Salem Katrina Team Update October 23

Our first picture, here on the left, is of the church hall which is finally getting its wallboard installed after four weeks of drying and mold removal.

What a nice service today, and the meeting of the team was great. Thanks, everyone, for staying so we could talk things out. Here's the news, but first the best news. Karen Pollan talked me into leaving my General Patton uniform home and just coming in my civilian clothes..."Relax and go with the flow", I think she said.

Budget: At least $1100 more was contributed so we are now just over $7000, leaving $1500 to go. We're certainly going to get much closer by next weekend and we will continue accepting donations while we're off working...the more money, the more work we can do.

Team Members: We have Ed, Morella, Rick, Wes and Joan, theSwansons, Karen, David and Diane. Ten of us leaves room for more, certainly, but we have a team!! Diane, we need to hear from you.

Supplies: Stored upstairs at the end of the hall on the right side. We found some items for the Mexico mission trip we can have, especially water jugs and small propane bottles. I went over the materials sent by Christ Church...superbly packed and labeled. Thanks, folks! Wonderful job getting those items together and having them here for us. We're also picking up some useful first aid items. Tomorrow Willamette Valley Medical Center delivers more medical items for our first aid station and we learn how they're going to deliver the stuffed toys we're hauling for them. Karen mentioned we have "hundreds" of quilts that we're taking also.

Team Equipment: Please have your gear bags here not later than Saturday morning. We agreed to have a few fellows meet at the church at 10:00 to load the UHaul. That's got to be done Saturday, not Sunday. We were offered a 1500w generator to take, use and then donate! I couldn't find the two propane stoves we were promised...anybody know where they are?

Commissioning: Karen has the commissioning set for the second service on the 30th. I am looking forward to hitting the road!

I got a nice email from a gentleman working one town over from Gautier, and he stresses that we need quality respirators because they're hard to find locally. He emphasized strong work boots, sturdy gloves and the like. He mentions bringing air mattresses so that answers a question I had...guess the tents don't have cots. I have two air mattresses and will buy a couple more and have them there for anyone who needs them. We also have a battery-powered inflator.

We spoke with the Swansons before church began. They're going through Omaha at the moment and offered to bring a camp stove to Gautier so we can cook even turkeys. I accepted, of course! We will loan it to others over Thanksgiving when we're all back in Oregon, but we will have it for use to support the George Fox University and Newberg High School teams for their Christmas dinner. Good news from the Swansons included the fact that gas is getting cheaper the further West they traveled.

Please get your medical forms completed somehow. You can fax them to me at 503 961-9920, leave at the church office in an envelope with your name and mine, or give them to me next Saturday or Sunday. But...we really should have them before we start working. Karen mentioned that in Mexico everyone had a medical/ID tag on an elastic string. I'll see what we can do along those lines.
do!

Thank you, everyone, for your committment, your faith, your hard work. See you Saturday and Sunday.

Wes

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