April 6, 2012 - Last Day

Friday, April 6

The last day on the worksite was another good day but we were sad to leave Tuscaloosa after having had such a great week. We were all so pleased to see the work accomplished in the short time we were here and very glad that we had connected with some the home owners who will occupy the houses by early June. Each mission trip seems to be “the best one ever” and this one was that. The Habitat leaders were quite skilled, easy to work with, and fun to be with. Our accommodations were quite comfortable, the church most welcoming and our cooks provided the usual delicious gourmet fare. We loved having the teens and Calvin Park with us to add lots of enthusiasm and good humor. God was watching over us all as we managed to have only a few cuts and bruises and the usual aches and pains from a week of hard work. Now we are making plans for the next trip!

April 5, 2012 - Rain

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Starting off the day we opened all sheds and began work without the supervisors. The challenge for the day was to complete all siding where the green scaffolding was standing due to it being picked up tomorrow morning. The plan was to get it done as fast as possible, however because of an unnecessarily complex gable this was not completed. Although we failed at this part of the task we did get farther than one supervisor anticipated. One work site was closed down completely after the hour-long rainstorm. For some reason it was unsafe to continue on 20ft scaffolding while it was wet, although this didn’t stop everyone from working. Only a few people (the Ross family, Calvin and Stephen) continued to work after the storm. As soon as the rain began to clear it was right back to working on the siding and installing the support for the cabinets to be built upon. We were all happy that the grinding wheel decided to take a day off. We expect the next day to be uneventful and full of grinding wheel fun.

Several of our homeowners and Habitat staff joined us for dinner at the church and a time of sharing. It was a treat for us to meet them and their families and to hear some of their stories. (See the pictures of the ruined house of one family torn down yesterday and the house now under construction for them.) Another highlight of the dinner was the celebration of the birthdays of Jerry Brown and Doug Ross. Following dinner we all attended the Maundy Thursday service at First Presbyterian for a very inspiring message and communion.

Later in the evening the mood was lifted at a raucous group meeting with a weird sock presentation to our cooks, nicknamed the “leg ladies” by the senior pastor. Lucille Baur did a Tony award winning rendition of “Mame” with hilariously suitable words for them.

Ruined house

New House

Azalea bush

Birthday Boys
Mames
GPC sign

April 4, 2012 - SHEEEET -- CLAMP---NAIL!!!!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

At 8:00 this morning we arrived on site with the challenge by our supervisor of completing a second entire galvanized steel roof installation by noon. This challenge was met by a bit of skepticism (even though it was a more simply designed roof) as the roof of the house next door had just taken a day and a half, and the second one had a steeper incline. However, the refreshing early morning breezes invigorated. Much to the joy and surprise of “the Boss” and the team, the second roof was completed by 10:20am - except for the roof cap and other minor finishes. Talk about NASCAR-like precision and coordination. SHEEEET -- CLAMP---NAIL!!!! See the pictures for a better view of the roof in progress.

Work also took place a few blocks away at the new home of John and Pam with a smaller group of six that had just completed the roof jobs. Their new home is within sight of the remains of their old, shattered single-family home and 23 years of memories and shared life. The shell of their former home still contains ruined personal items and furniture, which they can’t recover as it could fall down on them at any moment. However, the azalea blooms outside. An empty field has a sign speaking of the eventual rebuilding of their church of 400 members just kitty-corner. From the new front porch, a main boulevard is now visible but John spoke of the many homes and even a student apartment building that once stood between our work site and this main thoroughfare. Nothing is there today and the city is talking about making a park at that location. Hearing their witness to the events helped us understand a bit more of the personal impact that still remains from that tragic day. Back to the house……we completed the exterior trim and fascia work for the house in order to be able to finish the siding for the front porch and the rest of the house. The promised rain and cooler temperatures still elude us!!!

8 a.m.

8:15 a.m.

8:30 a.m.

8:45 a.m.

9 a.m.

9:15 a.m.

9:30 a.m.

