I think it is going to be a good team of like minded people working together for God's glory to help people get back into their homes.
>
> I was told that our work assignments could come from three different houses: #1 needs cabinets and laminate flooring. #2 needs spackle. #3 needs framing and flooring. We'll see what they end up giving us to do.
>
> Thank you to everyone who is praying for us. And a big thank you to the people that helped us get our crowd funding goal met. With a smaller team, we should be able to help buy more of the materials and donate some good money to the agency we are working with.
>
> Thank you for letting us share our story with you.
>
> Peace!
>
> Rod
>
> --
> True faith is never found alone; it is accompanied by expectation. --C.S. Lewis.
>

Crisfield 2- the first day traveling

Couldn't have asked for a better day to travel.  Great weather.  Easy Roads.  Some construction going through Chicago and Ohio, but nothing unbearable.  

We met at the church this morning at 6:00am.  Rob and Krissy met us there and led devotions and it was emphasizing the Cloud of Witnesses (that's you!) that go with us on these trips in one way or another.  

We are a smaller team this time.  Only eight people for most of the trip, but Dale K. is going to meet us there, work with us for a couple days, and then head back to Slidell where he has to lead a team of volunteers coming from Ireland to help in New Orleans/Slidell.  The team this time is Rod Sc., Rod St., Howard, Lewis, Ron, Matthew, Bob, and Carolynn (The Colonel).  I think it is going to be a good team of like minded people working together for God's glory to help people get back into their homes.  

I was told that our work assignments could come from three different houses:  #1 needs cabinets and laminate flooring.  #2 needs spackle.  #3 needs framing and flooring.  We'll see what they end up giving us to do.  

Thank you to everyone who is praying for us.  And a big thank you to the people that helped us get our crowd funding goal met.  With a smaller team, we should be able to help buy more of the materials  and donate some good money to the agency we are working with.  

Thank you for letting us share our story with you.

Peace!

Rod

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

NOLA8- Epilogue

Where did I leave off?  

The last work day?

On Friday, we planned on being done around noon.  The Epworth Project wants their tools back early on Friday, and there is a lot of value in taking time to see more of the community we are working in.  All the teams left their job sites about 1:00pm.  

Howard's team finished the roof.  (except one small run of ridge shingles -  we ran out of shingles...)  

Bob's team finished the cabinets.

Louie's team finished the drywall and other projects

Kirk's team was working on drywall and a small addition. They did NOT finish, but Kirk and Terri were asked and agreed to stay a few more days to help finish that project.  Terri sent an email a few days later with their progress:  

Kirk and I returned from Slidell Tuesday afternoon. When we left Sheryl had running water in her kitchen and bathroom. No hot water yet, but water. She was pretty excited. Her bathtub is due to be tiled in the next week or so. She told me it's been 5 years since she has taken a shower there.
The laundry addition is finished and the plumbing has been run to it also. Mr. Glenn wanted to make sure I got photos of the laundry door because Leanne was "frettin" ( his word) about the cut she made for the opening, worried it didn't look very good. Well, the door fit perfectly.  There is a new washer and dryer in the warehouse for her.
I cleaned out and pruned some landscaping when Kirk and Glenn were working on plumbing. Also used Iron Out on her toilet which was pretty badly stained.

We had a nice talk with Sheryl when she got home from church on Sunday. She said that she had reached a point, before anyone had started work on her house, where she thought God had forgotten about her and she almost lost her faith. Then she got the call from Epworth that gave her hope again.

Right before we left Glenn got a call that a group from Maryland that had been working at Sheryl's a couple of weeks before us had raised the money to drill a well for her. (About $3000).  The water at Sheryl's now is a water hose running from her neighbor Denice's, whose house River Bend worked on last year.

Kirk and I had a great time on the trip, getting to know other team members & helping those in need.

After the job sites, we came back to Epworth and cleaned up and went to see parts of New Orleans.  We drove through the Lower Ninth Ward.  And even eight trips and almost ten years later, I am still surprised at what isn't done there.  And sometimes by what is done.  And what is being done.  We drove by a HUGE school campus being built.  And a lot of houses that haven't been touched since Katrina.  Terri did devotions at the Levy.  

Then we went to the French Quarter to be tourists a little.  And then a friend from my college days told us where to meet for dinner.  We went to a great place called New Orleans Hamburgers and Seafood.  Awesome.  

The next morning we packed up and headed north.  Made it to St. Louis early enough to look at the Arch and still get some pizza to eat before it got too late.  Another college friend came and hung out with us for a few hours.  

