First Congo On The Road

We took Monday afternoon off so that we could bring our newest arrival back from New Orleans.  There was a very festive atmosphere in New Orleans due to the Saints hosting Monday Night Football.

Now that our crew is complete, the cast of characters are: Alan Benzschawel, Pam Benzschawel, Jim Brygger, Deb Burich, Joyce Hanstedt, Len Hanstedt, Jim Park, Ruth Park, Cheryl Reissmann, Ron Reissmann, Julia Rhodes, and Stephanie Strzalka all of First Congo; Paula DeSmidt from Kiel, Holly Green from Florida, John Park from Washington, Ken Park from Florida.  Paula is Kathy Lannoye’s cousin.  We are disappointed that Kathy was unable to join us but are thrilled that Paula came anyway.  Holly is Ruth’s sister and John and Ken are Jim’s brothers.  It is great that people enjoy this trip so much that they get others excited about it.  This is the largest group to Back Bay Mission since we have been sending groups starting in 1991.

With our goof off day behind us we are ready to focus on making progress on our project.  The home is barely salvageable and if not for willing and able volunteers would likely not be salvaged.  First task was to identify volunteers for Loaves and Fishes.  This is the local food pantry and meals program that had been founded by Back Bay Mission but is now independent.

A walk through with Craig identified additional changes that needed to be made and we are off.  The Park brothers and Jim Brygger went to work on restoring the floor along the wall that is now open air.  Not a moment too soon and in fact a little late as Jim stepped through the floor at one point and caught himself on the scaffold injuring his finger in the process.  It could have been much worse and we are grateful it wasn’t.

A major distinction between rehab work and new construction is that there is much more “engineering” involved in rehab.  The interesting thing about our crew is several of us are capable do it yourselfers but none of us are professional carpenters.  This results in much debate about the best way to approach problems.  Meanwhile, we have a crew to keep busy and they are rapidly finishing tasks that are separate from the wall project.  Fortunately, the group we have has been very patient, flexible, and cooperative even when I change what I want them to do three or four times in rapid succession.

By mid afternoon, we have agreed on an approach to solving the issues related to the new wall.  That means framing can commence!  The first segment is built and ready to be set in place first thing on Wednesday.

After showers and a brief stop at Biloxi Regional Medical Center we are ready to head out to Lookout 49 for dinner.  Lookout 49 has become a standard stop each trip.  The owner’s previous restaurant, Lookout Long Beach, was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.  We discovered Lookout 49 during our 2006 trip partly because not many restaurants were open at that time.  I haven’t heard anyone say they had a bad meal there and they are happy to accommodate our large group.