Sunday, January 20, 2008
Good morning, this old body of mine is letting me know it does not like what I have been doing with it. Hope you all got some rest, especially those just starting classes. Saturday was a great day for Patti and Ashley. The fact that we were leaving was diminished when we went to see Wesley. Wesley is a homeowner in Mosspoint, Mississippi whom they served on the Mission trip last year. His story of standing on his stove for hours and having a water moccasin come swimming in the window has more meaning now that we have seen his home and heard his testimony. It was obvious to see that Wesley, Patti and Ashley are more than acquaintances. They are truly friends, connected through the spirit of Christ. Also, Erica, Roy and Colleen on Thursday went to see Allen, another of those folks we served last year. Although Allen can’t speak, his eyes revealed the thanks and connection he had with those who helped him. The Hurds were able to meet their friend; they had worked on her house with the February crew last year. Even though they had not previously met they were connected. When God calls us to serve there are always rewards. Thankfully these servants listened to "the missionary call." Their lives have been changed because they accepted the Lords invitation. The flights home were interesting in one respect because of Sippi, Julia’s orphaned kitten that returned with us. This little refugee was the object of much attention. Perhaps it was good promotion for our work in the Gulf Coast. I don’t remember much after leaving the ground in Atlanta, I was tired from the work we had accomplished. Work that we will be returning to be a part of for years to come.We who served are acutely aware of the fact that we left many things undone. One week of concentrated effort may seem to be so very little to us. Measured against the sheer number of empty homes and the state of disrepair of many of the homes currently occupied. Yet, if you had witnessed the tears of joy of the Havens family that we served. You also would believe that one person, one team, of committed persons could change the world. I want to thank all of you for your cooperative spirit and you’re sense of purpose. You guys are awesome! I was able to serve along side you folks and had no issues to manage, no conflicts to resolve. It was a great experience for me and I hope "yall" found it meaningful? I heard a quote yesterday in the message given at the contemporary service that I wanted to share with you. "The focus of our awareness becomes our reality". What have you been focused on since we left Mississippi? I pray that it has been on the good that was accomplished. Jesus, in the Gospel of John, instructed Peter to "care for my sheep". I want to thank you for caring for His sheep. I pray that you will continue to grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ. I also pray that each and every one of you will consider being a part of next year’s effort. The planning begins today, I believe this adaptation of the quote I heard Sunday says it all. Allow Jesus to become a greater part of your reality and he will become a greater part of your focus. I am truly humbled by your efforts on behalf of our brothers and sisters.
Shalom, Mort
Friday, January 11, 2008
Work Team Projects Day 5
Brad's Crew:
Hello all. For all those who are at home reading this, I wish you were here to experience this life changing trip. This morning, Brad, Doug, Erica, and I finished the frame for the sidewalk from the church to Camp Hope. It was a short adventure, so we moved on to join up with Mort's crew at the Haven's House. Earlier in the week, we dropped off Ashley at the Haven house and we could see the backyard through the house. When we rolled in this morning, the progress made during the week was obvious. We jumped right in around 10:30am with siding, insulation, and sheet rocking the house and by the end of the day, the whole house was enclosed in siding, with a handful of rooms insulated. The Haven Family cooked us catfish, chicken, hushpuppies, fries, potato salad, baked beans with hotdogs and some ground beef, and I'm sure I'll think of the rest of it later tonight. Meeting the Haven family was by far the best part of this trip. The Haven family spent the whole day talking, helping, thanking, smiling, and hugging everybody as if we lived there all along. Words can't describe the feeling you get when you see tears in a grown man's eyes as he watches his house finally take shape. This really has been a trip I'll never forget. I want to especially thank Brad Hinman and 
Doug Kapral for their patience and guidance this whole trip. They are working machines, and they work flawlessly together. Even though they could do a job fast, they took the time to teach both Erica and I how to do whatever we encountered. I have a new repect for both Brad and Doug and I'm thankful I had the opportunity to work with them this week. Thank you all for reading along with us and praying along the way. If you ever get a chance to come down here, I strongly suggest you pack a bag and come.
Thank you all again. God Bless.
