Hello, hello, hello!!!!

Greetings from Bay Saint Louis Mississippi! Things here are going great. We all want to thank you for reading our blog and thinking and praying for us while we are spending time down here. Today we had an excellent day at the site. The house is moving along so quickly its hard to believe...unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share but we'll try and get some more up tomorrow but you will be amazed at the progress we're making. The staff from Habitat for Humanity is really incredible to watch work. They are a well oiled machine and always seem to be one step ahead of the build, knowing exactly what they need next and we've been able to keep them moving right along. They contract out electrical and plumbing work (thankfully because Fran Daly isn't with us to do the plumbing work if it was required....shout out!) but today the electricians were in the house and wired just about everything. Additionally the duct work for the central AC was started. In two short days this location has changed from a simple slab of concrete with 2X4s spread out to a structure that has interior and exterior walls and a roof and is really starting to look like a home. There also was a shed that was built, roofed, painted and completed today. We polled the team about every ones day today and at least 80% of us learned something new today which is a testament to the team we are working with.

After our work day we found a coffee shop called Gimme Coffee and were introduced to Cold Drip iced coffee which was very well received by practically all of the adults on the trip. Ice coffee is becoming a theme down here. Dinner followed and we had an opportunity to meet with Kurt who is a pastor here at Lagniappe. He explained to us about the change in focus that the church here has taken on, moving from a relief effort to a support effort. It was very interesting to hear how they felt like they had been called for a change in direction in order to support the community that they have become a very important part of. They have a long road ahead of them but are encouraged by what they have seen so far and excited to see what is on the horizon. It also was interesting to hear that they have had 5 marriages (I believe he said 5) that have come from the people who have worked together and they have specifically asked for prayers for all of the staff and they're relationships that they are nurtured and continue to grow and that they not taken a back seat to the relief efforts that are ongoing. Additionally Kurt asked we keep his wife Kelly in our prayers as she's dealing with some ongoing and potentially new medical issues.

The team is in great spirits and we have been very blessed to be safe thus far on our trip and we all ask that you continue to pray for continued health and safety.

It's late and I have an early morning full of measuring once (hopefully), hammering quickly (my blistered hands tell that story better then I can) and lots of water (although we have really been blessed with excellent weather considering we've heard stories of 110 degree weather 3 weeks ago).

Tired but gratefully yours.....
Tom