Hi all.
Happy Tuesday.
I MISS YOU! :-)
Welcome home. Back to routine, work, demands, family, friends, kids, dogs, commuting, snow, holidays, life, etc. The last 48 hours have been a little bizarre for me, have they been for you? I'm in post-trip fog, and I believe some of you are as well! I was looking online last night to attempt to define this "feeling" and came across what is referred to as a form of "re-entry" after an intense, short, "mission trip" type of thing. Thus, I wanted to share with you these words, as a reminder to remember what we have done together, the greater good, and to be patient with yourself through this.
We are all home. We were gone for just six days, yet so much seems to have happened while we were gone. We learned a lot about a whole different "world." We met people who we may not meet again. We saw how others live. We came together a unique group of nine with a desire to make a difference. We laughed with each other and learned from each other. We now have made new friends. And...we feel different. Now we are home and life goes one.
I want you remind you that God asks for you to be a blessing to your family, your friends, and those you influence. We often feel discouraged, disconnected, disappointed, aloof, out of it, and sometimes just plain weird after arriving home. It takes time to readjust and begin to feel normal again. Reentry stress rears its ugly head in many different and disconcerting ways. Be careful not to criticize values and decisions while you are still in the "fog." Give yourself the gift of time. Discipline yourself to use the tools God provides for you to readjust successfully and use what you experienced last week to become a more valuable member of your own culture.
I am constantly thinking and praying for each of you, and your families. Thank you for spending the week with me last week, and for making a difference for families in our own country, helping to eliminate poverty housing.
Enjoy the season. Remember the families who will have a safe, warm, affordable home of their own because of our help.
Miss you!
-gg
Gena L. Gilbertson
Sr. Administrative Assistant
Alliance Strategy Office
Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity
625 Fourth Ave. S., MS 1560
Minneapolis, MN 55415-1665
Direct: 612-844-4186
Fax: 612-844-6498
Toll-free: (800) 847-4836, say “Directory," wait and when prompted, key ext. 34186
Email: gena.gilbertson@thrivent.com
Website: http://www.thriventbuilds.com/
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
The end.
I am having a hard time finding the right words to write in this last blog post. It's difficult for me to believe we're done! Monday seems so long ago, however; our week went by in a snap.
The week...was just plain fun! We laughed until we cried (or peed!), until our cheeks hurt and our stomach ached. We savored local Southern food which stands to compete heavily with our northern BBQ! We bonded, we shared, all with a common goal to be here to serve; to make a difference. I learned more than I thought I would, about myself and about my team.
I'm reflective tonight about how we all came from different places and met together here for the same purpose, all unique children of God brought together each filling our separate but specific role(s). This team wouldn't have been what it was without a single person. For that, I am grateful.
So much has happened for all of us in the last 6 short days. We all were joined here to spend this time together, to learn about this area, to meet the people, to believe in the passion of eliminate poverty housing, and to make a difference.
Thank you to the friends and family who supported Bonnie, Chris, Dan, Eric, Gretchen, Katherine, Lonnie, Maureen and myself pre-trip. Please continue to support them. They have stories to share, their gifts of service are here.
May God Bless my team. Safe travels to Eric and Dan, who left for Wisconsin tonight about 9:00pm. To Gretchen and Chris who fly out in the morning. To Lonnie, my mom (Bonnie) and I as we start out for Minnesota tomorrow, and to Katherine and Maureen who fly out tomorrow evening.
Signing off from Camp Victor.
Night, ya'll.
-gena gilbertson
The week...was just plain fun! We laughed until we cried (or peed!), until our cheeks hurt and our stomach ached. We savored local Southern food which stands to compete heavily with our northern BBQ! We bonded, we shared, all with a common goal to be here to serve; to make a difference. I learned more than I thought I would, about myself and about my team.
I'm reflective tonight about how we all came from different places and met together here for the same purpose, all unique children of God brought together each filling our separate but specific role(s). This team wouldn't have been what it was without a single person. For that, I am grateful.
