Monday, June 23

Today we awoke for the start of our first real day of work. The guys from tent C4 and the gals from tent C5 were ready to go early – a lot of us congregated in the dining room over an hour before departure time. (Jeremy and I decided very early in this trip to sit at the end closest to the air conditioning unit.) The weather outside in the early morning was surprisingly pleasant. We hoped it was a good sign for the day to come.

For those of us who are returning to the area after previous VIM trips, it has been meaningful to see some of the signs of a more normal life returning to Pass Christian. There are more shops back in business, a nice new park close to the water, and even a few families on the beach. But there is still so much to be done. We all thought about this need as we drove down the highway this morning – passing empty lots one after the other – places that undoubtedly held special memories for so many individuals. It is so much starker to see many of these places that only have a concrete slab foundation remaining – as if there was nothing worthwhile to remain - everything simply washed away. We think about how painful that must feel for those who are living through such loss. Particularly now that so much of the country has “moved on” and given the bureaucratic difficulties some have faced in obtaining much needed relief. Many of us were able to talk to Lou today and hear his story about the storm and his life since then. His loss has been great – not only his home but also of a loved one. It just feels right to help.

(I will need to pause here now because the train is zooming past the cabin and it is difficult to hear myself think – please bear with me.)


When we arrived at the site in the morning, we were greeted by Lou and began taking our equipment upstairs – and the cooler was definitely included as part of the equipment. We focused our work on the upstairs rooms. Like previous summers, Lee has been our fearless leader and has helped steer this opening phase of our campaign. In particular, we worked today on putting up the baseboard and multiple doors. Pat and Jeremy were great at installing the doors – which was no easy trick and patience was definitely a virtue. And Lindsey and Mia have been nicknamed our team of “cut ups,” because they tirelessly cut and installed baseboard all day long and did a terrific job. The rest of our gang assisted the teams in these various tasks. Everyone was working hard and it was fun to be moving from task to task – there was a sense of purpose and cooperation. My favorite moment was working with Jim to install the big microwave oven under the overhead cabinet – I kept thinking of the Dire Straits song and video with the same name. But you know it might be trouble when 2 lawyers are splitting measurements in increments of 1/16 on a calculator. But miraculously (I suppose this is a VIM trip after all), it went fine. The weather was actually pleasant in the house – there was a nice cross breeze with the open windows.

After a full day of work, the group closed up shop and headed back to camp. Lee cooked up some serious burgers on the grill and we had a nice time unwinding in the dining hall and talking about our day’s impressions. Our local friend Wesley even joined us for devotions. This first day bodes very well for the rest of our week.