We had a pretty good Easter. We spent the day with some friends, the Nelson's, Liam, and the Prince's at the Prince's house. It was pretty laid back, which is just the way we like it!
We're finally getting back to a regular routine since Amy's return a couple of weeks ago. Of course, now that she's in the kitchen and her schedule has changed, we'll still be adjusting a bit.
Work at Rock of Ages is going pretty well. The drywall will have texture and primer and will be ready for paint on Monday. We'll be getting ready for final flooring then, too! We have a great group from Oregon this week. The Wisconsin team last week was wonderful as well. They got a lot done, including a final coat of the drywall compound. Not easy to do when you haven't done it before, but they were willing to learn and did a great job. The team this week had never textured walls before (nor had I), but they are doing great. Not real technical, but getting the consistency of the spray right is hard to do. The team this week also had a retired framer with them and he was able to take care of some of the problem areas without a problem.
We've met a lot of people at Rock of Ages. Many of them were members of the church before the storm. We found out that the original pastor's wife, who's 100 years old, is holding on to see the church completed. One man was driving past the church. He saw the doors were open and saw one of our volunteers walking out with a bucket. He stopped, walked in the church and was stunned by it's condition. He made a comment, through his tears, that he never thought it would be rebuilt. He was quick to leave to get his father. His dad, Edmond was a deacon at the church. His brother-in-law was the first pastor of the church. We learned he was s plaster wall and drywall installer for fifty years. He was there for the ground breaking and said his shovel was the first in the ground. His son, Clarence, said that the church is all his dad talks about. He was so happy to see the church drywalled and can't wait to come back for that first service. We had a good time hearing Clarence's story from the storm, and how he had to fool his dad into thinking they were going to church so Edmond would leave. Truly a moving story, Clarence was again led to tears as he told his story.
When I first set foot in the church, I felt like this was going to be an awesome project, we'll be able to keep a lot of people busy in our busiest time, and I'll learn a lot about drywall. I've realized this is a lot bigger than just a normal project. I'm not talking about the size of the building. It means more than I can understand to the people of the church, that this church gets back up and running. I know we talk about getting the church outside of the walls and that the church is the body, not the building. And that stuff is all great, but for this body of believers, it's really important that they get their building back. I can't wait for that first service. I know I'll be there.
Bad news medically for me. Turns out I've got a small scratch on the cornea of my right eye. The eye doctor (who goes to our church here) also saw a small ulcer on my eye, which is a known complication with the contacts I wear. It's pretty painful and my eye is really sensitive to light and air. It's a little better right now, but the numbing medicine she used in the office is starting to wear off. I'm really considering Lasik eye surgery. With the nature of the work I'm doing now, it makes a lot of sense. Dust and drywall particles are getting behind my contacts and causing all these problems.
Please continue praying for us. We've made it through the heavy spring break time, but we will still have volunteers in 120's for the next couple weeks, then we'll slow down again. Pray that we'll have the right jobs for the right people and that we'll get the jobs done that we start before the volunteer numbers drop again. Pray for the homeowners we're working with, the people in the neighborhoods we're working in, and specifically the members of Rock of Ages. God bless.
Phil (for Phil and Amy Stokes)
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Extreme Makeover... Home Edition in New Orleans.
Amy got back on Tuesday afternoon. It was really good to see her... even if she was tired. We decided to head right over to the Extreme Makeover Home Edition set.
They were here this past week working on a couple houses and a church in the city. The church is right down the street from the Yellow House and Castle Rock Community Church in Central City, New Orleans. They built the church and houses from the ground up in 6 days. A couple of the construction guys, a couple of Urban Impact staff, and even a team from Washington came over after our work was done for the day at our work sites. We worked well into the night, digging post holes for some stair cases and moving stuff around for the flooring crew to keep working.
Amy and I came back the next day when she got back. When we got there, people were painting in the front of the church and doing a lot of other stuff. Side note: It was amazing to see 100's of people all working on separate projects trying to get the work done in 6 days. At one point during the night, there were 4-5 different heavy machines running around us, carrying a variety of things. It was really neat to see. Especially since we have a much different philosophy for doing the work we do. We see the construction projects as way into relationships with people. So we don't mind if it takes 3 or 4 times as long to get the work done. That just means we're in the community a little longer.
We primed the hand rails on the front steps. One of the builders was going to hook me up with his drywall contractor to work around a door, but we left before he got back with the drywall, so it didn't work out. There were people walking around with video and still cameras. Click here for some pictures of me painting on set. Click "Day 5" and scroll through the pics. You'll see me in my orange hard hat. Those are Amy's white tennis shoes behind me on the stairs.
I went out there for the reveal and got to see some famous faces. Ty, Edward, Michael, and Paige were there for the reveal at the church.
I was really torn about all this. I kept thinking this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. To work on such a huge project, not to mention, high profile. A comment was made in crowd at the reveal. "Once they (the pastor and family) go inside, this place will turn into a ghost town because they won't be coming back outside until filming is done". This struck me. Once this crew is gone, that's it. They're gone. They'll pack up their semi's and buses and go back to where ever they live. We'll still be here. No TV cameras, no audience, just us and our volunteers, making relationships, helping people get back into their houses and churches and, as our shirts say, "showing the love of Christ to those in need".