By Scott Portwood
Gary and Mort's Crew:
Day 5 at the Havens' home was bittersweet! The crew arrived to a very soggy w0rksite this morning, but was greeted with the warmth of a wonderful, gentle man named Jody. Jody is the man of the house and a man who works very hard to provide for his family. Today was Jody's day off, and he worked as hard as anyone on the crew. We all were greeted personally by him, but he soon was putting on siding with Mort and Gary. They spent a lot of time on the mucky side of the house. Dick, our resident electrician, was kept very busy trying to finish up the rough wiring overhead and collaborating with Tom on the wiring and circuit plans for the house.
Dick also had time to teach Barb how to strip wires in the wall cases and bond the ground wires.
Heaven help the next electricians who have to work in these cases!! Our college crew of Alyssa, Julia, and Ashley finished insulating the outside walls and worked on
sheetrock in the utility room under the instruction of Dave and Rich. Julia also assisted with placing wall cases and running wire to them. Later in the morning, Brad's crew of Brad, Scott, Doug, and Erica arrived to assist us. They went right to work, and we could not have completed everything without their assistance. The reward for all our efforts this week was a true Southern style dinner(lunch) at about 1PM. Sue, the lady of the house, made the most fabulous whipped potato salad we've ever had along with fried catfish, chicken fingers, hush puppies, chili French fries, chili, and topped it off with real NEW YORK style cheesecake. After all of this, we were expected to go back to work and we did! As the end of the day approached sand clean up began, there was a lot of just talking with the Havens' family. Everyone had a sense of not wanting to 
leave, and just desiring to stay and finish the job. There were a lot of pictures taken and tears shed, but these tears were tears of hope and thankfulness. We truly have new friends in Mississippi and New York. We saw Jesus many times today in the eyes of both Jody and Sue! We finally closed the day with a blessing for this family and their new home and there was not a dry eye in the house - I guess that maybe we baptized this house with our sweat and tears! Good night and God bless y'all from Mississippi.
By Barb Hurd
Paul's Crew:
Today our team entered our final day at the Peoples home with a different pace. Every one understood from the start that we would not complete the home. The time between Monday and Thursday seemed to speed by. We just plugged away daily trying to accomplish as much as possible. Lunch was a quick sandwich and right back to work. Today was our last day and I think everyone was a little more relaxed than the previous days, maybe because we needed to slow down and savor each others company or it might have been because of the fact that we were all a little tired from the hectic pace we have been running at all week. I think we may have unknowingly used the Nascar concept of slowing down and you will go faster. We took a little more time to enjoy each others company, share 
more food (thanks Al for the donuts) and we just had a bit more fun than usual. Maybe we accomplished more because Rick Saxton’s wife Colleen joined the team for the day and motivated Rick more (BG). I don’t know for sure how we accomplished what we did today but it seemed much easier to work and it seems we accomplished more than most days.
Hello all. For all those who are at home reading this, I wish you were here to experience this life changing trip. This morning, Brad, Doug, Erica, and I finished the frame for the sidewalk from the church to Camp Hope. It was a short adventure, so we moved on to join up with Mort's crew at the Haven's House. Earlier in the week, we dropped off Ashley at the Haven house and we could see the backyard through the house. When we rolled in this morning, the progress made during the week was obvious. We jumped right in around 10:30am with siding, insulation, and sheet rocking the house and by the end of the day, the whole house was enclosed in siding, with a handful of rooms insulated. The Haven Family cooked us catfish, chicken, hushpuppies, fries, potato salad, baked beans with hotdogs and some ground beef, and I'm sure I'll think of the rest of it later tonight. Meeting the Haven family was by far the best part of this trip. The Haven family spent the whole day talking, helping, thanking, smiling, and hugging everybody as if we lived there all along. Words can't describe the feeling you get when you see tears in a grown man's eyes as he watches his house finally take shape. This really has been a trip I'll never forget. I want to especially thank Brad Hinman and 
Doug Kapral for their patience and guidance this whole trip. They are working machines, and they work flawlessly together. Even though they could do a job fast, they took the time to teach both Erica and I how to do whatever we encountered. I have a new repect for both Brad and Doug and I'm thankful I had the opportunity to work with them this week. Thank you all for reading along with us and praying along the way. If you ever get a chance to come down here, I strongly suggest you pack a bag and come.Thank you all again. God Bless.
