For you Hailey, Papa forgot so I will send this to you. Love you Grandma Jo 

We like to keep working on the Pink House. Those that joined us before will know what that means. We again a very busy week with two groups from Pa. We worked on 7 different projects and still have none finished . Still not even started any new builds but maybe this next week. With good work during the day and great fellowship in the evening laughter was abundant.
Sorry when the week was over to see them go but they wore me down trying to keep ahead of them with the planning. okay got to go. off to NO for our saturday evening out. take care ker

 

Another week has come and gone and again we had a great crew of volunteers, this time mostly from Maryland, a couple from PA and another 2 men from Kansas. They were a fun group and accomplished a lot of work as well as connecting with those they were working for. The blanket you see hanging in the background was made on site by Elma. She is planning on making a few more while her husband goes out on the job. I had the privilege of helping her set up but then was called away to other tasks, and so did not even get to help her tie it. Maybe the next time.One member of the volunteer group was a young lad who our construction foreman took under his wing and determined that he would teach this guy some building skills and he would go home knowing a lot more about building than he came with. It was good natured fun all week as we heard progress reports and promises of an exam before he headed home. Chris was a good sport and seemed to enjoy and thrive on this whole experience. In the picture you see, he is doing his exam, and he passed with flying colors and was given a certificate of merit. He really did learn a lot. The final picture shows coffee break time, an important MDS time. Not only do we get to work together but we get to visit as well. The crew at this house worked all week at painting, putting in a shower surround, dealing with waterline breaks, and finally getting to install some cupboards before the week ended. At another project the crew continued mudding and sanding, and by the end of the week were able to put primer on all the walls, as well as color on some. The homeowner spent a lot of time with them and is really pleased with the work MDS is doing for him. In a couple of other jobs there was more drywall hung, and more mudding and taping. The work on the Bayou project took a couple of days off because of poor weather but the roof did get shingled, and some painting done on the fascia. The house was gutted and the floor was opened up in few spots to continue drying out. The weather last week was cool and we had a couple of rainy days but are hoping for dryer weather for this week.
 

Hi . wow, went to the blog and noticed that a few days have passed. Time is going by in ahurry this week. This pic was taken at the Lighthouse church fellowship lunch on Sunday. We had a good visit with a mostly different group than the one that was together the week before. Again we met a few more that we helped at last winter. It was a hot sunny day with a few hard down pours. We also got to visit Donna and Ricky and spent 2 days helping them in the middle of the week when rain stopped the Bayou site. They have moved back into there trailer even tho some rooms are still gutted.
The guy with the smile in Kenton from Maryland. He is getting some on the job training which you pay extra for. The last picture is there to remind me how cold in can be down at the jump. This is the last food stop before you have to put on your life jacket. The large boat traffic was having a very busy day today with the fog horns blasting this evening. We have had alot of fun with the groups and this week has had many special moments. Also at most sites the homeowners have been coming along side almost every day and sometimes all day. Keep praying and we look forward to seeing some of you soon. We also have the group from Pa that we met last year coming to join us this Sunday for the week. Take care luv Ker and Jo

 

The weekly group shot as Illinois gang prepares for the return to winter.
Here Gabby is showing a few seniors the trick of tearing the heads off the crawfish and then gobbling down the smelly suckers. O right, after tearing the head off she first sucked the juices out of the head and then ate abit of the rest. Lots of dockage. Very good week even with some setbacks. 

It's late thursday afternoon with the sunsetting on the Bayou. We are waiting for the boat to come and pick us up to see the progress of the day. I end up on the road alot so far with sites about 45 mins. apart and people to see inbetween. By now it Sat evening and the world is finally slowing down, i hope. I can hear a big boat coming up the river and we just came back from a short walk. We spent the first half of the day in meetings which we did not expect, then the next half fixing things that should not have been broken. The two ladies in the picture are Ruby and Gabby. Gabby is the youngster. We are fixing the family house on the bayou only reachable by boat. Both of these two ladies have spent many hours helping the work crews. We hope to get the shingles mostly done on Monday. We have gutted and prepared most of the roof this week. We have not got any body back in to there homes yet but maybe in two weeks from now.


 

Work has begun in earnest here and the days are flying by. Our group this week is from Illinois and they had a lot of mudding and taping to do in the two houses that we are working on. A new project that we signed on is in a little community called Grand Bayou, and it is outside the levee, and can only be accessed by boat. The lady whose home we will be working on is our boat driver and she has been devoting her days this week to transporting us to and fro on the water. She had a "happy, happy day", the day work started on her home. It has been a long process but she is anxious to come home. Most of or all of the homes in this community need
help but the process is long. It is a very unique place and the people have lived here for generations, so their roots go down deep. They are mostly fishermen in the summer and trappers in the winter. Looking across the bayou the land is almost as flat as at home, and the sunsets are beautiful.

 

Okay here we go. Late yesterday afternoon the phones came to life and i got some DSL setup so now we are wirless on campus. I called it that because by now i know that half of this week short termers are retired teachers. I am way behind with info of things so i will just say that i will start out with pictures that show the more chearfull side of the beginnings. This is camp.
I nice brand new mobile home. We moved in Jan 2 and where the only two People here for the first night. The x on the door is so people don't walk through it and forget to open it i think.

Jo is taking good care of me and in this case was
willing to get down on her knees to feed me. We went and picked up another little barbaque to enjoy the simple life before things get going. (okay kids, who's going to claim it).
I think hot dogs are great. Okay, guess in need to get with my job. The time is now 605am and we have been up for awhile and the rest of the camp is rising. We have two showers for 27 of this morning. The cook is at it already to.
Will try to get more posted soon. bye
 

Good morning. Just finished a bit of breakfast and ready to check out of Blythville, Arkansas.
Moving south today and plan to make the coast today. Cloudy and the cold air has caught up again. but no snow yeh. Not sure how soon we will beable to blog again but will try soon.