Work Day 2!

Today we all got a lot of work done and it was very satisfying! My favorite part of today in particular was being able to meet and talk to the home owners! Now that it has been 14 months since the flood, it would be easy to overlook the need that is still here, but hearing their stories of the flood and how they were homeless for months really puts things into perspective.  A homeowner said to us that even though this has been really hard and trying, they are grateful for the way it has brought people together, not only in the community, but from across the U.S. We are blessed to be here to help!

Jeff and Brian's team went back to Richard's house today to continue work on drywalling, caulking, and adding shoe molding to his basement. Here are some more photos from  Tuesday as well as completed work photos from today!

Dry walling experts!

Finished caulking and adding shoe molding!

Keith and my team went to THREE job sites today!

First we went to Bob's house to add sealant to the grout in his new tiled basement floor!

Beautiful!

 Then we went to Derek's to demo his bathroom! We are experts at reverse drywalling!

John's hammer holes made a heart in the drywall!

All the drywall is out! Time to remove some nails and vacuum!

 Finally, we went over to Leon's to seal tiles and help Mary Lou and Marty finish up some trim work that they have been doing an excellent job on!

Overall, it was a very productive day! Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Program, Water Park, Dinner and a Tour!

We are slightly more than halfway through our trip and we are having a blast!

Last night we had our first program. Our theme this year is "Measures of God's Love". Our inspiration for this is being in Music City, of course! Tuesday night we talked about how God has a steady rhythm that he plays for us throughout our lives and how we need to listen to his rhythm and follow.

 Here are some group shots from last night's devotion...

This morning, we woke up at 8 and cleaned our living areas before heading out to Nashville Shores water park!

We had a great time bonding and enjoying the gorgeous day in the park!

After the water park, we came back to the church for a special dinner purchased by the church for us. Joining us were the PDA workers as well as our homeowners!

We finally got to meet Lisa, the owner of the house where we fixed the crawl space! She was SO nice!

 After dinner, Jim (our hospitality coordinator) gave us a personal tour of the whole church and its history! What a beautiful church with a storied background!

The Santuary (and you can see Jim in the bottom corner!)

Notice how the windows are mostly frosted with a few clear windows in the shape of a cross! Beautiful!

This is their columbarium! It is a gorgeous and unique design!

 Mid-tour we had another group photo shoot!

The "cute" photo

The "silly" photo!

 We ended the night by celebrating Aly's birthday!!!! Happy 15th, Aly!!!

Back to work tomorrow!

Work!

We were sent to three different work sites today! Marylou and Marty (Brian's AWESOME mom!) went with a PDA lead worker to a house that had a "punch list". They had some finishing work to do around a house that was nearly completed. This was perfect because they were able to get home in time to get the food ready for the hungry troops later that night!

Jeff, Brian, Andy, Mark, Kayla, David, and Susanna went to a house that had insulation and dry wall to install. The homeowner's name is Richard and he has EIGHT dogs!

Andy and David hard at work!

Wouldn't be Nashville without a cowgirl hat!

Keith, John, Maddie, Aly, and I went to Lisa's house. We discovered quickly that when they said we had a "crawl space" to work in, they meant crawl... mostly flat on your belly, unless you are John who has super human crawling monkey like abilities!

 First we had to pull out the old plastic that was put down on top of the mud/rock floor to keep the "vapor" (moisture) from going up into the house.

 Then we measured, cut, and spread new plastic down in the crawl space!

 Then we went in and hung tons of insulation up in the floor....

It was a long day, but we got the job done!

We end tonight with the first part of our devotional program followed by ice cream sundaes! Sweeeet!

Exploring Nashville

 Today we celebrated the 4th of July by exploring Nashville!

 

First we went to Centennial Park

 

 Where we saw an exact replica of the Parthenon!

 

While geocaching around the park and Nashville, we stopped for a smoothie break!

 

After dinner, we headed downtown for a concert, shopping, and fireworks

Darius Rucker (Hootie has gone country!)

The fireworks were spectacular!

All in all, it was an awesome 4th of July! Now we are definitely ready to get a lot of work done tomorrow! Work updates coming your way tomorrow!

Happy 4th of July!

Good Morning Baltimore!

So, the PDA coordinators are not working today since it is a national holiday. Therefore, we have been gifted a day to explore Nashville!

In the meantime, I will keep you entertained with some Haikus that van #2 wrote on the 12 hour journey to Music City... Enjoy :)

Another mile gone

Painted in rolling green hills

and sunshine soaked earth

The road stretches on

Through valleys and mountains green

The wind carries us

Driving to the sun

Steam blurs the green and the orange

of the trees and sky

Endless highway mile

Oh, why do you tease me so?

Nashville calls my name

Green Tennessee hills

Interstate eighty-one flows down

Here comes Baltimore!

More updates and pictures to come tonight!

We have arrived!!!

We have arrived safe and sound in Nashville! It was definitely a long trip, but with naps, walkie talkies, and frequent bathroom/food breaks, we made it! (Thanks to Brian and Keith for their super human driving skills!) The church we are staying in is really hospitable and nice! We are very blessed to have a place like this to use as our home for the week.

Here are some highlights from the drive in....

 7:30 a.m. departure from TPC

 Nap time for Susanna!

 Van 2: "Sally Girl" (named after Andy's nail polish!)

 Van 1: "Flavor Expedition"

 Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN!

 The gym in the church

 Girls' sleeping quarters

Hand made signs from past mission trip groups! There is another group from MD on there!

 

Today has been a long, but fun, day! Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings (fireworks on the riverbank in Nashville!!!)

 

Goodnight, TPC!

The 2011 Mission Trip has begun!

The youth mission team left TPC early this morning at 7:30 in two roomy 15 passenger vans! We have 8 youth and 5 advisors (with one advisor meeting us in Nashville)! The drive to Tennesee will take about 12 hours. Stay connected with us through this blog... All comments and prayers are greatly appreciated! "See" y'all in Nashville!