By Scott Portwood
Gary and Mort's Crew:
Day 5 at the Havens' home was bittersweet! The crew arrived to a very soggy w0rksite this morning, but was greeted with the warmth of a wonderful, gentle man named Jody. Jody is the man of the house and a man who works very hard to provide for his family. Today was Jody's day off, and he worked as hard as anyone on the crew. We all were greeted personally by him, but he soon was putting on siding with Mort and Gary. They spent a lot of time on the mucky side of the house. Dick, our resident electrician, was kept very busy trying to finish up the rough wiring overhead and collaborating with Tom on the wiring and circuit plans for the house.
Dick also had time to teach Barb how to strip wires in the wall cases and bond the ground wires.Heaven help the next electricians who have to work in these cases!! Our college crew of Alyssa, Julia, and Ashley finished insulating the outside walls and worked on
sheetrock in the utility room under the instruction of Dave and Rich. Julia also assisted with placing wall cases and running wire to them. Later in the morning, Brad's crew of Brad, Scott, Doug, and Erica arrived to assist us. They went right to work, and we could not have completed everything without their assistance. The reward for all our efforts this week was a true Southern style dinner(lunch) at about 1PM. Sue, the lady of the house, made the most fabulous whipped potato salad we've ever had along with fried catfish, chicken fingers, hush puppies, chili French fries, chili, and topped it off with real NEW YORK style cheesecake. After all of this, we were expected to go back to work and we did! As the end of the day approached sand clean up began, there was a lot of just talking with the Havens' family. Everyone had a sense of not wanting to 
leave, and just desiring to stay and finish the job. There were a lot of pictures taken and tears shed, but these tears were tears of hope and thankfulness. We truly have new friends in Mississippi and New York. We saw Jesus many times today in the eyes of both Jody and Sue! We finally closed the day with a blessing for this family and their new home and there was not a dry eye in the house - I guess that maybe we baptized this house with our sweat and tears! Good night and God bless y'all from Mississippi.By Barb Hurd
Paul's Crew:
Today our team entered our final day at the Peoples home with a different pace. Every one understood from the start that we would not complete the home. The time between Monday and Thursday seemed to speed by. We just plugged away daily trying to accomplish as much as possible. Lunch was a quick sandwich and right back to work. Today was our last day and I think everyone was a little more relaxed than the previous days, maybe because we needed to slow down and savor each others company or it might have been because of the fact that we were all a little tired from the hectic pace we have been running at all week. I think we may have unknowingly used the Nascar concept of slowing down and you will go faster. We took a little more time to enjoy each others company, share 
more food (thanks Al for the donuts) and we just had a bit more fun than usual. Maybe we accomplished more because Rick Saxton’s wife Colleen joined the team for the day and motivated Rick more (BG). I don’t know for sure how we accomplished what we did today but it seemed much easier to work and it seems we accomplished more than most days.I would like to thank the team for allowing me to be a part of this week!
By Mahlon Gridley
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Work Team Projects Day 4
Brad's Crew:
Yesterday we finish Carrel Moody's roof project, so we were assigned new jobs today.
We worked on projects at Camp Hope today. Erica worked with Roy's team painting the back of the church today. They had to scrape and prime the side of the kitchen and storage area. They painted the back of the storage area.
Doug, Scott and Brad were given the task of digging the trench and building the forms for the new sidewalk. The sidewalk will go from the side of the church to the front door of the new building for Camp Hope. Thank God for the soft dirt in Mississippi, the digging was easy.
As I type this in it is raining very hard. Tomorrow the ditch will be a pond.
As always we had a great day and a great dinner. At devotions we had a great worship time. Pastor Dick Hurd gave the message. Many people shared their stories of the day.
God is good.
By Brad Hinman
Mort and Gary's Crew:
Today on Thursday, we truly made the Haven's place look like a house. Half of the crew worked on demolition of the remaining rooms that needed to be done while the other half worked on placing the siding on the house. During the demolition we found that kickboxing is more valuable during destruction than is a crowbar as the girls truly put the "W" in woman with their kickboxing efforts. The one boy, Sean, from the family stayed home from school today and helped tremendously with the demolition. He was very active and we couldn't have done it without him. You could tell that he was excited to know that he had people there that really appreciated his help. A few excitements of the day were that Julia is going to save a kitten, one of the many stray animals the family has and that
we experienced our first Mississippi down pour. We later found out that the area we were in had tornado warnings. Thank goodness we didn't have a radio while we were there to hear the warnings because I believe many of us would've tried to high-tail it out of there. Today's efforts truly made a difference as three quarters of the house was sided and all the ceilings and walls were torn out except for a small ceiling above the hallway.