They were here this past week working on a couple houses and a church in the city. The church is right down the street from the Yellow House and Castle Rock Community Church in Central City, New Orleans. They built the church and houses from the ground up in 6 days. A couple of the construction guys, a couple of Urban Impact staff, and even a team from Washington came over after our work was done for the day at our work sites. We worked well into the night, digging post holes for some stair cases and moving stuff around for the flooring crew to keep working.
Amy and I came back the next day when she got back. When we got there, people were painting in the front of the church and doing a lot of other stuff. Side note: It was amazing to see 100's of people all working on separate projects trying to get the work done in 6 days. At one point during the night, there were 4-5 different heavy machines running around us, carrying a variety of things. It was really neat to see. Especially since we have a much different philosophy for doing the work we do. We see the construction projects as way into relationships with people. So we don't mind if it takes 3 or 4 times as long to get the work done. That just means we're in the community a little longer.
We primed the hand rails on the front steps. One of the builders was going to hook me up with his drywall contractor to work around a door, but we left before he got back with the drywall, so it didn't work out. There were people walking around with video and still cameras. Click here for some pictures of me painting on set. Click "Day 5" and scroll through the pics. You'll see me in my orange hard hat. Those are Amy's white tennis shoes behind me on the stairs.
I went out there for the reveal and got to see some famous faces. Ty, Edward, Michael, and Paige were there for the reveal at the church.
I was really torn about all this. I kept thinking this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. To work on such a huge project, not to mention, high profile. A comment was made in crowd at the reveal. "Once they (the pastor and family) go inside, this place will turn into a ghost town because they won't be coming back outside until filming is done". This struck me. Once this crew is gone, that's it. They're gone. They'll pack up their semi's and buses and go back to where ever they live. We'll still be here. No TV cameras, no audience, just us and our volunteers, making relationships, helping people get back into their houses and churches and, as our shirts say, "showing the love of Christ to those in need".
Sunday, March 9, 2008
I know... two weeks... sorry
It's been kinda crazy around here. After the last post, I was sick for about a week. TIU didn't come until the week after (last week), so I did get to work with them after all. I also made a trip up to St. Louis to see Amy for a couple days. It was good to be together. It had been a couple weeks and I was really missing her. I drove up really early Saturday morning and came back Sunday night. It's been a week, but doesn't seem so long since we were able to see each other. She'll be back early next week. It'll be good to have here home again.
After she gets back, my dad and step-mom will be here to visit. We'll be busy with about 250 volunteers that week, but it'll be fun.
This week we've got about 200 volunteers. I'll have 24 at Rock of Ages and a hand-full at the other job site I'm running in New Orleans East. We're putting drywall up in that house as well. We have about 16 job sites this week, ranging from demolition to finishing drywall, to putting down laminate flooring, interior and exterior painting, roofing. It's going to be busy.
I had an opportunity to pray with a homeowner in Central City last week. Her name is Ms. Geraldine. We're going to be starting to lay down flooring for her. She started to rebuild after the storm and had contractors come in to do the work. They charged her $4000 to put tile in a kitchen, bathroom, and hallway. She paid another man nearly $50,000 for the rest of the house, but he didn't complete the job and left town. We hear stories like this all the time. It's the most frustrating thing the hear. People coming in and taking advantage of these people that are just trying to get back in their homes and start over. Anyway, after all this, she had to undergo open heart surgery. Now she's working 2 full time jobs, 16 hours a day, 5 days a week to pay for the house. She's been going to Castle Rock, our partner church in New Orleans, for about 8 months now.
Please continue to pray for our ministry here. Pray for the homeowners, especially Ms. Geraldine. Pray for our staff, that we would be unified, that God would continue to bless and provide for us. We've all been attacked with spiritual warfare the past couple of weeks. Pray for protection against that. Thank you all so much for your support of our ministry. We look to hear from you soon!
Phil
After she gets back, my dad and step-mom will be here to visit. We'll be busy with about 250 volunteers that week, but it'll be fun.
This week we've got about 200 volunteers. I'll have 24 at Rock of Ages and a hand-full at the other job site I'm running in New Orleans East. We're putting drywall up in that house as well. We have about 16 job sites this week, ranging from demolition to finishing drywall, to putting down laminate flooring, interior and exterior painting, roofing. It's going to be busy.
I had an opportunity to pray with a homeowner in Central City last week. Her name is Ms. Geraldine. We're going to be starting to lay down flooring for her. She started to rebuild after the storm and had contractors come in to do the work. They charged her $4000 to put tile in a kitchen, bathroom, and hallway. She paid another man nearly $50,000 for the rest of the house, but he didn't complete the job and left town. We hear stories like this all the time. It's the most frustrating thing the hear. People coming in and taking advantage of these people that are just trying to get back in their homes and start over. Anyway, after all this, she had to undergo open heart surgery. Now she's working 2 full time jobs, 16 hours a day, 5 days a week to pay for the house. She's been going to Castle Rock, our partner church in New Orleans, for about 8 months now.
Please continue to pray for our ministry here. Pray for the homeowners, especially Ms. Geraldine. Pray for our staff, that we would be unified, that God would continue to bless and provide for us. We've all been attacked with spiritual warfare the past couple of weeks. Pray for protection against that. Thank you all so much for your support of our ministry. We look to hear from you soon!
Phil
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