So much has happened for all of us in the last 6 short days. We all were joined here to spend this time together, to learn about this area, to meet the people, to believe in the passion of eliminate poverty housing, and to make a difference.
Thank you to the friends and family who supported Bonnie, Chris, Dan, Eric, Gretchen, Katherine, Lonnie, Maureen and myself pre-trip. Please continue to support them. They have stories to share, their gifts of service are here.
May God Bless my team. Safe travels to Eric and Dan, who left for Wisconsin tonight about 9:00pm. To Gretchen and Chris who fly out in the morning. To Lonnie, my mom (Bonnie) and I as we start out for Minnesota tomorrow, and to Katherine and Maureen who fly out tomorrow evening.
Signing off from Camp Victor.
Night, ya'll.
-gena gilbertson
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Our Super Duper Work Partners
Here's a picture of our new friends from Iowa. They have been great to work with this week.
Thursday's Highlights and Laughter
Hi folks!
On the drive to the build site this morning we had to make an emergency stop at McDonald's for coffee with mayonnaise.
The staff at McDonald's looked quizzically at the big white van full of nine Yankees. The young gal at the window collecting money said, "May I ask, what do y'all want the mayonnaise for? Do y'all put it in you coffee?" Eric replied with a straight face, "What? Y'all don't put mayonnaise in your coffee?"
We explained that we needed the mayo for sandwiches at lunch, since some of us cannot stand the Miracle Whip that Camp Victor provides. (The food at Camp Victor is delicious and plentiful, some people are just snobs.)
At the window where you pick up your order, the moment was priceless as we pulled up and watched the next young gal's face reading the screen above her to fill the order. She had a look of sheer confusion and disbelief as she read the mayonnaise with the coffee order (it was 7am). Our van burst into laughter as we saw her priceless facial expression. We explained again what the mayo was for. As we were all laughing hard at her shock, she calmly explained she would have to charge us for the mayo then, because we didn't order any sandwiches. We were shocked. Aha - the joke was on us, she was kidding!
We had another day today of painting, putting up porch steps, adding venting to the underside of the houses, and doing several other jobs on the final inspection "punch list" for the three houses.
Painting - there is a great deal of wooden white trim on all three homes that we've been painting, and we are almost finished with the second coat. Gena, Lonnie, Bonnie, Chris, Maureen, and Katherine have been painting. This is Maureen typing and I can say it's been fun. At times we were signing Christmas carols when we were painting today. It was chilly, 50 and cloudy, and we were so happy to be together and working.
Odd jobs - Gretchen has been working with Jeremiah and the other guys on finishing up several small jobs that require technical expertise. Gretchen is good with tools and knows what she is doing on a construction site!
Punch List Items - Dan and Eric have been working on a punch list and tackling several odd jobs on all three homes. They keep getting stuff done and going back to Mark (the house construction manager) to ask for more work. Sometimes they ask him for tool, like a RotoZip, and Mark will say, "Do I look like I have a RotoZip? Y'all, if I had a RotoZip, why it'd be right hay' 'ere, dontcha think so?!" He says really funny things all the time. And he lays on his southern accent extra thick for us sometimes. Whenever we ask Mark questions about the day ahead, the build tasks, what tomorrow might bring, etc. (we northerners ask lots of questions) he just looks at us and says, "Uh oh, I knew this one was gonna be trouble." Or something funny. We just laugh a lot while we are working. eating, showering, getting ready for bed, etc.
Tonight we ate at The Shed in Ocean Springs. The food was fantastic - BBQ pork, chicken, ribs, brisket, etc. And homemade beans, coleslaw, and the "best potato salad we ever ate." Everyone got home with full bellies. We also had sore bellies from laughing so much. The place is made of junk found while dumpster diving, and it's decor is interesting and unique. It has been on national TV shows and featured in a national BBQ magazine. The BBQ sauce and all the food is delicious.
