Report from Roland: March 31, 2006

Roland Schaedig, our first "Biloxi Boomerang," and Jay Haite are in Biloxi for a week. Here's Roland's first report:

Jay and I have arrived. I gave Judy the DVD right away--she was thrilled; she goes home for the afternoon and evening now. I gave Donna her envelope and left the envelopes for Judy and Kelli in their offices (Kelli is due in this evening).

After lunch Jay and I drove down to the little green house and found another leader-type who took us to a busload of St. Olaf students (20 of them with their campus pastor), who took us out to a work site in East Biloxi. When we arrived at the house, I was dumbfounded. I said it should be bulldozed, rather than gutted and rennovated. Well, we were the bulldozers. Miss Linda next door got permission to have this very decrepit house, uninhabited for 30 years, torn down so that she can properly fix up her place. Miss Linda said she was the chef of her block, and did we have plans for dinner and if not, she would be delighted to fix us some right good home cookin'. Of course, we all had made commitments back in tent city or Bethel.

So, we tore into the house, after instructions on safety by Bart from Lord of Life in Fairfax, VA. His picture is in that newspaper clipping from the Washington Post that Barb and I posted for our "Have A Heart For Biloxi" fundraiser. Bart's crew of 4 stout guys also worked. It was not just dirty work, it was downright grimey and hot and sultry and dangerous. There were long boards with nails flying everywhere, followed by rotten sheet rock. Tell "Little Bit" and Chelsea that we didn't see ANY roaches!. After 3 hours of this we have nearly cleared out the house down to the studs. The next phase will be to start dismantling the galvanized roof, rafters, joists, studs, floor -- right down to the ground.

This project had some very nice neighborhood flavor. Miss Linda was in there carrying out boards for a short while. Then she sat on a chair across the street and comandeered young neighbors and sent them into the house to help. What fun to have such a mix of workers! And the St. Olaf kids were just as energetic as our three and as the Augustana kids.

It's been a good first day (afternoon!). Jay reminds me that tomorrow we're at it all day, although he allowed that I might take the afternoon off since I'll be working in the pulpit Sunday forenoon,Bob the Roofer related that he saw the face of God in the fact that he finished his last peaked roof today. He leaves tomorrow to see his grandkids in North Carolina.

Jay and I would like to go back tomorrow to this project, if there's a crew to work with. We also would like to take Miss Linda up on her offer of a meal!

Jay will celebrate his 70th birthday here on Monday. I'd like to get the cooks to bake a cake.

Otherwise, we're thinking of you folks in your Katrina report Sunday.

Peace,
Roland

Jay was the first casualty to hit the Mash unit -- a slightly bleeding abrasion on his forearm and a slight cut on his chin. He's all fixed up, though. He didn't skip a beat through it all.

Small world: I asked the campus pastor where he had served parishes. One of them was Albert Lea. When I said Mary Olson's father had been pastor there, he said that he knows Mary very well through the Knutson GLBT Foundation. Bruce Benson says to say "Hi" to Mary!