By Alyssa Putman
Paul's Crew:
Today is day four at the People’s home.(People’s being their name). The Mrs. and her son came up from Atlanta today to meet us and her caseworker. She was so excited to see how much we got done since Monday. We are just about done with the sheetrock being hung. There are few that are finishing the two bathrooms with sheetrock getting hung and a few trimming out the windows with sheetrock too. 
The mudders have caught up with the rockers now. Sorry there isn’t anything new to report today. Oh yeah, we did have tornado warnings this afternoon. It sprinkled where we worked today but apparently it rained a little harder at other work sites,but no tornado’s thank the Lord.
By Patti Gridley
Yesterday we finish Carrel Moody's roof project, so we were assigned new jobs today.We worked on projects at Camp Hope today. Erica worked with Roy's team painting the back of the church today. They had to scrape and prime the side of the kitchen and storage area. They painted the back of the storage area.
Doug, Scott and Brad were given the task of digging the trench and building the forms for the new sidewalk. The sidewalk will go from the side of the church to the front door of the new building for Camp Hope. Thank God for the soft dirt in Mississippi, the digging was easy.
As I type this in it is raining very hard. Tomorrow the ditch will be a pond.As always we had a great day and a great dinner. At devotions we had a great worship time. Pastor Dick Hurd gave the message. Many people shared their stories of the day.
God is good.
By Brad Hinman
Mort and Gary's Crew:
Today on Thursday, we truly made the Haven's place look like a house. Half of the crew worked on demolition of the remaining rooms that needed to be done while the other half worked on placing the siding on the house. During the demolition we found that kickboxing is more valuable during destruction than is a crowbar as the girls truly put the "W" in woman with their kickboxing efforts. The one boy, Sean, from the family stayed home from school today and helped tremendously with the demolition. He was very active and we couldn't have done it without him. You could tell that he was excited to know that he had people there that really appreciated his help. A few excitements of the day were that Julia is going to save a kitten, one of the many stray animals the family has and that
we experienced our first Mississippi down pour. We later found out that the area we were in had tornado warnings. Thank goodness we didn't have a radio while we were there to hear the warnings because I believe many of us would've tried to high-tail it out of there. Today's efforts truly made a difference as three quarters of the house was sided and all the ceilings and walls were torn out except for a small ceiling above the hallway.By Alyssa Putman
Paul's Crew:
Today is day four at the People’s home.(People’s being their name). The Mrs. and her son came up from Atlanta today to meet us and her caseworker. She was so excited to see how much we got done since Monday. We are just about done with the sheetrock being hung. There are few that are finishing the two bathrooms with sheetrock getting hung and a few trimming out the windows with sheetrock too. 
The mudders have caught up with the rockers now. Sorry there isn’t anything new to report today. Oh yeah, we did have tornado warnings this afternoon. It sprinkled where we worked today but apparently it rained a little harder at other work sites,but no tornado’s thank the Lord.By Patti Gridley
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Work Team Projects Day 3
Brad's Crew:
Wednesday January 9, 2008. Today was day three. Although tired and sore, it was a great day. The weather held up and although the compressor failed, we somehow finished the job. Carl Moody graciously gave us a tour of the farm, and shared with us his large, loving family. Today Tyler and Dylan were found sleeping on the roof but as a credit to them, they earned it. The rest of the crew worked together enthusiastically to finish the job. It was nice to see a smile on Carl Moody’s face when the job was completed. I’m sure he will appreciate his new roof. A special thanks goes out to Brad Hinman, Brian, Bud, Doug, and Jill for their leadership on the crew. Brad Hinman’s Four Runner is nice.