On the way home tonight, we got stuck at the last intersection for 10 minutes because we couldn't get a green arrow. Honestly, most of us didn't notice at first because we were talking and laughing about SNL quotes and skits. Gretchen, our fearless driver tonight, finally figured out a way to get into the other lane so we could actually move on from the intersection. Way to go Gretchen!
One of the highlights of our day today was visiting Thrivent Lane on the way home to see the 25 homes and cool playground that were recently completed. The homes are on stilts because of the flooding potential. Some of them look really homey, and you can feel the warmth of a neighborhood beginning to take shape. It made us all smile to see it. And then we took a team picture in front of the sign for Thrivent Lane. Eric was a whiz with the camera. He was almost whizzed by a car driving by, but that's another story.
That's all for now. We are thankful to be working hard, getting sore muscles, going to bed exhausted, waking up hungry and eager to get to work. Sadly tomorrow is our last day. How can that be? We are on a roll. But you know, the work goes on. Will you come down here and help out soon? They need you, too. There is still a lot of rebuilding and the Habitat for Humanity Gulf Coast Affiliate is building houses on vacant lots and looking for volunteers. The people of the Gulf Coast are reclaiming what Katrina took away, and are very thankful for all the help we give. They are a genuinely kind bunch of folks around here.
Goodnight from Gretchen and Maureen. (We like to share our meals at restaurants!)
On the drive to the build site this morning we had to make an emergency stop at McDonald's for coffee with mayonnaise.
The staff at McDonald's looked quizzically at the big white van full of nine Yankees. The young gal at the window collecting money said, "May I ask, what do y'all want the mayonnaise for? Do y'all put it in you coffee?" Eric replied with a straight face, "What? Y'all don't put mayonnaise in your coffee?"
We explained that we needed the mayo for sandwiches at lunch, since some of us cannot stand the Miracle Whip that Camp Victor provides. (The food at Camp Victor is delicious and plentiful, some people are just snobs.)
At the window where you pick up your order, the moment was priceless as we pulled up and watched the next young gal's face reading the screen above her to fill the order. She had a look of sheer confusion and disbelief as she read the mayonnaise with the coffee order (it was 7am). Our van burst into laughter as we saw her priceless facial expression. We explained again what the mayo was for. As we were all laughing hard at her shock, she calmly explained she would have to charge us for the mayo then, because we didn't order any sandwiches. We were shocked. Aha - the joke was on us, she was kidding!
We had another day today of painting, putting up porch steps, adding venting to the underside of the houses, and doing several other jobs on the final inspection "punch list" for the three houses.
Painting - there is a great deal of wooden white trim on all three homes that we've been painting, and we are almost finished with the second coat. Gena, Lonnie, Bonnie, Chris, Maureen, and Katherine have been painting. This is Maureen typing and I can say it's been fun. At times we were signing Christmas carols when we were painting today. It was chilly, 50 and cloudy, and we were so happy to be together and working.
Odd jobs - Gretchen has been working with Jeremiah and the other guys on finishing up several small jobs that require technical expertise. Gretchen is good with tools and knows what she is doing on a construction site!
Punch List Items - Dan and Eric have been working on a punch list and tackling several odd jobs on all three homes. They keep getting stuff done and going back to Mark (the house construction manager) to ask for more work. Sometimes they ask him for tool, like a RotoZip, and Mark will say, "Do I look like I have a RotoZip? Y'all, if I had a RotoZip, why it'd be right hay' 'ere, dontcha think so?!" He says really funny things all the time. And he lays on his southern accent extra thick for us sometimes. Whenever we ask Mark questions about the day ahead, the build tasks, what tomorrow might bring, etc. (we northerners ask lots of questions) he just looks at us and says, "Uh oh, I knew this one was gonna be trouble." Or something funny. We just laugh a lot while we are working. eating, showering, getting ready for bed, etc.
