I typed up this page one time already, then I lost it. Let's see if I can remember
what I said.
We got a new crew today. Actually, they arrived around 11 pm last night, but we
didn't get to meet them until this morning. They include two other married couples,
a family that consists of father, son (a youth pastor) and daughter (a student at
Cal Poly SLO), and a few other people. They are a friendly group and I expect this
week to work out really well.
Mary and I are now the "old hands" here who are supposed to know everything and
teach the next group. By some weird fate of scheduling, most of these people will
be leaving before we will. That means we must train them, then we must again train
the group that arrives on the first of December, when we finish up. Also, there
will be a few lean days we might be understaffed after this group leaves but
before the next arrives. We might volunteer to stay here a few extra days to
help provide some continuity.
We ate breakfast at the Calvary Chapel tent today. They serve breakfast, lunch,
and dinner. I personally am very thankful for them. The volunteers come from
Calvary Chapels all over the country. I found this web site for them:
Waveland Cafe
We ate lunch and dinner at the Waveland Cafe, another volunteer setup in
nearby Waveland. They have a restaurant, food bank, hospital, and all kinds of
other assistance. It is set up in huge domes in a shopping center parking lot.
Run by a bunch of "hippie christians."
I don't even know what that means. These people are from all over, but
the current crew has a lot of people from Wisconsin, well known as
"hippie central."
I couldn't find an official web page, but I did find this:
They must close up after Thanksgiving, but they plan to relocate near New
Orleans and continue similar operations there.
The group got a tour through some particularly devastated areas today.
Mary and I missed the tour because we were working in the comptuer tent
and missed the bus. Just as well, because Mary had paperwork to catch
up on and I was able to help her. I was also able to take a shower and
do laundry. Since another group is coming in on Saturday, we expect that
they'll do another tour on Sunday and we'll catch it then. I'll certainly
have some interesting photos to post then. (BTW, we also bought some
disposable cameras, and we'll have some real photos to share after we
get home.)
Tomorrow promises to be a particularly busy day: new crew, extra special
goodies to pass out, and today we were closed.
We really need your prayers right now. We are personally doing very well
but we miss our families and they miss us. Thanks to all of you who have
sent emails. We really appreciate it.