By Scott Portwood
Mort and Gary's Crew:
Day 3 at the Haven home! As I sit on the truck tailgate and look at the home we are trying to help these people return to, I can see God in every one of my teammates. I feel like God is truly blessing our work here. This is a wonderful, hard-working family who is trying to put their lives together again. We have had so much help from the three boys, Shannon, Darren and Shawn, and it has given us the chance to get to know them better. Sue and the girls are so sweet and will do anything they can to help. Enough reflection – today was demo again and rebuild! First thing this morning, Rich, Gary and Mort demolished the dining room and 
kitchen ceilings. Then Dave assisted the other guys in the cleanup of their mess! Our triple threat of Alyssa, Julia and Ashley finished installing insulation in the back of the house. Alyssa and Barb went on a shopping trip "just up the road" for a few supplies and spent Mort’s money (we love to spend Mort’s money)! Dick was assigned electrical duties all day and has trained a great helper in Julia. Tom has been drawing layout plans for the electric circuits, windows and doors for future teams and the family. As we were finishing lunch, Curt showed up with a load of sheetrock!! We still have to demo the north side of the house! After moving in sheetrock, Dave and Rich destroyed the 
kitchen with a gleam in their eyes as they displaced the salamanders, a black kitchen and LOTS of roaches! Gary, Alyssa and Ashley started sheet rocking the ceiling in the utility room. Julia and Dick continued electrical work, Mort continued with the fussy outside siding pieces, Tom continued with the plan layouts, Dave and Rich cleaned up the mess they made in the kitchen, and Barb sorted and packed the dishes and items from the cupboards and cleaned up the living room area. Everyone’s job is important to this endeavor and we could not do it without each other and God! Goodnight and God bless from Mississippi!
By Barb Hurd
Paul's Crew:
Today we drywalled all day, drywalled, drywalled. Everbody drywalled. For an early lunch break we drove to the beach and got a perspective on the devastation that occurred to the structures there. The properties on the coast were still covered in garbage, including boats that were grounded and basically ripped apart. After the beach we went out to lunch for a change, which was a nice refreshment. There were small and delicate areas to be mudded and drywalled after lunch, which proved to be a challenge. One of the crew members said they saw God in the
form of the person they were working with. That statement was especially true, because the only people we have been on site with is our crew. That has created an environment for bonding, laughter and hard work.
By Jim Portwood
Wednesday January 9, 2008. Today was day three. Although tired and sore, it was a great day. The weather held up and although the compressor failed, we somehow finished the job. Carl Moody graciously gave us a tour of the farm, and shared with us his large, loving family. Today Tyler and Dylan were found sleeping on the roof but as a credit to them, they earned it. The rest of the crew worked together enthusiastically to finish the job. It was nice to see a smile on Carl Moody’s face when the job was completed. I’m sure he will appreciate his new roof. A special thanks goes out to Brad Hinman, Brian, Bud, Doug, and Jill for their leadership on the crew. Brad Hinman’s Four Runner is nice.By Scott Portwood
Mort and Gary's Crew:
Day 3 at the Haven home! As I sit on the truck tailgate and look at the home we are trying to help these people return to, I can see God in every one of my teammates. I feel like God is truly blessing our work here. This is a wonderful, hard-working family who is trying to put their lives together again. We have had so much help from the three boys, Shannon, Darren and Shawn, and it has given us the chance to get to know them better. Sue and the girls are so sweet and will do anything they can to help. Enough reflection – today was demo again and rebuild! First thing this morning, Rich, Gary and Mort demolished the dining room and 
kitchen ceilings. Then Dave assisted the other guys in the cleanup of their mess! Our triple threat of Alyssa, Julia and Ashley finished installing insulation in the back of the house. Alyssa and Barb went on a shopping trip "just up the road" for a few supplies and spent Mort’s money (we love to spend Mort’s money)! Dick was assigned electrical duties all day and has trained a great helper in Julia. Tom has been drawing layout plans for the electric circuits, windows and doors for future teams and the family. As we were finishing lunch, Curt showed up with a load of sheetrock!! We still have to demo the north side of the house! After moving in sheetrock, Dave and Rich destroyed the 
kitchen with a gleam in their eyes as they displaced the salamanders, a black kitchen and LOTS of roaches! Gary, Alyssa and Ashley started sheet rocking the ceiling in the utility room. Julia and Dick continued electrical work, Mort continued with the fussy outside siding pieces, Tom continued with the plan layouts, Dave and Rich cleaned up the mess they made in the kitchen, and Barb sorted and packed the dishes and items from the cupboards and cleaned up the living room area. Everyone’s job is important to this endeavor and we could not do it without each other and God! Goodnight and God bless from Mississippi!By Barb Hurd
Paul's Crew:
Today we drywalled all day, drywalled, drywalled. Everbody drywalled. For an early lunch break we drove to the beach and got a perspective on the devastation that occurred to the structures there. The properties on the coast were still covered in garbage, including boats that were grounded and basically ripped apart. After the beach we went out to lunch for a change, which was a nice refreshment. There were small and delicate areas to be mudded and drywalled after lunch, which proved to be a challenge. One of the crew members said they saw God in the
form of the person they were working with. That statement was especially true, because the only people we have been on site with is our crew. That has created an environment for bonding, laughter and hard work.By Jim Portwood
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Work Team Projects Day 2
Brads Crew:
After our fifty-minute drive north of Vancleave, we started day two at the Moody house.
