GodSquadMission2009

2009-08-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

A eulogy for the man who drowned on the Galveston beach:

Maybe all I wanted was one single secluded moment
Away from the clamor of human life,
And maybe, like the whispering winds of this island,
I'd heard all the tales of human suffering I could stand
And God gave me that tranquil snapshot
There in the pounding surf,
Absorbing the peaceful, salty rhythms,
Enclosed in a fragile bubble of sky and sea.
But in exchange for that peace, the scales had to tip,
and something had to be out of balance elsewhere
just a few feet down the pristine sand.

God grant me the serenity to
accept the things I couldn't see to change,
the courage to change the things I can see,
and the wisdom to see the difference,
Even if all the looking in the world
Wouldn't open my eyes until after
the jolting, sudden fact.

With flowers in my hand and hurt in my heart
I stand staring at the murky waves
Wondering where all that danger comes from
In the midst of calm
But it’s only singing Amazing Grace on the lurching ride away
That will calm my inner tumult and bring the tears.

2009-08-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

Today was a little bit of a sad day beacause i had to leave early, however we got a lot of work done. We had gotten quite a few bags of yardwaste from Mr. Keyes house then i went back with the other group and we got a lot of flooring done and im not sure if all the tiling and flooring got done today. 4 hour plane rides are not fun after the first hour.

I MISS ALL OF YOU GUYS AND HOPE YOU GUYS HAVE A GREAT REST OF A TRIP AND I LOVE YOU ALL.

LOVE

Sammy

Reflections

2009-07-31T14:16:00.001-07:00

So far this week has gone by really fast. Working with a bunch of people you enjoy being around makes it that way. Today especially went by really fast. Putting in floors in an airconditioned center listening to Bay Area rap (and other stuff) will do that to you. The real fun starts tonight though. Our hard work this week is rewarded with a nice Texas BBQ. The BBQ is kicking off a weekend of fun which includes lots of chill time, going to church and seeing minor league baseball. As much fun as that sounds, there is still a bunch of work that needs to be done here in Galveston. My group has only worked on two houses so far (and in a church and temple center) that were greatly affected by the huricanes. I wish more volunteers could come down and put in a week of work because this city really needs. It is a wonderfull community full of really nice people that need a lot of help. I hope to return here in the next couple of years.

2009-07-30T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hi all. I've requested a review of our spam blog accusation. We may eat Spam on occasion, but in this case, we are not what we eat. Ciao!

The Tale.................of Sir Calvin

2009-07-30T14:52:00.001-07:00

Texas is great, because everything about it is big. It's state is big, it's trucks are big, it's people are big, even spiders, humidity etc. (The list is endless). So far in Texas, I have enjoyed quite a multitude of wonderful experiences here in the Lone Star State (where even cockroaches drive large trucks and think hybrids are kind of silly).

So far this week, the days have passed by in a similar, yet quite enjoyable manner. My work team (named 'The MacGyver's after some dude in the 80's who I don't know but that's ok) drives to the home where we work at about 9:00 in the morning and then we get to work. So far, we have been tiling and putting down grout (which, until a little while ago, I thought 'grout' was a small woodland mammal), or at least, we have been putting off that impression. For a few days, Gabby, Marshall, Sam and myself just scraped mortar between tiles, which is a VERY rewarding experience (if, by 'rewarding' you mean 'mind-numbing') I tried to become a tiler, but very soon I realized that this job required a special something I didn't have (namely, an ability to do something productive) and my team leader Andy, sent me back to kneel on the floor and scrub the cracks again. Fortunately, I was the only person with a camera so this enabled me to get up and wander around at any point in the work to photograph and videotape Marshall's humerous episodes of working with the hose (among other things).Still, this is a VERY essential step that we must take before we can work with grout.

Throughout the work upon the site, we have made steady progress upon the tiling the floor and grouting in between in several rooms; I credit this to Joe Crisp standing in front of the fan until it puffs up his shirt and Nick Morehouse covering Michela (also known as Michala on this blog) in mortar, for both activities are very efficient and quite entertaining to watch. As for myself, I have been upgraded to grout spreading, which allows me to spread the brown, gluish-like substance that look alarmingly similar to dog feces on the floor, inbetween the tiles so that it holds them together in the same spot, then Sam and Gabby come by and clean the tiles so the only goop I have spread is in the cracks and not on the tiles.This job is ideal because it allows me to make a mess and then has others cleaning up after me, which has been my dream job since about 2 years old. Today, I have finished two bedrooms and have started another so I do have some work under my belt.
Now, in fact, Stephen and the others are now doing the medieval torture that is scraping the grout lines, so I can't do too much work, otherwise I won't have time to watch them for giggles.

Other than this though, I have learned many things. Academically, Gabe has taught me how to properly pronounce 'versatile' (say Ver-sa-tile!).Socially, I have met our wonderful team leader, Andy, who is the Straight man to our team's Marx Brothers. Furthermore, I have bonded well with the whole group. From Marshall the Marshmellow is a one rad dude who looks like Alfred E. Newman, to Michaela who has the best singing voice ever (Imagine Bonnie Tyler on steroids!)

