So one of the rookies on this trip seems to enjoy catching me making mistakes. Reference the picture of me accidentally stepping through the plastic covering (instead of on the areas of the floor that had wood) and, hence, the title of this blog.
On a more serious note, as Tim said the other day, this is a bittersweet trip. Sweet because I'm on my 10th mission trip to this very distant and different, but comfortable state of Mississippi. Bitter because this is the last trip being scheduled by my church Floris UMC.
I've been trekking down here twice a year for the last 5 years and, thankfully, seen the area improve tremendously since my very first trip. I remember, fondly [honestly], my first night even on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and wandering around in a rainstorm back and forth across a mud field in the middle of the night trying to find absorbent materials to stop the flood that was flowing into our ceiling less bedroom. That combined with the lack of hot water and very cold temperatures made the first night a major hurdle for us UMVIMers, but our challenges were nothing compared to those of the residents that had either lost or had their homes seriously damaged. We persevered and the Wells found us better lodging conditions in the dry preschool rooms of the Bay St. Louis UMC and we helped 4 families during that first 10 day trip. We mucked, we demolished, we cooked turkeys, and we dry walled with the minimal supplies we could secure.
Now we sleep in warm, cushy bunk beds, the hot showers are adjacent to the bunkroom and you can even get to the tool without leaving the building! During these trips I have also roofed, sided, painted, spackled, put in wood laminate flooring, and just today got my first experience at sub-flooring. I've enjoyed this ministry in so very many ways. I mean where else is the significantly younger than me female cashier at the local Lowes going to call me sweetheart when I ask for help finding something?
The fact that this mission has allowed me to provide service and "witness" to people through my works and that the recepients have been very thankful of my work despite its obvious lack of craftsmanship has been a welcome diversion for me and I think I've done some good.
Jill Morganwalp
