It was a real blessing to be able to skedaddle from frigid New England to the balmy Mississippi coast for our annual mission trip. At 4 a.m. Sunday, when we set out for the airport, it was about 6°, and even Charlotte was ridiculously cold. But the mild, gentle Biloxi breezes brought smiles to our faces — even though temps were only in the mid-50s.

Yesterday mainly consisted of settling in, doing a big grocery shop and having dinner at Slap Ya Momma’s BBQ. We all had an early night to be ready for Patience Monday.

Rain was pounding on the metal roof of the Mission House when we gathered for breakfast and the usual briefing about our projects and the safety lecture. Our project this week is a new build in Gulfport. The house has been framed and Tyvek wrapped, and that’s about it. I’m calling it the Lakefront Bungalow on Jessica Lane, after the flooded front yard.

Before substantial work can be started inside, inspections must be done and materials obtained. So today about a dozen folks did what they could on the inside to get ready. Hopefully tomorrow the inspector will come to clear the way for hanging insulation and drywall. The weather should clear, and work can begin laying the roof and hanging siding.

Another group of eight formed a cleaning crew to tackle some apartments that have been vacated in order for new tenants to move in.

Meanwhile, we sent lots of volunteers to the food pantry and the Micah Day Center.

All in all, we managed to keep everyone productively occupied, even tonight, when work commenced on the annual jigsaw puzzle.

More tomorrow…