A week of encouragement!!!
The very fact that we would come all the way from Wisconsin was an encouragement to everyone we met in Texas.
On our work teams, we all encouraged each other as we worked side by side, and as we shared stories and laughter.
For the people whose homes we cleaned, our presence, our work, our prayers, our hugs, our laughter; all was a huge encouragement to them.
One of my favorite memories from the week: Sam & Austin laughing as they used their teen-age strength to tear out a wall together. Sam and Austin, teen-age son of the homeowner, had spent the day working side by side, and by the afternoon both were encouraging each other and having a very fun time, despite the tragedy of Austin losing so much. (The day before Austin's downcast face showed only tragedy. This day, at least for a while, some joy sparkled on his face.)
United we stand! There is so much division and nastiness in our country. Far nastier than the horrid muck we cleaned out is the tenor of our country at times. Oh how very encouraging to all be on the same page working on a common goal, with hearts full of love!
YOU encouraged us with your prayers and your comments. So many people sent texts or fb messages and comments that lifted us up and helped us continue on; especially when it was tough. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! And I was able to pass along to the people of Texas words of encouragement of people in Wisconsin and other states praying for them.
Carrie, Eric, and Melissa, our host family, encouraged us.
Some people were particularly instrumental in encouraging us to go to Texas:
As always, my husband was the the first to embolden me to go after I had read the emails calling for people to come help. He helped me think through the details and overcome the obstacles, reassuring me that I could do this with Sam.
Next was Sam's soccer coach. With it being mid-soccer season, we hated to ditch the team for a week. I texted Coach Jacobson. She immediately texted back, "Do it!" And she continued to encourage Sam.
My niece and godchild, Julie Meese, who lives in the Houston area and had so many friends and neighbors experience the devastation encouraged us to come. "You are so needed here."
On Saturday night before we left, I went to bed very conflicted about whether or not we should go to TX praying that God would just make it clear whether we should go or not. Sunday morning when I woke up, Ann Marie Vincent, my neighbor's voice was playing in my head, "Serve God and serve others." She is always saying that phrase & on Sunday morning it was in my mind as I awoke. I decided we were supposed to go.
Day 6... hot tubbing, cookie baking, and story telling- a day to debrief and regroup.
Yesterday after finishing working, showering with again copious amounts of soap, and packing up, we headed to New Braunfels, TX to the home of my sister, Sharon, & her husband, Donald. Earlier in the week I had mentioned to Sharon that even after showering, I didn't feel clean, like I just needed to bath in bleach. So both on Friday pm and Saturday, we went hot tubbing which soothed our aching muscles, washed our skin with chlorine, and filled our noses with something other than the putrid flood odor that I just couldn't shake. A time of telling our stories, baking chocolate chocolate chip cookies, basking in sweet sister time was so encouraging.
Saturday afternoon, we headed north towards Austin, attended a worship service, followed by supper and chocolate chip cookies at my brother Bill's house where we shared more stories with him, his wife, Carol, and Christopher, and Lisa, my niece, and her family. More encouragement.
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Thanking God for:
almost perfect temperatures for all of our work days
sunshine
friends old and new who have been so encouraging
cookies
strong bodies
opportunity to serve
Coach Jacobson
AND SO MUCH MORE
Showing posts with label Houston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Houston. Show all posts
GTT Day 4 No Snakes, Please
Exhausted, but excited!
This work is exhausting beyond belief, both physically and emotionally. You know how much I love to exercise, but I have definitely discovered muscles that prior to now have been unused and are now groaning. But I'm proud to say that I'm getting pretty whippy at running a wheel barrel. :)
Today started where we left off yesterday of hauling stuff out of the house. While bravely (or honestly not so bravely) helping to finish up emptying the kitchen cupboards with the bugs et al, stories were shared around of the snakes that people had come across while doing flood clean-up. And Sam reported to me that this family had seen 15 snakes in their yard. Oh my, please no snakes!! I thought the bugs were bad, but I really can't handle snakes. As I ventured outside I was on high alert for snakes. Thankfully I did not see any today. After the kitchen, several of us worked in the master bathroom and closests. As I said yesterday, the septic tank right outside the window started flooding and overflowing first so the water in that room was very concentrated sewage water. Add to that water sitting stagnant for about 12 days and hot temperatures, and what a combination of yuck awaits. I pulled out piles of soaked clothes from the whirlpool tub, took out racks of saturated hanging clothes from the closets, and gathered up many moldy shoes. (When the water is swirling 5 feet high, everything becomes a mess.) We filled wheel barrel after wheel barrel. Unfortunately in the bathroom, several great big bugs darted across the floor. Sam got tired of hearing me scream & kicked me out of the bathroom to go work somewhere else.
