Salem Katrina Team Report - January 11

Joan had another great day mudding a house with a team from Christus Victor Lutheran Church here in Ocean Springs. She draws great satisfaction, as she should, from this hands-on work so important in helping Katrina victims. A neat thing...a question on technique came up while we were driving her to one work site, and Joan called our wonderful old handyman Bill and sought his advice. The old sage came through and Joan got the tips she needed for a good job. If only Bill were fifteen years younger and here with us in the Gulf...he'd have this mess squared away in a week or two.

We also spent the day finishing the removal and cleaning of our belongings following the small fire (caused when a line leaked ammonia which the pilot flame ignited). Trying to get that soot off is a lesson, a paradigm for the post-Katrina clean-up...soot is easier to clean than mold, which the folks here have had such trouble with since the storm. Soon we'll pack up a UHaul rental with belongings for the long drive back home...it's 2500 miles by myself, but at least I get to pick the music!! We also heard from our RV dealer back in McMinnville that there is little they do to help clients, even when their customer's coach is destroyed far from home because of a component they'd just serviced. This is miserable...certainly it is not the vacation trip to conclude four months of hard work in Mississippi that we'd been looking forward to. Instead, just so many wasted days and wasted money, on top of our loss.

Tonight's devotions were very meaningful and Joan accompanied on the piano, which I very much enjoy every time. We sang "Now the Day is Over", which I first learned in junior high school nearly 50 years ago.

I've started King's Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling now that Joan has finished with it -- at least I'm not reading by the new "fireplace" in the side of the RV where our refrigerator used to be!