TA DA!





Silas has complete kitchen cabinets and ceramic tile counter tops.





We completed the task, Praise the Lord, around 1:30 this afternoon.





He has some minor things that have to be completed, but should be in soon.





We are having dinner with Silas tonight at the Picadilly.





We have off loaded all the items that we used belonging to the Westbank Recovery Center, bought our T-shirts and given the final report to Kathy Powers, Assistant Coordinator.





Except for packing our luggage, we are ready to head North in the morning. The time we will leave New Orleans is largely determined by the time the Algiers Ferry opens, which is 6:30. So we will be heading out of New Orleans by 7:00 tomorrow.





Of course, that's assuming we get home from the French Quarter by that time tomorrow. Bye Bye, P3

Now Steve # 1

This completes my third mission trip to the Katrina ravaged area, and it is still overwhelming!
I cannot keep the tears from my eyes and cheeks, or my heart, as I recall the things I have seen, compared to the minsicule things I have been a part of accomplishing.

I know it is a trick of satan (I refuse to capitalize the name) but that dad-blamed elephant seems to be growing. Sure, it must be eaten one bite at a time, but you get that one bite swallowed, look around and WOW! So much more to be done. I know, to take more bites, we need more mouths!

Aurora UMC has just recieved some copies of "Meeting GOD in the ruins". , devotions for disaster relief volunteers. I shall sign off with a couple of prayers from that booklet, hoping it inspires others to come.

Send me patience, the fruit of your Spirit, Lord. I can do small things and over time see large things come to fruition. You have led us to this task; you will help us finish it. Amen.

God, I want to be a blessing and came away having been blessed more than I know. Be with those who continue to recover and those who continue to help. Grant all of us your shalom. Amen.

Steve Hoskins

Paul really getting into his work!













Steve, Paul and Bud deciding on how to change a tire.













Where'd those cabinets come from?














Bud places the last tile on the counter tops,
only grout and trim left. We are moving on!


















GOD is so good, ALL THE TIME! With all the obstacles thrown in front of us, without the Master's help, we could not have accomplished what we have. Some have been alluded to in previous blogs, and we had another this morning.

We got up and off very early, determined to get back on schedule. When we arrived at Silas's house, got our tools out and were ready to begin. NO POWER! Paul immediately left to return to AuroraUMC to obtain a generator, and don't forget, it includes a ferry trip both ways. While he was gone, we found a notice on a neighboriong house, informing residetns that the area was subjecta to power outages of 3-4 hours, at intemittent intervals for the next 2-3 weeks while some transmissin/distribution upgrades and repairs were being made.

We got the generator, produced some power and really got after it. Then the normal power came on, for about 90 minutes, went off again and we reverted to generator power. Today, we built the counter tops, got all the 4"x4" tile set and glued and Ron made the finish trim pieces. Tomorrow, God willing, we will grout and clean the tile, install the trim after another coat of stain and basically be finished with our purpose in this trip.

As always, we have all grown closer to one another and to God, we've had a lot of fun, given away our crosses (thanks Rick) and hopefully planted some seeds for others to harvest in the future. We feel good about what we have accomplished and as usual, wish we could do more; but it is a really big elephant, and has to be eaten one bite at a time.

One final note to leave you smiling: Ron Crowley made an error today, and Paul had to smack him with a banana peel. (It didn't leave too bad a mark.)

God willing, we will finish tomorrow and be able to leave early Friday morning. It will be great to see our loved ones and friends again, and we are truly thankful for your prayers and support.
The year is not half over yet, so there is still time for some of us (read you) to make another trip or? yet this year. If interested, see Paul Herron or John Evans.

See you all in church, Sunday.

Gratefully,

THE FAB FOUR (Bud said "it's been a hard days night".)


Bud
Paul
Ron
Steve

LOOK AT HIM & HE WAS DRIVING!
KITCHEN BEFORE & AFTER TODAY

aLL THE CABINETS INSTALLED

A few photos!

Those who have been on a trip such as this are familiar with the first full day of work. Arriving at the site, unloading tools, situation assesment, obtaining materials and supplies. Well, surprise, surprise-we knew where the job site was and the situation had already been assessed and the cabinets were in Silas' house; ALL OVER his house. The one thing which was not present was a lay-out sheet.

Thank the good Lord, Bud and Ron have the expertise to ascertain what has to go where. We would have gotten much more accomplished had we not had to measure here, look there, move this base cabinet there, then back to where it was originally. We called for a cabinet plan, which was delivered about the time we did get it figured out. That is to say, Bud and Ron figured it out; Paul and I simply moved cabinetes where they directed, nodded sagely and said "Yea, that is where that one should go."