We had a bigger work crew today, so it was very exciting to make so much progress. Initially we had 7 people and then 4 more people joined us. In addition, as we started making progress, the members of the family became more & more involved with the work. (I think it is just shocking for the people to go through this experience; they don't even know where to begin as it is so overwhelming.) Sam described this day as "demolition day" & he loved it. He and Austin, one of the teen-age family members, really made a great team. They are strong. They worked hard. They accomplished much.
The question of the day: to open the refrigerator or not to open the refrigerator??? What is the right thing to do? Some say to just tape it shut to reduce the stench. Others say to open it to let the gases out. After my experience here, I vote tape it shut!
SO much more to tell, but I'm so tired I just have to sleep.
Thanking God for:
cool temperatures!!!!!! (low 80s)
wonderful relationships with the team members and home owners
no snakes today
laughter
sleep
AND SO MUCH MORE
This work is exhausting beyond belief, both physically and emotionally. You know how much I love to exercise, but I have definitely discovered muscles that prior to now have been unused and are now groaning. But I'm proud to say that I'm getting pretty whippy at running a wheel barrel. :)
Today started where we left off yesterday of hauling stuff out of the house. While bravely (or honestly not so bravely) helping to finish up emptying the kitchen cupboards with the bugs et al, stories were shared around of the snakes that people had come across while doing flood clean-up. And Sam reported to me that this family had seen 15 snakes in their yard. Oh my, please no snakes!! I thought the bugs were bad, but I really can't handle snakes. As I ventured outside I was on high alert for snakes. Thankfully I did not see any today. After the kitchen, several of us worked in the master bathroom and closests. As I said yesterday, the septic tank right outside the window started flooding and overflowing first so the water in that room was very concentrated sewage water. Add to that water sitting stagnant for about 12 days and hot temperatures, and what a combination of yuck awaits. I pulled out piles of soaked clothes from the whirlpool tub, took out racks of saturated hanging clothes from the closets, and gathered up many moldy shoes. (When the water is swirling 5 feet high, everything becomes a mess.) We filled wheel barrel after wheel barrel. Unfortunately in the bathroom, several great big bugs darted across the floor. Sam got tired of hearing me scream & kicked me out of the bathroom to go work somewhere else.
We had a bigger work crew today, so it was very exciting to make so much progress. Initially we had 7 people and then 4 more people joined us. In addition, as we started making progress, the members of the family became more & more involved with the work. (I think it is just shocking for the people to go through this experience; they don't even know where to begin as it is so overwhelming.) Sam described this day as "demolition day" & he loved it. He and Austin, one of the teen-age family members, really made a great team. They are strong. They worked hard. They accomplished much.
The question of the day: to open the refrigerator or not to open the refrigerator??? What is the right thing to do? Some say to just tape it shut to reduce the stench. Others say to open it to let the gases out. After my experience here, I vote tape it shut!
SO much more to tell, but I'm so tired I just have to sleep.
Thanking God for:
cool temperatures!!!!!! (low 80s)
wonderful relationships with the team members and home owners
no snakes today
laughter
sleep
AND SO MUCH MORE
GTT Day 2 Just Enough
Tuesday, Day 2
Morning run for Sam & I with Brother/Uncle Bill. Temperature: hot & humid!! (When we drove into TX yesterday the temperature reading on the car was 99 degrees!) Can we survive working in this heat & humidity?