Tonight we ate at The Shed in Ocean Springs. The food was fantastic - BBQ pork, chicken, ribs, brisket, etc. And homemade beans, coleslaw, and the "best potato salad we ever ate." Everyone got home with full bellies. We also had sore bellies from laughing so much. The place is made of junk found while dumpster diving, and it's decor is interesting and unique. It has been on national TV shows and featured in a national BBQ magazine. The BBQ sauce and all the food is delicious.
On the way home tonight, we got stuck at the last intersection for 10 minutes because we couldn't get a green arrow. Honestly, most of us didn't notice at first because we were talking and laughing about SNL quotes and skits. Gretchen, our fearless driver tonight, finally figured out a way to get into the other lane so we could actually move on from the intersection. Way to go Gretchen!
One of the highlights of our day today was visiting Thrivent Lane on the way home to see the 25 homes and cool playground that were recently completed. The homes are on stilts because of the flooding potential. Some of them look really homey, and you can feel the warmth of a neighborhood beginning to take shape. It made us all smile to see it. And then we took a team picture in front of the sign for Thrivent Lane. Eric was a whiz with the camera. He was almost whizzed by a car driving by, but that's another story.
That's all for now. We are thankful to be working hard, getting sore muscles, going to bed exhausted, waking up hungry and eager to get to work. Sadly tomorrow is our last day. How can that be? We are on a roll. But you know, the work goes on. Will you come down here and help out soon? They need you, too. There is still a lot of rebuilding and the Habitat for Humanity Gulf Coast Affiliate is building houses on vacant lots and looking for volunteers. The people of the Gulf Coast are reclaiming what Katrina took away, and are very thankful for all the help we give. They are a genuinely kind bunch of folks around here.
Goodnight from Gretchen and Maureen. (We like to share our meals at restaurants!)
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Thankful for SUNshine!
Today was the day! Our first day on the build site and we had a perfect day, work, spirits, weather, couldn't have been better.
(I'm tired (!) so I'm going to keep this short.)
This morning we received the good news that we would be building today! We headed to the site and saw the numerous lots at Conners Garden, some homes finished, some homes almost finished, and some walls raised just today. It was a bit cool in the morning, but once the sun rose over the trees, it was brilliant. A few of us even have sun-kissed faces, a pleasant surprise for our Midwestern skin! The mud at the homes from the x2 average rain fall this month (thus-far) was everywhere. We were careful to walk on planks/boards and stay on the cement driveways. Some sinkholes would have put us in waste-deep! Most of us painted the outside trim on 2 houses while others did finishing jobs on a few houses. The Thrivent homes are fantastic bright colors, various sizes; some 2 bedroom, some 3. We stayed past regular clean-up time to get some extra work done, making up for yesterday's rain (delay). We called it a day at dusk.
Tonight we all had a great meal out at Shady's next door, we're full, (good) tired from working, and all settling in for the evening.
Prediction for more rain tomorrow, significant rain in the afternoon and possibility flooding (again) Thursday night. I am thankful every moment for my flexible and "servant-hearted" team.
~gena~
(I'm tired (!) so I'm going to keep this short.)
This morning we received the good news that we would be building today! We headed to the site and saw the numerous lots at Conners Garden, some homes finished, some homes almost finished, and some walls raised just today. It was a bit cool in the morning, but once the sun rose over the trees, it was brilliant. A few of us even have sun-kissed faces, a pleasant surprise for our Midwestern skin! The mud at the homes from the x2 average rain fall this month (thus-far) was everywhere. We were careful to walk on planks/boards and stay on the cement driveways. Some sinkholes would have put us in waste-deep! Most of us painted the outside trim on 2 houses while others did finishing jobs on a few houses. The Thrivent homes are fantastic bright colors, various sizes; some 2 bedroom, some 3. We stayed past regular clean-up time to get some extra work done, making up for yesterday's rain (delay). We called it a day at dusk.
Tonight we all had a great meal out at Shady's next door, we're full, (good) tired from working, and all settling in for the evening.
