We know you’ve been anticipating the “fun facts” for Thursday!!!  So here they are: 
1.  This person flew as backseat weapons system expert during Vietnam.
2.  This person’s grandson is headed to a National Robotics Championship in just a few weeks.

Have you ever been so excited, and so tired at the same time that you didn’t know which way to turn?  That’s exactly the sentiment of our team as we say good-bye to Thursday!!  Today was yet another day of installing Hardi-plank siding on Viola’s house.  Our goal is to finish the house by the time we leave on Friday.  It’s a lofty goal, and we will be so close!

We’ve learned some great lessons during our week together.
1.  Teamwork makes things to much quicker.
2.  Experts are a must!  For instance, you teach 2 people exactly where to hold the planks in place while someone else nails.  Then you repeat this process over and over and over and over ………. it doesn’t take long before those 3 people are experts at their jobs!  They have figured out shortcuts and the best way to get the job done!  We’ve had measurer-ers, cutters, scaffolding climbers, installers and bosses.  Everyone will be coming home with a new area of expertise!!
3.  Laughter is always the best medicine!!  And we’ve had plenty of it this week!

Thursday evening Bob escorted the 6 women on the team into New Orleans.  As you might suspect, they found a local seafood restaurant and ate well!  It’s amazing how every team manages to find themselves at Cafe Du Monde before the end of their time in the city!  And this group is no exception!  Beignets for everyone!!!

Don, Jason and John remained in Port Sulphur this evening for some R&R.  There’s a rumor that Don’s time was spent in a bot, on the water, line dangling in the water in search of the illusive fish or two.  Hey!  Everyone deserves a couple hours of downtime after the hard work that’s been accomplished so far this week!

It’s been another great day on mission in Port Sulphur.  We are praying that you will give of your time, as we have, and join in the work here.  It’s never too late!

Fun Fact Answers: 
1.  Bob Galaspie
2.  LeeAnn Perkins

Team member “fun facts” for Wednesday:  1.  Which lady has been fishing with two of the men on this team?  Give yourself bonus points if you can guess which men!  2.  In February, this man saw an alligator swim within 10 feet of the boat he was in.

Today found us continuing our siding project at Viola’s house.  We’re getting real good at this stuff!!  We were relieved that there was no blood or injury during our work today!  However, we were to quickly learn that injury doesn’t have to accompany work.  With no tools in motion, a gust of wind blew up some dust and trash sent an unknown foreign object under Laura’s glasses in into her eye!!!  After a trip to the emergency clinic and some wonderful numbing eye drops, it was discovered that she has a bad scratch on her eye.  Hopefully she will be back in circulation tomorrow.  So add that to your prayer list for today!!

Several folks were invited to join us for supper at PSBC this evening.  We were thrilled to have the owner of the home where we’re working, Viola, and her daughter and son-in-law, Pastor Paul and Carol, their son Jeremy and daughter Jean, Volunteer Coordinators Bruce and Erin LePoint all join us.  Smiles were everywhere as food was shared and stories were told.  The evening was complete with an old-fashioned sing-a-long.  Our new friends wanted to stay as we shared some grand old hymns.  Terri was at the piano and Jason was on bass.  It was a worshipful experience.

Chuckle from today:  The team wants it to be known that we arrived at the job site on time, and long before our construction leader.  That just doesn’t happen often!!

The ladies decided the best medicine for Laura was a rousing game of Catchphrase.  We do have a lot of quiet women on our team, so there was concern as to whether they would like this game.  It took about 10 seconds for the laughter to begin — and it was non-stop til the very end!  We laughed so hard, we cried, and that was soothing for Laura’s eyes!

Fun Fact Answers:  1.  Terri Shea is the fisher-woman!  She has fished with Don Hutcheson and John Stark.  2.  John Stark was the one to have a close encounter with an alligator.

You’ll be thrilled to know that we just happened to need gas when we were traveling through Gautier, MS.  So Terri instructed us to pull of at an exit that has a BP gas station.  Well, those of you that worked on the Simms home know exactly what BP station we’re talking about!!!  So we took the opportunity to stop in at the Simms’ home.  Jerry and his daughter had just come back from fishing.  There was a huge cooler full of fish on the front porch.  (Be sure to look at the photos when we get our photo gallery loaded in a few days.) 

We pulled in the driveway, and Don got out first.  When Jerry saw him, there was a brief second of confusion — then recognition!!  Those boys shared the biggest hug you’ve ever seen!!  It was as if they had known each other forever. 

The house looks great.  The yard is nice and green.  Some of you will be happy to know that the carport is still very clean!  The front entrance is very nice, and the driveway is brand new concrete.  You would never know they had been devastated by a hurricane.  If only we could say that about all the families we will encouter in Port Sulphur over the coming days.

Let’s start with our team member “fun facts” for today.  1.  He has a black belt in karate.  2.  She is a bead-er, and has her own company called Beading Hearts.  Some of the proceeds from her sales go to the American Heart Association.  Ponder those facts while you read on ……..

Though we are only a team of 10, we were able to split up into 2 groups.  We worked on 3 homes, finishing one. 

Team 1 — Jason learned a lot from John.  They are wiring an entire house — This will take all week!  This house will hold 3 families when finished.  They got to meet their homeowner.  He will be cooking shrimp for their lunch tomorrow.

Team 2 — Finished hardi-planking one room and began the second. Rick, the construction coordinator…. was amazed at how quickly this team worked.  Viola is the homeowner here.  She traveled 45 minutes out of her way to deliver at least 7 dozen drinks to our team.  Lots of pictures were taken, that we’ll share with you next week. 

Other happenings of the day
…….. Somehow the van keys got locked inside the van!!!  Unfortunately, the rental company only gave us one set.  Luckily, the motor wasn’t running!  Freda and Bob said prayers.  Then we found out our fearless construction leader, the righteous Reverend Rick Kesterson, in a former life, learned the talents required to enter locked vehicles!!  Thus again proving God works in mysterious ways.
……. Little did we know that we would have live music while we worked.  Bob has been singing all day.  It’s a lot of fun.

Fun Fact answers:  1.  Jason Naggles is the black belt.  Hopefully, he won’t have to use his skills this week!  2.  Jane Stark is the bead-er.  Her, and her husband John, are friends of David & Terri Shea.  They are excited about joining HRBC on mission in PS.  Jane makes beautiful beaded jewelry.  We got to see her in action on the ride to PS!!