After uneventful travel the next day, we made it back to St. Paul around 6:30pm.  Unpacked the trailer, took back the rental van, and the trip was over.  

But not really.  Because is it ever really over?  

The lion's share of these trips has a purpose of serving people in need that probably aren't going to get it anywhere else.  But another large hope of mine is that the people that go on the trips come back changed.  That when we go serving God, God serves us also.  We don't see things the same.  We don't feel things the same.  We remember that Christ's love for us is real, and that means something.  That we CAN and do make a difference where we are.  Which is why it's never really over.  Because the "mission trip" might be over, but the missional hearts are fired up and looking for places to serve in our own communities, families, circles.  What was that Uncle Ben said to Peter Parker?  (Spider Man)-  With great power comes great responsibility.  We who know Christ, and know His heart, and HAVE His heart, cannot just sit by and see the "least the last and the lost" in our own communities and not do something about it.  You, the reader of this email/epilogue/blog post/facebook link have also been encouraged by us during this trip to see your neighbors through Christ's eyes.  You don't have to go up on their roof, or hang drywall or buy them cabinets.  But maybe giving a drink of water, or a tank of gas, or better yet, an hour of your time- doing nothing but being with a person- is EXACTLY the response a person could have.  We are grateful for your participation with us on our trip-  prayer, encouragement, finances, time, sharing the story, however you have been involved.  It's not over.  Amen.  

Two more things:  

1-  You know that as a team, we have been praying for a little girl named Amalia who was born premature at 26 weeks.  She is up to 2 lbs. 3.3oz.  her surgery went  well.  She is on a ventilator and her heart is beating kinda fast.  Mommy got to actually changer her diaper on Mother's Day.  (the first time Mommy has gotten to do that.)  Jamie and Eric (Mom and Dad) ask for continued prayers as Amalie still keeps trying to get stronger and more stable.  

2.  Next trip is October 11-19.  Crisfield 2.  Who is in?  

Rod

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

NOLA8 the last work day

Everyone finished their projects, although an hour-ish later than we had planned.  

Then we cleaned up, had lunch, (leftovers from previous dinners-  let's clean out these refrigerators!)  and went on a driving tour of New Orleans to see neighborhoods that are still not dealt with.  Houses still boarded up, vandalized, rotting, etc. this long after the Storm.  Yes.  There is still a need.  

More later on thoughts of the day.  -  

There are more pictures on Facebook.  

Prayer requests:  -  

Praise God that Amalie's surgery went well today.  

That we finish strong. 

For our home owners, Betty, Landry, and Sheryl.  

Safe travel

Thank you everyone!

r

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

NOLA8- the last full work day

I feel like I talk most about Howard's group, but it's the team I know the most about since I'm on it.  We had setbacks today and had to wait for supplies and it really slowed us down.  We didn't get the shingles on the last portion of the house.  But we did get the felt paper down and repaired the rotted out plywood deck that was bad.  (just one sheet).  Tomorrow, Louie is going to come from his team to help us get done.  

Louie's team got their jobs done today.  They finished drywalling the living room and a bunch of other touch up tasks for their homeowner.  Their homeowner, Landry, is very excited and enthusiastic about what has been done.  He enjoyed having the team there.  Tomorrow, some of the team are going back there to help clean up a little more and do a couple other little things for him.  

Bob's team got the cabinets mostly installed.  They are almost done.  And so is the drywall.  They intend to get done tomorrow.   

Kirk's team has been putting together an addition off the trailer.  Leanne said that today, they just clicked as a team and worked very well together.  Kirk and Terri have been asked to stay on and help out a few more days until they get the whole addition done.  They expect it will be Tuesday or so.  They have agreed to do so.  

All the teams worked a little later tonight, trying to get a little further along.  

This team has a lot of fun together.  We all get along pretty well.  The devotions have been fantastic.  This is a great team.  I am very blessed to be able to work alongside them.  

There are a lot of pictures on our Picasa Photo website (click the blue words to go to the link to see them).   There are pictures of all our sites and our homeowners.  

Thank you to everyone that has written us notes here and on Facebook.  And Thank you to everyone that has "liked" us on FB.  There are more pictures posted there, too.  (some that are not on our Picsasa site.)  

Tomorrow we are working a half day, then going into New Orleans for the afternoon.  I might not post anything tomorrow night-  and then if I remember correctly, there is not a wifi in the church we stay in on Saturday night.  (at least not one I can access.)  So it might be a few more days before I post anything again on this trip.  -  Or maybe a really short one tomorrow night.

