Our first work day is over and I think we have some very tired people. 

We started our day with devotions at 7:15am.  One of the volunteers from Georgia who had been here before shared a bit about what to expect during the week.  After breakfast we headed off to our work sites.

Crew 1, lead by the fantastic Jack aka Mr. Blinkie, headed about 35 miles down the road to work on a roof.  Today's work involved removing the roofing and getting it all cleaned up.  Jack and Jake started on the roof but were joined by Kate and Frances.  The rest of the crew started cleaning up around the home and picking up the old shingles.  We stopped for lunch and Willis and Kim, the homeowners, picked a cucumber from their garden to slice and serve us.  It was delicious.  After lunch, it was back on the roof for Jack, Jake, Frances, Kate, and Susan to lay the felt.  Rachel, Nancy, and Barbara continued picking up the old tar shingles.  Nancy made friends with Marsha the Mouse.  After a final patrol of the area, we headed back to Red Bird.  Without Bobby, our camp team leader, to lead us, we were probably lucky to make it back.  We weren't as done as we thought.  It took us about 1/2 an hour to empty the bed of the truck. While unloading, we discovered that Marsha the Mouse came with us.  We left her at the dumpster.  It was a warm day of hard work, so the showers felt great.

Crew 2, lead by the equally fantastic Howard stayed on campus to work on a flooring project at an apartment for a teacher or long term volunteer.  In preparation they removed nails using a hammer and crowbar from subfloor and cut out boards needing to be replaced.  The room got noisy quickly with all the hammering.  Annie and Howard started laying new hardwoods in a small bedroom.  Unfortunately, the room was very small so that not all of the group could help.  Jenna, Kristin and Molly finished their jobs and went in search of more work.  They were sent to the craft store and laundromat to clean the bathrooms and showers and which hadn't been cleaned in a very very long time.  It was the first time some had ever cleaned a urinal.  Alex and Gordon kept busy replacing some larger areas and cutting the liner to go under the hardwoods.  

Crew 3 - lead, followed and tasks completed by the one and only Linda.  She clipped coupons and box tops, helped make lunch, worked in the craft store and had a great time visiting with a few people.  It's too bad she's not social.  

Linda and Alex lead wonderful devotion on forgiveness.  Followed by a team builder requiring us to move a ball from one side of a bed sheet to other without using our hands.  Well, their hands were holding the edges of the sheet.  It was surprising how well they worked as a team and completed the task quickly.  And continued to play with the two for quite some time.  

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Janet and Barbara

PS - Connection issues so this is late.  Pictures will follow.