9:40 a.m.

9:45 a.m.

9:50 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

April 3, 2012 - Another Beautiful Day in Tuscaloosa

April 3, 2012

Another lovely day in Tuscaloosa! It was not as HOT today, only 84 or so and we continued working on our two houses together. We are all enjoying being together at the site; normally we are divided into different work groups and don’t see each other during the workday. The metal roof on one house is essentially done and the arrival of Doug, Christian and Grant Ross helped mightily with schlepping the very heavy lengths of galvanized metal roofing. It was wonderful to have the whole Ross family arrive safely. The hardy board siding continues as well with great progress and everyone enjoying using the nail gun! Fletcher is leading the group installing a porch ceiling and soffits. They are a fun bunch! Peter, our Habitat manager, taught a group how to build window boxes, an activity that required much measuring, sawing, and drilling. By the end of the day Stephen and Calvin's new boots were finally dirty! We had a wonderful concert this evening by a young adult choir from Bevill State Community College in Jasper AL The choir director is an old friend of the Bastine family, our Wasik connection from Michigan.



MIKE’S STORY

Mike, sexton of the First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa, left the church in the afternoon of April 27, 20011 and got home around 5. His wife was making dinner. His stepson was watching TV and Mike had him change to the weather channel. Both guys went outside to watch the sky. They saw debris in the near area and ran into the house for shelter in the bathroom. The wall looked like it was going to fall in but the bathroom door opened to ninety degrees and supported the wall.

Mike’s entire family lives right within walking distance. It took about six hours for all of them to dig themselves out and find each other.

The trailer right across the street was the home of his wife’s aunt and uncle who are in their 80s. They would not leave before the storm so they were in the trailer when it was hit. Mike had to keep digging until almost dark to get out himself and was frantic when he was unable to see the trailer. All the family members started searching for the aunt and uncle. First the uncle was discovered walking up the street even as seriously injured as he was. He was able to be transported to the hospital and spent time in ICU. His aunt took a while longer and was discovered sitting on a hillside very dazed and cut up. They both survived being totally blown out of the trailer.

Mike, his wife and stepson just moved back into their home last week after almost a year. They were being housed at the parsonage of his church for this entire year.

Mike is so grateful for our help and does all he can to ease our service to his community.

As told to Carol Bunch and Ella Bastine, our cooks from Michigan.



The Siding Trio

Jill & Calvin

Measuring

James

Doug

The Last Piece

April 2, 2012 - It was HOT!

Our headline we all agreed should be: “It was Hot!”

Or as they say in the south, gloriously warm. Monday, our first work day…we’re excited, we’re ready to go, we’re thirsty and tired before we know it.
We all get to work together on this trip. The two houses we’re working on today and tomorrow are right next to each other.

We break into informal groups. The most adventurous, and hopefully sure-footed, tackle putting on a new metal roof. Others are cutting and painting plywood, still others are lifting the metal sheets and drilling nail holes in them, prior to being installed on the roof. Still others are putting up hardy board cement siding. And finally we had a quintet installing fascia board around the roof. That task was complicated by the fact that previous work around the roof had not been done correctly.

Did I mention that it was hot? Thank goodness for Karen’s nursing training, she announced regular water breaks and regular reapplication of sun tan lotion. All in all we had a great start and since we are all very tired, should get a good night’s sleep and be ready to go strong again tomorrow. And by the way there is a chance of rain tomorrow…but still 88 degrees!


The Gals

Mel Team

Jerry & Dennis

Fletcher and Dennis


Schlepping



Siding

Roof

Finished House

April 1, 2012

The troops have arrived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for our stay at the First Presbyterian Church where we have received a warm welcome. The Menzies and the Rosses will join us at the work site tomorrow. A late afternoon trip around town to see the 6-mile long gash left by the tornado helped us to appreciate the work that needs to be done here. Supper of ribs and sides from Dreamland (favorite local place recommended by Browns) along with blooming dogwood trees and roses made us very happy to be back in the South.