We are so grateful for the prayers that you have been offering up for us and with us.  We are still praying consistently for Amalie.  She is currently scheduled for surgery on Friday morning at 8:30 Central Time.  Please pray for her continued growth and wellness.  And for comfort, peace, and assurance for her parents Eric and Jamie.  Also please pray for Barbara's health.  She's feeling under the weather.  Also please pray that we finish well.  There is still a lot of work to do, especially on Howard's site.  

We are grateful you are with us.

R

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

NOLA8- the Third work day (Wed)

Another day in the epic saga of River Bend Mission Team!

Kirk's site is starting to click along.  Building a shed like structure that will hold laundry appliances next to the house.  

Bob's cabinets are coming a long.  He is expressing frustration with the home-owner.   He says she is making decisions about the house that he feels she will regret.  Design issues.  Layout issues.  Reconciling code restrictions with taste issues.  It's a hard place to be in.  Besides that, it sounds like she is procrastinating making a decision.  It makes for a frustrating day for Bob.  This kind of begs a question about service and how do we reconcile doing what we think will look or function better when the homeowner says something completely different?  Are we obligated to use our best judgement or go with what the homeowner wants?  

Louie's team got a lot done.  But they came to a point where they couldn't do anything else until the texture on the walls dries.  So they showed up at Howard's site around 3:30pm.

Howard's team again today had the privilege of having four guys from a Mennonite organization help with the roof.  They work well together and got a lot done.  They are strong and can lift or carry the bundles of shingles up to the roof.  They are NOT going to be there tomorrow, which means Howard and I are pretty much it for going up on the roof.  The good thing is that we only have one more side to go.  Howard thinks we will finish it tomorrow.  

After our work sites and dinner and devotions, most of the team went into the French Quarter to have coffee and beignets.  It was a nice time.  

We have started to think about wrapping things up.  Tomorrow is our last full day on our work sites.  We started looking at what we can and can't get done.  On Friday, we'll take a half day off so Epworth Project can get their tools back.  

Once again-  pictures can be seen at:   click here for the NOLA8 Photo album  (as I am writing this, I am uploading 70 more pictures.  It is uploading slow, so maybe wait until tomorrow to click on them.  But DEFINITELY check them out!

Also, you can "Like" us on Facebook.  We almost have 200 people that "Like" us.  Just about all the same pictures are posted in both places.  but on FB, you can see postings from other people besides me.  

We continue to pray for Amalie and ask you to do so as well.  Other prayer requests are:  

Ability to finish our projects

Team Unity (so far so good!)

That God reveals Himself to us.  

Ok-  that's all for now.

R

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

NOLA8- the 2nd work day

Fast note because it's late and I want to get some sleep:

Howard's team got rained out after just a couple hours on the roof.  

Kirk's team and Bob's team and Louie's teams are all making good progress.  

The Kitchen team came around and visited some of the sites today.  They really enjoyed the interaction with the homeowner on Louie's site.  I think this is huge for both us and him.  

Great night of hanging out after work.  Great devotions today by Barbara and Kim.  

Finally got some photos posted.  There are a few more on Facebook than on our Picasa website.  For the Picasa site, click on these blue words, which is a link and will take you to the photo site.  Some have captions.  Some don't.  And as of this writing, they are not in chronological order.  

Also posted some photos on Facebook.  Search for River Bend Mission Team.  We would LOVE for you to LIKE us!  

Lastly-  we have been praying for Amalie Braun, who was born VERY early.  We found out today that she is up to two pounds!  This is BIG news!  (even though she's so little!)  Thank you to everyone that is coming alongside us as we come alongside her parents and her.  

Ok- REALLY lastly-  Thank you for reading these and supporting us!  We believe the more the story can get out, the more God is glorified.  And that is very important to us.  

Thanks!

R

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

NOLA8- the first Work day

The word for the day is tired and sore.  

We have three job sites and four projects (two projects at one site)-

Howard's team is doing a roof.  Rod Sc., Matt, Chris, The Colonel, and Lewis.  There is a team of four guys from a Mennonite group helping  us.  Had it not been for that group, Howard would probably still be on the roof waiting for someone to hand shingles up to him.  We got one side of the house done.  I (Rod Sc.) discovered I am not strong and have very little endurance.  Now that we have a system, we might get more done tomorrow.  

Louie's team is putting up "green" drywall in a house.  Ginger, Kim, Rob, Erin are with him.  They worked in a bathroom today, and next are going to be able to mud and tape sheetrock that is already up in other parts of the house.  This team also talked about coming back sore and tired.  