After our fifty-minute drive north of Vancleave, we started day two at the Moody house.
We finished stripping the roof, and shingled most of the front half of the roof. We finished the backside of the roof as well. We have one more day of work on the roof and should finish Wednesday afternoon or evening. The scenery around the farm continues to be entertaining. We enjoy watching the 700 pound hog nicknamed "Hogzilla" run around his pen. There is also a 500 pound sow with a group of piglets. Fortunately the rooster is in a pen so he is not able to get out and get after us. Whenever we need plywood or 2x4’s, we need to go by the guard dog, who is only friendly to grandpa. It is Mr. Moody’s security system for his woodshop. Erica continues to share her lunch with the cats. 
The team continues to have a lot of fun, joking and teasing each other. We haven’t seen each other in a year, but it seems like we’re still best friends. It continues to be a great week and we are looking forward to Wednesday. Please check out the pictures!
By Brad Hinman
Gary & Mort's Crew:
Today the team seemed to be more "On a Roll". We opened up with prayer and discussed the successes from yesterday and possible improvements. Ashley, Alyssa, and Julia installed insulation and did some more electrical wiring. All three were very itchy and ran for the showers afterwards. We, the girls, have fallen in love with one particular dog at the home named "Blackie". 
We decided on a joint custody for the beloved puppy! Barb went to work taking down a ceiling. She had covered herself with plastic, eyewear, and a mask. Suddenly, the whole crew heard a loud scream. Upon our arrival coming to her rescue she looked like a "Swamp Monster" as she was covered with blown in insulation that fell from above. 
The rest of the crew continued to diligently work on covering the exterior of the home with siding.
By Julia Brown
Paul's Crew:
Hello from Mississippi, today our second day on the job site we continued with our drywall installation. I think the younger people on the team are realizing that dry walling is not something that they want to do for the rest of their lives. However they are doing a great job on the walls. The team seems to be really meshing together well. In the afternoon we got a visit from the mother of the homeowner, who is somewhere between here and Africa delivering a ship.
She was very grateful for the work that we were doing and she related to us that her son was not able to get out of the house during the hurricane, and spent the storm in the attic of the house. We had a great second day and are looking forward to tomorrow, after a good night sleep.
By Paul Hurd
Monday, January 7, 2008
Work Team Projects Day 1
Brad's Crew:
The Caton Sodus crew, led by Brian and Doug went on a roofing project at the Moody’s house in McClain, MS. McClain is 50 miles north of Camp Hope. We met the family and introduced ourselves. We gave them a Bible and two prayer shawls. We then went to work, loading our materials onto the roof and getting everything organized. Our project started out with stripping off the old roof. At lunch, we spoke with the owner, Mr. Moody, who is a seventy-eight year-old farmer who specializes in raising hogs. He bragged of his prize hog who 
weighed 1200 pounds! He also told us of his 19 children he raised in this home. He has three children who are Methodist pastors here in Mississippi. He told us the Methodists in the United States are the greatest. He said why else would we have come all that way just to put a new roof on his house. We had a good day working, got a lot done throughout the day and are looking forward to the rest of the week.
