After the usual Monday morning briefing from the BBM staff, we caravanned to Homeport II, the Mission’s housing project for homeless veterans.  Two years ago we participated in the ribbon-cutting for the first two units, a duplex; now there are six more very attractive completed units on the adjacent lot.  One immediate chore is for a small team to do the final cleaning so the units can be occupied, so Dr. Ron rounded up four others to tackle that job later this morning.

Craig let us know this morning that, sadly, the Mission has lost funding for its other veteran support efforts, despite having successfully served 200 families last year. On the upside, they are looking for property on which to build Homeport III, capitalizing on the success of the first eight units.

Then it’s off to Gulfport and our major undertaking, a large home for a family of seven that was extensively damaged by Hurricane Katrina — 10 years ago in August, can you believe it? The renovation was started some years ago, then was suspended for three years when both homeowners lost their jobs. Our friends from Newtown began working on the house last summer. Work for this week will include exterior and interior painting; baseboard, door and window trim cutting and painting; flooring installation, including bathroom tile if we have time; and installing light fixtures. The family is living in a rickety two-bedroom house next door while their home is being readied. Craig briefed us on the work to be done, while everyone walked through the rooms scoping out the project.

            

Meanwhile, Rita, Lori and Diana organized lunch for later and did a major food shopping for the next couple of days. What looks like food for an army when it’s in the grocery cart is quickly dispatched by this hungry crowd.  Work was well underway by the time we returned with lunch, served al fresco on a flatbed truck.  Back at the Mission, Karen and Lee had stayed behind to fill an urgent need at the food pantry, spending the whole morning getting it organized for clients who would come in the afternoon. Jill, who runs the pantry, had told us about their innovative “self-selected shopping” process: instead of the staff filling bags with food, eligible people are now able to shop their preferences, almost like we do in a regular grocery store.

While our teammates were toiling at their respective locations, the kitchen crew began prepping for dinner.  We’ve learned over the years that it’s not the actual cooking that’s time-consuming, but rather the prep; washing and drying greens and veggies for salad, peeling endless pounds of potatoes, leeks and onions for potatoes au gratin; cutting up broccoli and peppers to roast; and mixing up a glaze for the ham. All three were fully occupied till the galloping hordes returned at 4:30. Nine women-hours of prep — food gone in less than thirty minutes!

We have a signup system for after-breakfast and -dinner cleanup to spread the fun around (and ensure that the cooks don’t also end up cleaning), so Jim and Nagy and assorted additional volunteers left the kitchen spotless.

Karen and Lee, our song leaders, along with musicians Chase, Patrick and Andy (Newtown), led us in rehearsing three hymns so we could pick our two best to take to church on Wednesday. The reward for being in fine voice? Make-your-own ice cream sundaes!   

We used to call this Patience Monday, because there’s a lot of waiting around, but I’d say there was nobody just hanging today!