Bob's team is installing cabinets.  Leanne, and Rod St. (but there is overlap with Kirk's team)  They got the cabinets today and wrestled with the homeowner about how the kitchen would be designed

Kirk's team is installing drywall.  Terri, Kara, Krissy, Ron, and Corrine.  Kirk's team is also helping build a shed and a few other things around there.  Kirk's team and Bob's team on the same site, so there is overlap.  The next door neighbor to this house is a house we worked on last time we were in New Orleans.  The home owner is in her house and doing very well.  Krissy and Leanne went across the yard to visit her and decided they want to make her some curtains.  That might happen within the next few days.  

I had to run an errand right after dinner tonight, so didn't get any photos from anyone.  There WILL be photos tomorrow!  

There are some that have been posted to Facebook.  Search for River Bend Mission Team and "like" us to see them.  

Prayer requests:  

Amalie.  

Rest for the team

Safety for the team

Thank you everyone!

Rod

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

NOLA8 - the second travel day

The day started with people from La Croix UMC giving us breakfast.  Eggbake, monkey bread, fruit, juice.  etc.  Delectable! 

Devotions have been so good that I have started taking notes.  Erin led devotions.  She talked about change and how we notice the trees changing as we go farther south.  We notice things that are different than what we are used to.  She said that we are all changed when we encounter Jesus.  We are different than we are used to.  We have changed our location, our routine, our work, roles, etc.  People are different when we encounter Jesus.  And people are drawn to change.  What do we show others about how Jesus has changed us?  

Travel was good.  

We got to the bottom of our credit card problems.  Too many hits on the cards in too short of a time period.  They should be ok in the morning.  

Arrived in Slidell a little after 6:00pm  Cindy and the kitchen crew whipped up dinner in record time and after settling in, eating dinner, devotions and logistics, we have had a long day.  

Lewis led evening devotions.  And started out by saying that he planned his out a few days ago and didn't coordinate with Gregg or Leanne or Rob or Erin.  He talked about allowing Jesus to transform us so that we are able to give and serve.  He said that we are set apart for serving.  And when we do it, "Look out!"  Big things come from God.  

We are excited about big things happening this week.  We are excited to be used by God to offer hope and assurance.  To offer roofing and drywall.  To offer ourselves.  

Prayer requests:-

Three team members' health

That our credit cards WILL work in the morning.

for Amalie.

Ok-  I promised I would talk about Amalie tonight.  

Amalie is a little girl who was born at 26 weeks.  VERY early.  She and her parents are from my hometown in Michigan, and as  a team, we are committing to pray for Amalie and her parents each day as a team.  When two or more are gathered,...  So join with the "two or more" with us in praying for Amalie.  She is struggling with seizures and a brain bleed.  And everything else that a little girl born very early would struggle with.  Amalie's mommy is Jamie, and her daddy is Eric.  Please pray with us for this family.  

That's all for now.  We are grateful that you are following along.  Nobody has given me pictures yet, (and I haven't taken any) so I don't have any more to share-  but some have been taken and are on our Facebook site.  -  so check us out on Facebook.  

Peace!

Rod

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

NOLA8- the first travel day

Tonight I'm writing from Cape Girardeau, Missouri.  

We haven't taken many pictures yet-  so still more words than pictures-  

We made FANTASTIC time today.  We only stopped three times between leaving this morning and arriving in Cape Girardeau.  We left a little bit late, and like yesterday, it seems like we are chasing our tails, but really, we made great time, everyone got to where we needed to go.  It's about 11:00ish pm as I write this and everyone is pretty much settled in or doing a little internet.  

Leanne started out devotions talking about Jesus's hands being carpenter's hands.  Calloused, rough.  But they healed so many people.  They did so much.  What are our hands doing?  her devotions dovetailed very nice into Gregg's.  

We picked up Louie and Kim at Albert Lea this morning.  

Had lunch somewhere south of Cedar Rapids.

We picked up Bob and Chris and The Colonel this afternoon in St. Louis.  

Rob's devotion was based off Micah 6:8 and he emphasized walking humbly with God.  -  Humbly.  We are here to serve the homeowners we are working for, serve each other, serve the waitress at the Waffle House.  In doing so, we are serving God.  

Just had a good day.  

