Day Two - Sore, but Going Strong

Hi Folks!  Thanks for keeping us in your prayers.  We had an amazing day: got a lot of work done.  But don't take my word for it, let the mission team tell you:

From Dotty
Woke up with some sore muscles from weilding the sledge hammer yesterday taking down sheet rock.  Took out kitchen cabinets & lots of walls. Today we took a mini plastic wheel barrel & a rolling plastic trash can that made carting out the debris to the dumpster a lot quicker & easier. Along with brooms, hammers, crow bars, & a good pair of work gloves made us much more productive today.  Even the young men working with us were amazed at what 4 old women & 3 guys can do in 4-5 hours.  We've nearly filled 2 big dumpsters in 2 days, not bad. The men are great cooks, & we brought lots of baked goods from home, plus we found a Dairy Queen by the hardware store, so no weight loss here, even with the intense work!! :(


From Morgan
hi friends, just finished a yummy crisp herb chix dinner with fresh broccoli, carrots, rice and spanish kale, bean casserole. Worked hard at the former Regina apartments. We are on demolition mode: walls down, insulation removed, furniture out. Dotty with the sledge hammer, Matt and John scooping insulation, Rick tearing out the bathrooms, Mary, Alice and I removing everything. The woods and river are lovely. Greeetings to all, Morgan

From Mary
With my handiman skills it is probably fortunate that I am tearing down instead of trying to build something. We are working hard - what a team! Tyler, one of the locals we are working with ended today saying "you guys really did A LOT in two days." I think they were incredulous. We are a formidable team! We are working hard but also eating very well - John and Rick are our gourmet cooks. West Virginia is a place of many contrasts - it is beautiful with very friendly people, but lots of economic problems. A slower pace than New England so we are trying to slow down....

From Alice
I am having a great time. the country side is lovely, narrow roads like Carlisle, hairpin turns and warnings of potential fast flooding to roads. we follow the river narrow and fast running.  The people are grateful and friendly ,the stores are well stocked and very cordial.  The Lilacs are out and we are enjoying Peanut, butter and Jelly or Jam  sandwiches, chips and homemade cookies or squaures every day by water,how cool is that!  We are a good group ,with St. Rick or Capt. Fantastic, John and Matt, the Masked Men,   Mary the "the tough Chick," Morgan "the Machine," Dot, the Sledgehammer,and Alice, the Slinger.  What fun.  We are enjoying ourchefs and sharing well. Loving it all . Alice









And now the pictures from today:

We found this lovely Gazebo by the river to have lunch.  West Virginia is so beautiful.

The two masked men.  Matt and I spent the day cleaning out insulation from one apartment when the ceiling collapsed.  The shower after we came home felt so good!

Mary carrying wall insulation out of the apartments.

Rick is victorious!

"Sledgehammer" Blake getting things down to the studs.

Matt digging out insulation.

The crew after day 2.  Still sore, but still standing.

Morgan, one of the crew, is a  amazing artist.  Here is a postcard watercolor she created this evening.  This country is so beautiful - it inspires great art!