Well, by golly, we did get all the cabinets set and hung. They are all attached and affixed in a fine manner and ready for the counter top.

We had already been informed that it was not to be a laminate top-no, no. It is going to be a ceramic tile top. And we were ready for that and we were told that yes, all supplies for the counter top were at the house. We could not find it; we called. Yep, sure enough, it is there, but it is supposed to be the remainder of the 12"x12" ceramic floor tile! Yep, ceramic floor tile. For which they do not manufacture finish/trim pieces to make a counter top look as it should. (Shhhhhhhh, we tricked 'em; we found just enough "counter top" ceramic tile in the unclaimed supply trailer to finish the job. Please do not rat us out to the fine folks here at Aurora, but we do want to get home this week.)

All in all, a successful and truly rewarding day, as all trips are on mission. And, true to form, we are all beat and ready for a well deserved night of zzzzzzzzzzzz's. Yes, we all snore and we are all in the same room.

We do feel the power of your prayers and your love, but please, don't stop now.

I know, you were teased a bit about possible photos, but I am too tired to figure it out. That is another thing I miss about my lovely bride; she would have had this all done long before now.

The Fab Four have arrived! We met our goal of being southbound exactly, as we pulled onto US 41 south at precisely 6 a.m. after congregating at Paul's house, then traveling a short distance to pick up Bud. Pastor Ted and John Evans met with us and we had our leaving blessing in the middle of the street at about 5:50 this morning. Karen Hill was also present and sent us off with a big container of her marvelous chess bars and brownies. When we arrived at Aurora UMC, there were still a few left.

For those of you who keep notations of such things as miles traveled and road time, be advised we are not entering any contests this year as we had an unscheduled pit stop as some tiny, gravel-covered drive, one-pump gas station in western Mississippi to change a tire on our new trailer. The little jewel had had enough, and came apart at the seams. Of course, Brother Paul HAD secured a new spare tire and the bolt pattern was an exact match; however, the wheel itself was just a bit too fat to freely turn upon the axle once it was lug-nutted tightly to the hub.

No problem! We did have a new tire and we did have a wheel that fit, they simply needed to be joined into one workable piece of equipment. And, yes, you are absolutely correct, such needed conjoining could not be accomplished at the aforementioned establishment. But the Lord intervened and we were informed of one establishment where this needed service could be obtained, about 12 miles further down the road. Long story short, after only about one hour down time, we got back on the journey to NOLA.

So, with all that, and a short wait at the Chalmette Ferry, we arrived safely, thank you very much dear Lord, we have eaten, made up our beds and obtained food for tomorrow. So, since no one had to be chastised more than once (other than yours truly) on the trip down here and Bud didn't whine all that much, it has to be noted as a good trip. But it has been a long one, so I shall shower, pray and go to bed. Or maybe shower, go to bed and pray.

Stay tuned to this blogspot for daily updates of the FAB FOUR. Tomorrow, we may even post some photos! Keep a smile on your face, a song in your heart and us in your prayers.

On the Road Again

Here we go again.

Last October 11 of us mixed up Methodists worked on Mr. Silas Dillon's home in New Orleans.

To date, Silas continues to live in his FEMA trailer.

Jake, the Westbank Recovery Center, Coordinator told me that his facility is booked up during the next three months.

Silas only needs to have his kitchen and bath cabinets installed.

Ah ha, I know a cabinet maker, his name is Bud................Bud Hill and I know a carpenter, his name is Ron Crowley.............both self-employed, which means they can set their own schedules, of course with their wives permission.

Jake, says, he can provide the beds until June 1, then he is full.

It took several months to come up with the money to purchase the cabinets for Silas' home.

Steve Hoskins is self-employed, I'm self-employed, I got a big red truck and Chapel Hill UMC just purchased a big trailer for use by the Henderson County, Ky. UMC, Disaster Recovery and Mission Teams.

Jake says, I'll call you when the cabinets are ordered.

The 4 of us, Bud, Ron, Steve and I will leave for New Orleans tomorrow, (Monday, 05/21/2007), arrive in New Orleans late that afternoon and hopefully(prayerfully) be able to install the cabinets in his kitchen and baths by Friday.

After watching several documentaries on New Orleans, it still hurts your heart to see all the suffering people, but they are survivors who continue to have hope that help will come.

Well, we are doing a small part to help out. We have to eat that elephant, one bite at a time.

Lord, God we thank you for your mercy and grace that has been shown in New Orleans and all along the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast. Continue to bring volunteers to these areas to help your people, in the name of Jesus, Amen!

Keep watching this blog! We will update you daily, if possible. Also, we plan more mission trips in October/November and again in January/February 2008.

P3