Except for one thing.  -  For some reason, our team credit cards are all being declined.  Our treasurer called VISA before we left to tell them we would be using them hard and all down the Mississippi River, but at our gas stop just south of Hannible, MO, they were all declined.  Jeff (our treasurer and one of our "support staff at home base") is going to work on it in the morning.  

Thank you to those who sent notes.  (I haven't read them to the team yet, but will soon.)  

Updates on our prayer requests:

Rex, Rod and Ginger's family dog is doing ok.  The Vet pretty much said he might get better, and if not, well, he's pretty old.  He's ok and seems to be happy.  

New prayer requests:  

Erin's health

Our credit cards

Safe travels

Continue to pray for Amalie.

Thank you everyone!

R

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

NOLA8 -The night before we leave

What a day!  Personally, I feel like I've been playing catch up all day.  I was going to leave work early after a client meeting and go pick up the van, etc.  The client pushed the meeting back an hour, and it set me back pretty hard.  I feel like now I have caught up.  I was done packing before midnight.  This is good.  

We had our Commissioning service tonight.  Gregg Swope led it.  Gregg just soaks in the Holy Spirit and it oozes out of him and you can't help but be blessed.  He talked about how in John 13, Jesus, fully knowing who He is, displayed it through washing the disciples feet.  As servants this week, we can look at what we are doing as washing the situational feet of the people we are serving.  It's not easy to get your feet washed.  When Peter said, "not me, Lord" I think he was only saying what most of us are thinking.  Our feet are not our prettiest part.  -  And the situation some of these homeowners are in is no pretty, either.  We have a profound privilege to be allowed in to this place.  Not all homeowners see it or feel it that way, but we should take what we're doing seriously.  

We leave first thing in the morning.  We will will try to leave West St. Paul by 7:00am.  Pick up Louie and Kim in Albert Lea.  Pick up Bob, The Colonel, and Chris in St. Louis, and then spend the night in Cape Girardeau.  

And that reminds me that a couple days ago, when I listed the people that were new to our group, I missed Kim.  Kim is coming from Pipestone, MN to join our group this week.  This is her first trip with us.  

Ok more later-  

Prayer requests:  

Safe travels.  

Easy coordination with the people we are meeting on the road.  

Amalie Braun-  (more on this precious little girl on Sunday night)

And Rex.  Rex is Rod and Ginger's dog.  He is pretty old and has some frightening health concerns today.  He has an appointment with the vet tomorrow that Ali and Jess (Rod and Ginger's daughters) are taking him to.  There may be some tough decisions involved.  Pray for Rod and Ginger, Ali and Jess, and Rex.  

Thanks everyone!

R

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

Re: River Bend Mission Team- NOLA8

Praying for the team. We leave Friday at 4:00 on our trip so will not be able to make it.
- Safe travels. Are you staying at La Croix UMC again? I am working with them to plant a church nearby.

In Christ's Love and Service,

Pastor Paul Marzahn

CROSSROADS CHURCH

612-799-PRAY (7729)

P.S. How may I pray for you?

Sent from my iPhone

River Bend Mission Team- NOLA8

Hello everyone!

If you are getting an email about our mission trips for the first time, please forgive me for adding you if I added you to the list without asking.  If you would like off this mailing list, please let me know and I'll remove you right away.  

If you are getting this email about our mission trips for the first time, welcome!  We are glad to have you.  

The River Bend Mission Team is leaving this Saturday for our next mission trip to the Gulf.  We are working with the Epworth Project in Slidell, Louisiana again.  This trip has 25 volunteers from Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, and Texas.  

We had a few fundraisers and made enough money to get us down and back.  (I think) and we had a lot of fun.  (many thanks to those that came out to the Pancake Breakfast, the Outback Steakhouse, or the Chili Cookoff!)  

We are having a Commissioning service this Friday night at 7:00pm at Faith United Methodist Church in West St. Paul.  Open to anyone who would like to come.  Gregg Swope will be doing the service.  

Out of the shoot, I would ask for prayers for team unity.  One exciting thing about these trips are the new people that come for the first time.  Sometimes there is a learning curve and expectations that aren't met, and how we handle that is important.  This is the first trip with our team for Linda, Chris, Cindy, Kara, Kirk, and Terri, 

Also prayers for the last minute prepping to come together, and for safe travels.  

We only have a few photos on our picasa web site so far.  -  (our t-shirt logo which we LOVE, and the winners of the chili cook off-)  but click here for photos.  

If you are interested in supporting us, "Like" us on Facebook (search for "River Bend Mission Team).  and encourage your friends to do so, too.  

Thank you for your encouragement, support, and being interested in the story!

Rod

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