I have failed miserably at keeping this blog short, but when confronted with such a cornucopia of material, what is a crazy Episcopalian who has been mistaken for Shaggy Rogers from Scooby-Doo to do? In any event, I want to help spread the message........

MacGyver Love To all!

2009-07-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

Videos from July 30

Bite the Pan Extravaganza

Richard Kemink Crashes

The Finals

and

Hi Mom

Hi Everybody,

It seems to be getting hotter and hotter here in South Texas. Or perhaps we're getting wearier and wearier. We're making good progress at the two separate homes we're helping to restore from hurricane damage. One group is sheetrocking and my group is spending the week tiling an entire house. We're in good spirits, working hard during the day and bonding in the evenings.

untitled.

2009-07-29T14:39:00.001-07:00

So this was the third day of work. We had walked into the house on Monday with half of its walls bearing their two-by-fours and now are proud to say that all the walls are not only up (save for a bathroom and bedroom; the bathroom because we don't have that type of sheet-rock & the room because it has wood paneling which we also lack) but they are nearly ready to be painted... Just give it another couple of days :)

I mention this not just for the sake of a general update on work status but because it reminded me of another trip with similar weather...

Today three women from FEMA came to check in on our homeowners and to make sure that the rebuilding was coming along swiftly so that they can allow [the homeowners] further use of the trailer set up in the front yard. I may not have caught the significance of this had Liz and I not been outside when they came up the walkway (and she mentioned it) ... On the first work day in New Orleans, Liz and I had worked together for an elderly gent who had been trying to rebuild his house on his own for the two years prior to our arrival (two years ago). He had had a court date set a couple days after this work day of ours and had to prove that his rebuilding was going at a decent rate or else his house would be taken by the city (who had plans to buldoze the property).

Of course, this didn't hapen; both Godsquad and the Episcopal Hurricane Relief wouldn't allow it to. i thought about this as the FEMA ladies toured the house, almost shocked to see how much work was done and how much had been done since their last visit which was aparently when there were absolutely no walls.

Just thought I'd share that :)

-Caroline.

Finally!!

2009-07-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

Today was a very exciting and fun day , we finally got to grout!! The last 2 days my group had been cleaning the mortar between the already ladid tiles and it was boring we spent our entire last 2 days cleaning this mortar, it is very mind numbing. well today we spent our first hour doin the same thin weve done the last 2 days because we had to wait for Josie to come teach us beacuse Andy didnt really know how. Grout feels like sand and it dries out your hands A LOT. Gaby and I were singing songs we knew even though it seemed we were a little off key. After you grout you have to have people wiping the tiles down otherwise the grout thats on top hardeneds or the dust jus stays on like a layer of grim, so if you dont wipe it down someone will have to spray acid wash on the tiles to get rid of all that, plus you have to wear a mask whik doing it and its not fun to do. we got one room down but quite a few more left..

When we got back home we walked into our room but before we could get into our room (we bein gaby, michala, and me) we got a huge whiff of something nasty; THE BOYS ROOM. The boys are staying in a large open space with their doors being a sheet on a rope. They take showers everyday but their space really smells, the girls have a fan facing the door to keep the smell out when we open the door. Nothing is keeping the smell at bay, we (the girls) have sprayed febreeze and oust within 2 minutes the nasty smeel overpowers it . Gaby says the febreeze is like a snuggle teddy bear but the smell is like a monster that ate the teddy bear. I really hope that smell goes away.

Tuesday Videos

2009-07-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

Grout, tile, grout, tile, cut, break, swear, grout, tile

Nick, covered in mud

Pickle Popsicles

Working the afternoon away

On my knees

2009-07-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone this is Sam. So todauy I did the same exact work as yesterday which was basically cleaning out the the mortar that had seeped around the edges of the tile . Apearently using wood works to clean the mortar and is more effective then the tool thingy we were using originally. then we had a 15 minute break and we all walked in a massive group to use the restrooms (which is across the street) we like to call this a unipee .
Then we had lunch and Stephen had to get gas in the car; so it'd be ready when we were done, but the engine died and we had to wait for a jumper cable and ended up calling triple A. After lunch we finished a lot of tiling. When Stephen came back from the gas station he had bought ice cream for everyone in or work group but also came back with the original pickle pop. I decided to eat it because i couldnt have the ice cream. The pop was gross it was basicaly frozen pickle juice . Then we had a couple more hours of work and it was back home. All the guys; pretty much , went to the beach and all the girls stayed back to take a shower . Its very quiet without the Guys. THe girls room is right next to the guys sleeping area and the think theyre whispering but in reality theyre talking really loud and we can hear everything theyre are saying. So far this trip is so much fun and lots 0f joking around.

