Incredible week! Our team of eight men completed as much as we could in the two homes that were assigned to us. Nina's house was completely dry walled and received the first coat of mud. We also removed the old kitchen floor and rotten joists, raised it to level, rebuilt the floor and replaced the front door yesterday. I never got to meet Nina personally but one of her friends, Brenda, hung out with us all week. You could tell the appreciation from family and friends through Brenda's words and expressions. Prayerfully, funds will come in to complete Nina's home in the next couple of weeks. Pray for North Mission Builders (Sherrill & Claudia Calloway) as they see this task completed.

Our other home we worked on was owned by John Hayden. John has lived in his home for ten years and remains there even through the slow and tedious rebuild. On John's house, we were able to complete the dry walling and first coat of mud on the lower level, rewire some outlets and add some lighting. Yesterday, part of our team went back and added floor space to the second level. John was incredibly appreciative of the help we gave to rebuilding his home.

Our team would like to thank First Baptist Church, Ocean Springs and North Mission Builders for hosting us and giving us the opportunity to help in their community. It was a trip that each one of us will remember for a long time.

On our drive home... our car was reflecting about the week. No doubt the highlight of the trip was hanging out with different people and getting to know them better. I met some great people this week. I look forward to serving with them in the future.

Rusty

We arrived to Ocean Springs at Noon on Sunday. The first two people we met were Sherrill & Claudia. They were there to take us to our first house we were going to work on starting Monday. I jumped in the car with the two of them and started listening to their story. Would you believe they moved from North Carolina on May 29th to come help volunteers work in the area? They actually traded their home for a motor home and live in a church parking lot. Guess what they need most? Teams of volunteers who want to come help rebuild houses for families. I couldn't have asked for a better pair of people to meet the first day. I know that God put them in my path for the purpose of developing a long term relationship in ministry. I can't wait for you to meet this couple!

Today we started working at an old house that is owned by an 83 year old lady named Nina. For over two years (since Katrina) she has lived in this house where the roof was blown off and it rained for days inside. Today, our team of eight ripped out ten windows and replaced them, installed duct work for central air & heating, replaced the insulation, removed all the old nails from the wall studs and got 3/4 of the ceiling and walls dry walled. We'll go back tomorrow to finish.

Tonight we were invited to Sadie Michelini's house where she lives with her daughter. Sadie is a young 82 years! They wanted a team of volunteers to come eat dinner with them because they were grateful for previous volunteers who helped rebuild their house. We had a meal that was prepared for a king! We listened to their stories of what happened to their family in that house when Katrina arrived. I can't even begin to imagine the chaos. The flood/water line was still on the inside of the garage door. Their house now is very beautiful and warm because of their servant hearts. Thank you so much Sadie and Maria... it was wonderful!

I wish we could do so much more to help these people. Volunteers and finances are two crucial elements to helping this ministry advance. The cool thing is... in talking with Sherril... we know that God can do whatever He wants! We are just along for the ride...

We are literally on the road to Ocean Springs, MS. I am sitting in the back of Keith Tyner's Suburban in my virtual office (yes, I have internet access as we are driving... I am weird like that). We got on the road about 2:00 PM today. We plan to stop in Birmingham, AL tonight around 11:30 PM (CST). We had a great dinner at the Montana Grille in Bowling Green, KY. We sat with the Kentuckians and watched them upset #1 LSU.

I place this entry with the purpose of asking you to lift our team in prayer. The team is Rusty, Keith, Jim, Brent, Dave, Ken, Rick and Kelly. I will add a picture of the team ASAP. We plan to arrive in Ocean Springs, MS tomorrow at Noon.

I pray for the Leavener Community who is meeting tomorrow. I will absolutely miss being with you and hearing what God has done in your lives this week. Terry Cooper is sharing a message tomorrow and I am sure that he is fired up about that. I can't wait to hear what the Lord does.

I'm really going to miss being in Indy and hearing everyone root for the Cowboys tomorrow! Go Boys!

Rusty