another week

Some of this was written to my church. Debbie and I are housemates in Ohio with Pam, who could not come this trip. Debbie's son is married to my daughter.

Debbie is here this week, and will have a lot to report. She will be able to report what she has seen happening in my life, which is often hard for me to put into words. Today I went out with the prayer team. We visited three of the Christian Life Center's clients. Because of the nature of my assignments here, I rarely see clients in their homes. (I do beverages for whomever is here; work the front desk, where I see those who come in, as well as type a lot of names and information about folks I never meet: and work in the thrift shop, where I meet those who come to shop, but do not always know their names..

So the prayer team was something I have not previously done. We met Willie Acker, who has made himself known for his cooking. He talked about the Lord so long, you would have thought he had come to see us. An elderly black man who was seated on the seat of a swing that had been placed on a platform around a huge oak, He was a real blessing, One time some folks from Washington State told him they had never had sweet potato pie. He stayed up all night he told us, and brought enough sweet potato tarts for everyone who was here that week.

We also visited Cheryl Adams. She and her husband David have been living in an 8 ft trailer since Katrina, and are still not in their house because he lost his job, and they cannot afford materials.. Her prayer request this week was for her husband to have a successful interview with a local company.

To those who know Pat Kuhn, I have not personally seen her since Duke's funeral, but John sees her several times a week. She works Wednesday to Friday in New Orleans, as a beautician in an old folks home. When she is working, a lot of time is spent with her daughter in Slidell, because it is closer. John says she is doing well. He bought Dukes truck from her, and of course she is going through all the legal stuff. The pastor and his wife and Tom and Barbara also see her regularly. She planned to come back to the church, but it could be a painful memory for her: we look for her every week.

The humidity here makes the temperatures seem worse than ever. Locals say they cannot remember it being this hot before August-it has been 110 this week.

The groups this week is from Carlisle Pa and Williamsport, Md. They have worked on a couple of construction jobs, been on the prayer team, worked in the kitchen, cleaned a lady's holuse, or done yard work. I hear some jobs are being finished.

Some of the workers have also worked on the "new" thrift store. The concrete floors have been painted to look like tile, and this week the bookcases were assembled from pre-made squares and rectangles, The first load of books, which were packed last week, were moved into the building and are still sitting in the floor, waiting for the next team. The air conditioning has finally been turned on! The inside temp is now 80 degrees without the humidity: making everyone happy when they step out of 110 and humid.