How to Properly Sheetrock

2009-07-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

Meet the A Team

2009-07-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

The A Team

2009-07-28T13:09:00.001-07:00

John doing work

Liz doing work

Sheet-rocking

Gabe doing work (modeling)

Chard doing work

Nancy doing work

Bob doing work

Hangin' Out

2009-07-27T16:42:00.000-07:00

One More Video, hangin' out.

2009-07-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

Mission Trip Videos!

Tour of the tile House

and

Introducing Team Macguiver

I Love Nature's Sauna

2009-07-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

It is really hot and humid here in Texas. Personally, I have already gotten used to it, but it took a while to adjust. After a long travel day and lots of sitting around, we got into the gulf yesterday. It is a giant bathtub that you can swim in. We all love it.

Working today was really fun. My group got to sheetrock, which was a lot of fun (except for the fact that the house was a giants sauna). Our reward for a hard (half) day's work - a long swim in the bathtub (I mean the gulf). I can't wait to work more tomorrow.

-Simon

Monday.......

2009-07-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

So, here we are in good old Galveston Texas. It is very humid and kind of hot, but the beach is AMAZING. It's extremely warmer than California beaches, and feels almost like bath wate, minus the salt. :P The first day of work went well though, the group i was in (the Macgivers) worked on grouting and tiling. All i can say is thank God for knee pads and fans. Turns out that scraping mortar all day long, is fun but tedious, and your fingers twitch afterwards, :). For a first day, it was great and we all had a good time. :) Especially when Stephen pulled out the IPhone and started taking videos....says Sammy.

cycles

2009-07-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

Here we are in Galveston, safe and sound, for any concerned parents out there. Our first work day was today, and I'll talk about that in a minute.

But I would like to preface that with a bit of reflection, if you'll humor me. I feel like I have been on so many mission trips (this one is my sixth, and three of them have been down south to do hurricane relief) that I went into this trip with specific expectations of what I am going to put in and what I will get out in return. The classic recipe for a mission trip involves roughly six days of hot, sweaty work on one side of the equation, and a warm, fuzzy feeling associated with reaching beyond your comfort zone and bonding over the work you share with others on the other.

But this time around, the words "comfort zone" ring not quite as true to me. This is my last mission trip before I leave for college, which is the next big transition I'll have to face, the furthest I have been from my home and family. Mission trips are the next closest thing to that, for me, and even they have started feeling like routine. People change, and the group dynamics are certainly different this year (with only five girls and eight guys, I have heard enough "That's what she said" jokes to last me my entire college career) but I know, again from experience, that things will settle out in the next day or so. We'll get used to each other, and settle into a routine, this family away from home that I have for the next nine days. Last night's program was based around the first line of the Lord's Prayer, "our father who art in heaven", and we talked about what it was like to know that we had a parent watching over us in heaven even when we were far away from home. We concluded that it was comforting to know that there was someone looking out for us, even as we venture away from home.

And now that this tangent has brought me back to the idea of home, in some ways the ultimate comfort zone, we'll get back to our regularly scheduled account of our work day. We met for an orientational Powerpoint by the volunteer coordinator, Luke, and he told us about all the damage that Ike did to Galveston, in spite of the sea wall that had been built after a storm essentially leveled the city in 1900. Hurricane Ike wasn't predicted to have particularly strong winds (it was only a Category 2 when it touched down), but it did have a Category 4 storm surge, which translates to 15-2o foot waves. Ike took the Texas coast by surprise, and meteorologists are redoing the scale used to measure the intensity of hurricanes as a result of the unexpected damage Ike caused. Throughout the presentation, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen to the houses we helped rebuild if another storm came along, as it surely will. A cycle of cyclones. Luke mentioned something about new building laws that would make buildings have to be more protected against potential storms, but I wonder if that is enough. People are resilient, as I have seen from the relief efforts here and along the rest of the Gulf Coast after Katrina, and a place to live is a very necessary commodity, so I will help people here for the moment, but something dramatic needs to change in the way we respond to disasters like this. I don't have the makings of an engineer (as you would have seen today, from the way I measured sheetrock to hang in a closet) but I can do something. And with that thought, Liz is signing off and going to help make sloppy joe's for dinner.

A collect for the God Squad mission to Galveston

2009-07-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son came not to be served
but to serve: Bless all who, following in his steps, give
themselves to the service of others; that with wisdom,
patience, and courage, they may minister in his Name to the
suffering, the friendless, and the needy; for the love of him
who laid down his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus
Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A collect for (God Squad) travelers

2009-07-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

O God, our heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation, and whose presence we find wherever we go: Preserve those who travel; surround them with your loving care; protect them from every danger, and bring them in safety to their journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God Squad Mission 2009

2009-07-22T14:25:00.000-07:00

T-minus 3 days until we gather at Church of the Resurrection before departing on the mission trip to Galveston, Texas. Throughout the week we'll be posting updates to this blog to keep you all posted on our work, fun and sweat down there in Texas. Feel free to share this link with anyone you like who may be interested in the work we're doing.