By Brad Hinman
Mort and Gary's Crew:
Ten of us from Caton UMC and South Corning UMC were assigned to work on a home that needed "gutting" and lots of other work. This house had not been ripped out since Hurricane Katrina. Mold had set into the walls and ceilings. The whole house was operating on about four electrical breakers. Alyssa Putman, Bard Hurd, Julia Brown, Ashley Dann, and Dave Huber worked on tearing out old wiring, the old breaker panels and installing new outlet boxes in four rooms. A couple of the family’s teenage boys were intently watching our girls work on their bedroom wiring. The girls drilled holes and pulled wire for three rooms. Alyssa told the boys that when they get into their house, don’t tell folks the guys wired their rooms. "Tell them 2 blonde girls wired your rooms!" Fantastic effort from these girls!! We worked under the excellent guidance of Pastor Dick Hurd. Mort, Rich and Gary worked on ripping off siding, insulating one side of the house and installing new cement siding panels. Looks great! 
Barb Hurd and Dave Huber tore off knotty pine planks in the living room and ripping off moldy, mildewed waferboard on the front wall of the house. There is much to be done yet: we met the mom and her six children ages 10-16. The father was at work, but Mort talked with him about how they would like some items done. The family’s mom and kids chipped in and hauled trash out of the house. We all worked hard, laughed a lot and greatly enjoyed our day. We all are very tired, but looking forward to tomorrow.
By Dave Huber
Paul's Crew:
Today was our first day on the job here in Vancleave, MS. Paul’s crew began work on a gutted home, the task at hand: fill the place with sheet rock! The day started with a little waiting around and soaking up the sunshine, soon after we were unloading drywall (the first bits of the 120 sheets we’ll need). The crew worked on insulating the exterior walls and when they were completed, we immediately began to drywall the place. Although the day started off slowly, the crew got rollin’ and filled a few rooms with sheet rock. Little blessings and jokes infiltrated their way through the work.
By Becky Hill
The Caton Sodus crew, led by Brian and Doug went on a roofing project at the Moody’s house in McClain, MS. McClain is 50 miles north of Camp Hope. We met the family and introduced ourselves. We gave them a Bible and two prayer shawls. We then went to work, loading our materials onto the roof and getting everything organized. Our project started out with stripping off the old roof. At lunch, we spoke with the owner, Mr. Moody, who is a seventy-eight year-old farmer who specializes in raising hogs. He bragged of his prize hog who 
weighed 1200 pounds! He also told us of his 19 children he raised in this home. He has three children who are Methodist pastors here in Mississippi. He told us the Methodists in the United States are the greatest. He said why else would we have come all that way just to put a new roof on his house. We had a good day working, got a lot done throughout the day and are looking forward to the rest of the week.By Brad Hinman
Mort and Gary's Crew:
Ten of us from Caton UMC and South Corning UMC were assigned to work on a home that needed "gutting" and lots of other work. This house had not been ripped out since Hurricane Katrina. Mold had set into the walls and ceilings. The whole house was operating on about four electrical breakers. Alyssa Putman, Bard Hurd, Julia Brown, Ashley Dann, and Dave Huber worked on tearing out old wiring, the old breaker panels and installing new outlet boxes in four rooms. A couple of the family’s teenage boys were intently watching our girls work on their bedroom wiring. The girls drilled holes and pulled wire for three rooms. Alyssa told the boys that when they get into their house, don’t tell folks the guys wired their rooms. "Tell them 2 blonde girls wired your rooms!" Fantastic effort from these girls!! We worked under the excellent guidance of Pastor Dick Hurd. Mort, Rich and Gary worked on ripping off siding, insulating one side of the house and installing new cement siding panels. Looks great! Barb Hurd and Dave Huber tore off knotty pine planks in the living room and ripping off moldy, mildewed waferboard on the front wall of the house. There is much to be done yet: we met the mom and her six children ages 10-16. The father was at work, but Mort talked with him about how they would like some items done. The family’s mom and kids chipped in and hauled trash out of the house. We all worked hard, laughed a lot and greatly enjoyed our day. We all are very tired, but looking forward to tomorrow.
By Dave Huber
Paul's Crew:
Today was our first day on the job here in Vancleave, MS. Paul’s crew began work on a gutted home, the task at hand: fill the place with sheet rock! The day started with a little waiting around and soaking up the sunshine, soon after we were unloading drywall (the first bits of the 120 sheets we’ll need). The crew worked on insulating the exterior walls and when they were completed, we immediately began to drywall the place. Although the day started off slowly, the crew got rollin’ and filled a few rooms with sheet rock. Little blessings and jokes infiltrated their way through the work.By Becky Hill
2008 Team Travels To Vancleave
Thursday kicked off our travel, as we all gathered our hand tools, screw guns, chop saws, and the like to head to Mississippi. As we had two teams leaving on Friday by car, Brad Hinman, Rich Mason, Dick Hurd, and Paul Hurd, carrying all of the tools down to the missions center while the rest of the team would be flying out of Rochester on Sunday at 6:00 AM.
