Mary's House

Here's a photo of the front and side of Mary's house. The FEMA trailers are visible in the rear.

Greetings from Port Arthur!

I’m sorry it’s taken so long to check in from Port Arthur. We have very limited internet access here as one finds neither wireless access nor internet cafes in Port Arthur. Our hosts at St. John’s UMC have graciously allowed us to use their computers to access the internet each evening but in order to minimize the time we spend monopolizing their computers, I need to write and download information and photos to my jump drive, then upload on their computers, etc. Last night, I couldn't get the system to work. So, it’s taken a while to update the blog!

While my Saturday flight was cancelled and I was rerouted through Chicago (arriving 5 hours later than planned), everyone else arrived in good stead and pretty much according to schedule on Sunday. I was relieved to see everyone when we gathered at the car rental center at the airport.

St. John’s Methodist is our home away from home in Port Arthur. Until Thursday evening, we’re the only group staying here, so we have the run of the facility, including the kitchen, fellowship hall, lounge (with one channel courtesy of rabbit ears – remember rabbit ears?) and sleeping quarters. It’s really a nice set-up, with everything on the ground level except the sleeping accommodations which are located in four rooms on the second floor. They have beds for 25, including cots with mattresses and bunk beds. Perry & Casey chose cots in one room while Max, Karen and I chose bunks in the one with immediate access to the upstairs restrooms. The younger folks sleep on the top bunks and use the bottom bunks for their belongings while yours truly does just the opposite.

In back of the church is a shower house with two shower stalls on each of two sides. Alan, the Methodist project director and the person we see most frequently at the church, planned and constructed this shower house, one of 37 showers he’s built along the Gulf Coast! It’s quite an efficient system and works well for us all. There’s nothing like a hot shower at the end of a long work day.

Work! There is that! We are working on Mary’s house, the home in which she has lived for 42 years, the home in which she raised her children and in which she hopes to live again with her son and grandchildren. For the time being, they are living in two FEMA trailers in the backyard.

Initially, we thought we would be installing a new floor, finishing the bathroom and doing some painting but it quickly became clear that we needed to do much more. We painted the bathroom and began to measure and cut sub-flooring for the kitchen but as we worked, we realized that there was damp and moldy drywall (sheetrock) in both the kitchen and dining room that needed to be removed and replaced.

Monday, we removed the sheetrock from the kitchen. By 11 AM Tuesday, we had gutted the dining room from floor to ceiling. The ceiling tiles had been attached by someone who seemed to have enjoyed playing with a staple gun as much as my family believes I enjoy working with tape! There were staples EVERYWHERE! We removed them all, along with everything down to the original walls – strong, solid pine that has withstood even the ravages of termites who found that house to be as delectable as a Vegas buffet!

Tuesday afternoon, we had our first adventure in dry walling with the indispensable help of Karen, the only one in our group who had done this work before.

Today, we put up sheetrock in the kitchen, began taping and mudding the dining room and gutted one of the bedrooms. Tomorrow, our goal is to sheetrock the bedroom, leaving the mudding for another crew.

Karen's previous experience with sheetrock has been critical to our success. She's a great teacher and a pro at measuring and cutting the stuff so it fits in oddly configured spaces!

Max, of course, has been a most amiable and capable worker. His determination ensured our success in gutting and in getting those first panels of sheetrock up on the ceiling. In part, he used his head for the latter, leaving an indelible impression on Mary’s new ceiling! It will soon be covered with texture coating and paint but we’ll always know that Max left his mark on the place!

Perry and Casey are a joy to have around. It’s a delight to be in the company of a married couple who truly love and appreciate one another. They’re also a lot of fun! Naturally, Perry claims that he’s along for comic relief but he does a lot more than that. Casey is a dynamite painter, hauler and cleaner-upper.

Our group may be small but we get things done and have a great time in the process. We are joined on-site by Leon and Ruth, a retired UCC couple from Iowa who are making their way to Florida after their week of service here.

Mary, our homeowner, is about the cutest little lady we’ve ever met and we are determined to do our best so that she can return to the house that she’s called home since 1965.

Peace, Shalom, Salaam,
Pastor Sue

Chagrined in Chicago

Well, the best laid plans...

Although I checked my flight's status repeatedly before leaving the house, I arrived at the airport to discover that my direct flight to Houston had been cancelled. I've been rerouted through Chicago - via two different airlines. That required double check-ins and a few other adventures. And I was hoping that I would avoid problems by getting out of town before the storm hit...'seems I have been hit by a storm of a different type...

Ah, well, it's just a little inconvenience.

I hope everyone else gets out of Detroit without incident tomorrow.

From the "E" concourse (not to be confused with an "E" ticket ride) at O'Hare...

Sue

Alternative Spring Break 2007: Destination Port Arthur, Texas

Final preparations are underway for our Alternative Spring Break trip to participate in Lutheran Disaster Response's Hurricane Rita Relief Effort. Representing Lord of Light Lutheran Campus Ministry will be:

• Casey Francis


• Perry Francis


• Max Wineland


• Karen Wrenbeck


• ...and yours truly

About Port Arthur

According to wikipedia (which is to say, double check this information before repeating it with authority), Port Arthur:

• was founded by Arthur Edward Stilwell in the late 19th century, and was once the center of the largest oil refinery network in the world.


• is located on the western bank of Sabine Lake in Jefferson County of southeast Texas.


• had a total population of 57,755 in 2000.


• was home to Janis Joplin, "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias, Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson and the rap group UGK.

Meet Rita, Katrina's Mean-Spirited Younger Sister

During the night of September 23, 2005 and through early morning of September 24, Port Arthur was damaged by the winds and rain of Hurricane Rita. The damage was extensive and widespread, including flooding in the downtown area. Port Arthur had the highest recorded winds during Rita's landfall—at 198mph.

Many of the homes damaged by Hurricane Rita are older and so were not built to withstand the forces of a strong hurricane. The majority of these homes are owned by seniors, disabled folks and single-parent families who lack the financial resources to pay for necessary repairs. As a result of Rita's fury:

• 500,000 Texans requested help from FEMA


• 52,000 uninsured homes were damaged


• 12,890 elderly persons in Port Arthur have no resources to repair homes.

In Port Arthur, Lutheran Social Services of the South serves as the lead agency for Lutheran Disaster Response, working in conjunction with the Southeast Texas Interfaith Organization to provide case management and home repairs for those still struggling to get back on their feet following the hurricane.

Our Trip

We'll be making our way first to Houston and then to Port Arthur on Sunday, February 25th. Our home away from home will be St. John United Methodist Church, which is graciously opening its doors to us as it does to other hurricane relief volunteers. We'll be working all day, Monday - Thursday and have Friday morning open for exploring before afternoon departures from Houston.

My trusty crowbar, "Ole Miss," is ready for another adventure! Let the walls come tumbling down!

Yours,

Pastor Sue