Wednesday

Like yesterday, today was a very productive day of work. We spent the majority of the day at Emily’ house which had been flooded with 3-4 ft of water.

To understand the working environment, I toured the house upon arrival without a mask. Between the house tour and the pervasive smell of wet moldy drywall and furnishings that hung over the neighborhood, my chest felt a bit tight and achy for most of the next hour. We wore masks pretty religiously at this job.

Here Eileen points out the high water mark on the back door.

Here is a video tour of the house as we were concluding our work.

A few other pics of the workers today.

Our initial contact with University Baptist, the lodging place for the ladies and the hub for all our meals was a very special couple.

That couple was Ryan and Louisa Seapey. Louisa has many friendships that intersected with the group. Her role as group hostess was a key factor in this special trip.

The group also got to know one of the most spoiled long-haired chihuahuas that we have ever met. “Bentley Benjamin Etta-Dog Schmucker Martin Seapey” is quite a pooch.

Another unique aspect of the trip was the Baptist Convention’s mobile shower and laundry unit which sported the name of “Ms Betty.”

Miss Betty is parked at University Baptist and provided accommodations for the men as well as the numerous other relief worker groups stationed there. Visits to Ms Betty were an important part of keeping the men presentable.

Back to the workday… By mid-afternoon we were tired but non-the-less packed up and headed to a brand new job when word came through of a new opportunity. On this job, all our previous experiences came to play and we felt like a big family working together with a level of efficiency that surpassed all previous jobs. In two hours time we were able to remove the furniture and gut about 75% of the house from the floor to the four foot mark. Take a look at the gang in action!

In this case the residents have stayed living in the house even as the mold crawled up the windows and as we disassembled the structure around them.

In both jobs today we were grateful to have significant interaction with the homeowners that we hope brings honor to Jesus.

Tomorrow morning we plan to start our two day journey home with a 5:00 AM departure. Thanks for your many prayers! It has been a blessed time here in Houston.