The team members on the road traveled with Tom Bement and company from the Campbell UMC Team who also was headed to Gulfport on Friday to do relief work until finding a nights sleep in Knoxville, TN. They continued on into the Gulfport/Vancleave area on Saturday.
Flying members of the team journeyed through the wee-hours of the morning on Sunday, leaving Corning at 3:00AM to make our 6:00AM flight out of Rochester. The flights went without incident and we arrived into Gulfport around 10:30CT. This allowed us to site see up the coast to Biloxi before heading North over the rebuilt Route 90 Bridge to our destination known as Camp Hope located in Vancleave.
Once getting to Camp Hope the team met with other teams from Sodus, NY and Wayne, PA; this brought the over all camp population up to 54 team members to do work within the communities. The teams settled in for the day as everyone unpacked, made up their bunks, organized tools, and familiarized themselves with the camp.
That evening the team had a wonderful meal prepared by camp staff, participated in a nightly devotion, had project team leaders meeting to organize the workload, and finally turned the lights out for a good nights sleep around 10:30PM.
The team members on the road traveled with Tom Bement and company from the Campbell UMC Team who also was headed to Gulfport on Friday to do relief work until finding a nights sleep in Knoxville, TN. They continued on into the Gulfport/Vancleave area on Saturday.
Flying members of the team journeyed through the wee-hours of the morning on Sunday, leaving Corning at 3:00AM to make our 6:00AM flight out of Rochester. The flights went without incident and we arrived into Gulfport around 10:30CT. This allowed us to site see up the coast to Biloxi before heading North over the rebuilt Route 90 Bridge to our destination known as Camp Hope located in Vancleave.
Once getting to Camp Hope the team met with other teams from Sodus, NY and Wayne, PA; this brought the over all camp population up to 54 team members to do work within the communities. The teams settled in for the day as everyone unpacked, made up their bunks, organized tools, and familiarized themselves with the camp.
That evening the team had a wonderful meal prepared by camp staff, participated in a nightly devotion, had project team leaders meeting to organize the workload, and finally turned the lights out for a good nights sleep around 10:30PM.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Mission Team Leader Mort Gridley Welcomes You!
Welcome to our Blog Page, hopefully you find it informative and engaging.
Christ has called many of us to return to the Gulf coast again
to serve our brothers and sisters devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
It is our hope that through this witness to their story, you too may be inspired,
to contribute in some way towards this effort on there behalf.
The Mississippi mission team 2008 eagerly seeks your prayers, your presence
and your gifts. It is so very true that Christ is counting on you!
Help us, help them by getting involved with one of the following:
1) Join a future team by calling the Caton UMC at 607-524-6715
2) Donate to team 2008
Make checks payable to Caton UMC
11186 Hendy Hollow Rd.
Corning, NY 14830
Note: Please enter "Mississippi Mission 2008" in check comment line
3) Donate to future teams
Make checks payable to Caton UMC
11186 Hendy Hollow Rd.
Corning, NY 14830
Note: Please enter "Mississippi Mission Relief Fund" in check comment line
Christ has called many of us to return to the Gulf coast again
to serve our brothers and sisters devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
It is our hope that through this witness to their story, you too may be inspired,
to contribute in some way towards this effort on there behalf.
The Mississippi mission team 2008 eagerly seeks your prayers, your presence
and your gifts. It is so very true that Christ is counting on you!
Help us, help them by getting involved with one of the following:
1) Join a future team by calling the Caton UMC at 607-524-6715
2) Donate to team 2008
Make checks payable to Caton UMC
11186 Hendy Hollow Rd.
Corning, NY 14830
Note: Please enter "Mississippi Mission 2008" in check comment line
3) Donate to future teams
Make checks payable to Caton UMC
11186 Hendy Hollow Rd.
Corning, NY 14830
Note: Please enter "Mississippi Mission Relief Fund" in check comment line
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