Sam & I went to Concordia Lutheran High School where I got the opportunity to speak at chapel & Sam got the chance to do improv in one of Lisa Fitzgerald's (my niece) impressive classroom. Many of the girls would like Sam to attend Concordia Lutheran High School. ;)
Because our trip to TX was unexpected, we needed to gather supplies. When we left Janesville on Friday, our plan was to spend the weekend in NE with Daniel & travel back home. However on the trip, I read several emails from different organizations calling for people to help with Hurricane Harvey clean-up starting this week. Here are some links if you are interested in helping. https://www.samaritanspurse.org/disaster/hurricane-harvey/?utm_source=Ggl&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=m_YGHH-B17V_HHSP-LP&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIr6GPw4yT1gIVg5N-Ch3VoQi3EAAYASAAEgJuPPD_BwE#
http://www.concordialutheranchurch.com/engage/events/hurricane-relief
https://www.trinityklein.org/harvey-relief/
After filling out about 1500 forms from different organizations, Julie Tucker, from Concordia, San Antonio, helped arrange for us a spot on a team at Trinity Lutheran Klein, Spring, TX. Neither Sam, nor I had packed for hurricane clean up when we left for NE. Lisa and her family, and Bill and Carol were able to supply us with several things we needed. At Walmart, there were 2 pr of goggles left, 2 masks left, a pair of rubber boots left in my size & they even had steel toes; Sam got water proof, steel toed work boots. JUST ENOUGH for what we needed!!
We had too-brief of a supper time with Brother Bill & Carol, and Lisa & Christoper & family, and then Sam & I headed off to Houston, hoping we could avoid flooded roads. Thankfully we arrived at our wonderful host family's home, Carrie, Eric, & Melissa Oblinger, safe and sound!
Thanking God for:
JUST ENOUGH supplies
family
opportunity to be in TX
delicious brownies
safe travels
AND SO MUCH MORE!
Morning run for Sam & I with Brother/Uncle Bill. Temperature: hot & humid!! (When we drove into TX yesterday the temperature reading on the car was 99 degrees!) Can we survive working in this heat & humidity?
Sam & I went to Concordia Lutheran High School where I got the opportunity to speak at chapel & Sam got the chance to do improv in one of Lisa Fitzgerald's (my niece) impressive classroom. Many of the girls would like Sam to attend Concordia Lutheran High School. ;)
Because our trip to TX was unexpected, we needed to gather supplies. When we left Janesville on Friday, our plan was to spend the weekend in NE with Daniel & travel back home. However on the trip, I read several emails from different organizations calling for people to help with Hurricane Harvey clean-up starting this week. Here are some links if you are interested in helping. https://www.samaritanspurse.org/disaster/hurricane-harvey/?utm_source=Ggl&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=m_YGHH-B17V_HHSP-LP&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIr6GPw4yT1gIVg5N-Ch3VoQi3EAAYASAAEgJuPPD_BwE#
http://www.concordialutheranchurch.com/engage/events/hurricane-relief
https://www.trinityklein.org/harvey-relief/
After filling out about 1500 forms from different organizations, Julie Tucker, from Concordia, San Antonio, helped arrange for us a spot on a team at Trinity Lutheran Klein, Spring, TX. Neither Sam, nor I had packed for hurricane clean up when we left for NE. Lisa and her family, and Bill and Carol were able to supply us with several things we needed. At Walmart, there were 2 pr of goggles left, 2 masks left, a pair of rubber boots left in my size & they even had steel toes; Sam got water proof, steel toed work boots. JUST ENOUGH for what we needed!!
We had too-brief of a supper time with Brother Bill & Carol, and Lisa & Christoper & family, and then Sam & I headed off to Houston, hoping we could avoid flooded roads. Thankfully we arrived at our wonderful host family's home, Carrie, Eric, & Melissa Oblinger, safe and sound!
Thanking God for:
JUST ENOUGH supplies
family
opportunity to be in TX
delicious brownies
safe travels
AND SO MUCH MORE!
GTT Day 1 What? No Gas
After an exciting weekend of Big 10 college football game, water ski tournament, and Room 211 Church, we dropped Daniel at the dorm about 8:15 A.M. and headed south!
