Today Mary and I were assigned to sort some laundry. They provide sleeping
bags, blankets, pillows, and sheets to all the volunteers, the they won't
have to bring those items from home on the plane. We had a huge pile of
bags of all this that came back from the laundry, and we had to sort them
into individual sets.
Bunkhouse, used for housing
There are two wooden bunkhouses here that were not here before. Each one
houses 12 people on mattresses. There are also three large tents, each
containing 14 cots. And there are six small tents, each containing three
cots. So there were about 80 sets that needed to be put together. Some
of the pillows were moldy so we set them out in the sun to dry out and
maybe bleach out the mold. But then it started to rain, and we couldn't
even transport the sets from the large tent where we'd sorted everything
out. It rained so bad we didn't even want to leave the tent for a few
seconds to use the bathroom or anything. Eventually it cleared up, and
the sun came out, but the whole place was muddy and it was easy to slip.
Eventually we got it all sorted out.
Showers with solid walls!
We also did some other cleaning errands around here that I can't
remember right now. Oh yeah, we cleaned out the four new wooden-
enclosed showers. They have a power washer, which is like a little
lawn mower that shoots out high pressure warm water. We had a hard
time getting it going, but Nola, who in the past has worked on
boats, said it probably got wet in the rain and needed a little TLC.
She helped us get it going, and then we were able to give the
showers a thorough cleaning. Having cleaned them ourselves, we were
then comfortable using them. They are in a small wooden building,
not like the tent-style showers we used before (they are still here
and still being used by other groups), and they are right next to
our trailer so even when muddy we only have to walk a few steps.
The trailer where Mary and I are sleeping
About the accommodations here: Mary and I are in a 5th wheel we just
call "the trailer." It used to be the office and it was located at
Powerhouse church. It is still used as an office on rare occasions
but we can stay there until someone comes who needs to use it as an
office. The two ladies in charge, Di and Bonnie, are staying in
another trailer across the street in Shirley's yard. Pete and Ralph
are also in a trailer in Shirley's yard. Nola and her husband, who
run the distribution center, are in a trailer near ours. Roger and
John, handymen who will take on just about any job around here or
around town, are staying in the back of a large van. Tony is in a
tent, and one other guy whose name I can't remember is in another
tent. As far as I know, they are the only two who are in tents.
By comparison, last time almost everyone was in tents, mostly small
tents for the couples, but there was one large tent sometimes used
by larger groups. A couple of those larger tents are still here, but
they are now being used for storage.
There is also a new wooden tool shed here, and a small wooden office.
They both look really nice. The two distribution tents are still the
same. The third larger tent is still here; it is now the
registration area. They also use it to show movies on Friday or
Saturday nights,
but we didn't do that this week. I hear they also use it for some kind
of community dinner once a week. There are tables set up in there with
quilted tablecloths. Mary and I like some of the quilts.
Tonight I got sick. Probably some kind of food poisoning. I felt
really terrible for several hours. It felt very much like the thing
I had in Sedona early last week, headache and nausea. But I couldn't
do anything to fix it ... pain killers, emetrol, hydration, all
ineffective. Eventually I threw up then slept. Felt much better in
the morning. Mary was a wonderful nurse.
