Our team was comprised of a group of 45 adults including college and high school students from the Richmond area. We stayed at Crockett United Methodist Church, which is not functioning at present and could not accommodate all of our shower and personal hygiene needs. A local hospital provided some much needed shower facilities, for which we were all very appreciative.

My team was sent to help Archie, Nina and their daughter, Laura, fix up their home. The family had been living in a FEMA trailer since June 13, 2008, as their home had so much water damage from the hurricane. I’m sure when we stepped out of the van, they wondered what we could accomplish.   As the week went by, we were able to tear out the rotting floor boards and replace them, clean up the debris and trash from the property, and finished two-thirds of sheet rocking the ceiling. We also cleanup the family’s yard by pulling weeds, cutting down dead trees, and mowing the lawn.

By the end of the week, the family was very surprised with all the work we had done.  On our last day there, Nina, Archie and Laura rolled out the red carpet and prepared a picnic for us, Texas style.

Doug Rechenbach
Regional Director