Suburban School: A very long and diligent day! 8:15 A.M. to 10:15 P.M. Sam studied Kingdom Monera, plasmid, etc in Biology, worked Algebra 2 problems, and outlined his HERO paper. (Yes, that is actually his Classical Conversations writing assignment scheduled this week. Timely.) Together we listened to "Sir Gawin and the Green Knight". The headless, bleeding green knight holding in his hand his own head by his long hair...Caught me off guard. Gruesome.
What? No Gas. Great trip driving through our beautiful country so lush & green. NE, KS, OK, TX. We stopped for gas along I-35 south of Waco, TX. Sam commented, "Interesting that the lights on the sign are off." Turns out, "No gas." As the station owner declared, "This is NOT a supply problem. This is a demand problem. Everyone is buying extra gas because they are worried gas is going to run out. But if everyone just bought their usual amount of gas, there would be plenty." On we traveled. (Being a somewhat prudent woman, I fill up my tank long before I'm running on fumes, so I still had gas.) As we drove into Pflugerville, an Austin suburb, we searched again for gas, being successful at 7-11. But we drove by several stations that were out of gas. We will get to Houston! Will we find gas to get home? Will we have enough gas to evacuate Houston if Irma changes course and heads to Houston?
Housing: Late in the afternoon, we were ecstatic to get a welcoming call from our host family. Until then we were unsure of exactly what our sleeping quarters were going to be in Houston, and anticipated that it might be a shelter type condition. (Am I getting too old to sleep on a cot in a room with many other people? Well, I won't have to find out this week, thanks to our host family.) The comment she made to me on the phone, "You will be dismayed by the destruction you see, but you will be so uplifted by all the people who are responding with help."
We are mostly excited and a little bit nervous...more later!
Thanking God for:
we actually made it here!!
all the plans came together for us to serve
safe travels
beautiful country
delightful day of learning
beds! (at my brother's home in Pflugerville, our host in Houston)
gas
people who encouraged me to just do this
AND SO MUCH MORE
Suburban School: A very long and diligent day! 8:15 A.M. to 10:15 P.M. Sam studied Kingdom Monera, plasmid, etc in Biology, worked Algebra 2 problems, and outlined his HERO paper. (Yes, that is actually his Classical Conversations writing assignment scheduled this week. Timely.) Together we listened to "Sir Gawin and the Green Knight". The headless, bleeding green knight holding in his hand his own head by his long hair...Caught me off guard. Gruesome.
What? No Gas. Great trip driving through our beautiful country so lush & green. NE, KS, OK, TX. We stopped for gas along I-35 south of Waco, TX. Sam commented, "Interesting that the lights on the sign are off." Turns out, "No gas." As the station owner declared, "This is NOT a supply problem. This is a demand problem. Everyone is buying extra gas because they are worried gas is going to run out. But if everyone just bought their usual amount of gas, there would be plenty." On we traveled. (Being a somewhat prudent woman, I fill up my tank long before I'm running on fumes, so I still had gas.) As we drove into Pflugerville, an Austin suburb, we searched again for gas, being successful at 7-11. But we drove by several stations that were out of gas. We will get to Houston! Will we find gas to get home? Will we have enough gas to evacuate Houston if Irma changes course and heads to Houston?
Housing: Late in the afternoon, we were ecstatic to get a welcoming call from our host family. Until then we were unsure of exactly what our sleeping quarters were going to be in Houston, and anticipated that it might be a shelter type condition. (Am I getting too old to sleep on a cot in a room with many other people? Well, I won't have to find out this week, thanks to our host family.) The comment she made to me on the phone, "You will be dismayed by the destruction you see, but you will be so uplifted by all the people who are responding with help."
We are mostly excited and a little bit nervous...more later!
Thanking God for:
we actually made it here!!
all the plans came together for us to serve
safe travels
beautiful country
delightful day of learning
beds! (at my brother's home in Pflugerville, our host in Houston)
gas
people who encouraged me to just do this
AND SO MUCH MORE
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