Prediction for more rain tomorrow, significant rain in the afternoon and possibility flooding (again) Thursday night. I am thankful every moment for my flexible and "servant-hearted" team.
~gena~
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Eric and Gena are opposites
Be flexible and have a servant heart.
Hi from Ocean Springs, MS. Team Leader Gena here. Just a quick update for you all. Thanks for reading the blog, we appreciate you following along with our adventure this week!
The team is well and doing great together. I am blessed with a truly kind and generous group.
Gretchen and Chris think about their family and kids often, and wonder how they are fairing w/o "Mom." They are doing GREAT and say "HI" to their friends and family! Maureen misses her babies (Millie and Mackie) and I, too, am missing Randall! Dan and Eric are/our two-pees-in-a-pod, and a great balance to the 7 females. HI to their families, I hope they make you proud! My mom, Bonnie, is doing well, but not missing the ZERO degree weather back at home! :-) Lonnie is excited to be here and get going, and hopefully hearing from her kids (<--are you calling?!? :-) And Katherine, the token Facebook photo-poster, says "HI" to Kyla.
Today the team really stepped up despite the weather. After the construction supervisor announced at breakfast they were "calling" the construction day due to rain, winds and lightning, the team was still looking for what service work we could do in the area.
After breakfast, our team drove to Waveland, MS, to see where the eye of the storm hit. Once the rain gave us a break, we picked up garbage on the beach. Surprisingly, it all looked like reminisce from home(s), still on the beach and in the water(s) 4 years later.
After, we came back to Camp Victor, and Eric, Dan and Gretchen went into the warehouse, found supplies and made some clothes and towel hooks for the showers. They are GREAT! My team is proactive and creative, I love it. After lunch we took a bus tour to see the devastation of Katrina, given by someone who's family grew up in Ocean Springs. Scott, our tour driver, pointed out what was there and now all we see is blank slabs of concrete, former house foundations. Check out this video from YouTube of a (CRAZY!) guy who stayed during the storm and filmed the storm coming to shore in Biloxi, from a casino parking garage, which we drove by today.
Right now, our group is sitting in Camp Victor's lounge and watching a Hurricane Katrina documentary put together by the local ABC affiliate. Amazing.
The team has a great sense of what our work means after our drive, tour and video today. People are very thankful we are here.
Tomorrow, sigh...tomorrow, the weather looks to be promising working weather! We hope to have a decent, productive, full day of work. Prayers for safe weather.
Thanks for reading, more later.
~gena~
The team is well and doing great together. I am blessed with a truly kind and generous group.
Gretchen and Chris think about their family and kids often, and wonder how they are fairing w/o "Mom." They are doing GREAT and say "HI" to their friends and family! Maureen misses her babies (Millie and Mackie) and I, too, am missing Randall! Dan and Eric are/our two-pees-in-a-pod, and a great balance to the 7 females. HI to their families, I hope they make you proud! My mom, Bonnie, is doing well, but not missing the ZERO degree weather back at home! :-) Lonnie is excited to be here and get going, and hopefully hearing from her kids (<--are you calling?!? :-) And Katherine, the token Facebook photo-poster, says "HI" to Kyla.
Today the team really stepped up despite the weather. After the construction supervisor announced at breakfast they were "calling" the construction day due to rain, winds and lightning, the team was still looking for what service work we could do in the area.
After breakfast, our team drove to Waveland, MS, to see where the eye of the storm hit. Once the rain gave us a break, we picked up garbage on the beach. Surprisingly, it all looked like reminisce from home(s), still on the beach and in the water(s) 4 years later.
After, we came back to Camp Victor, and Eric, Dan and Gretchen went into the warehouse, found supplies and made some clothes and towel hooks for the showers. They are GREAT! My team is proactive and creative, I love it. After lunch we took a bus tour to see the devastation of Katrina, given by someone who's family grew up in Ocean Springs. Scott, our tour driver, pointed out what was there and now all we see is blank slabs of concrete, former house foundations. Check out this video from YouTube of a (CRAZY!) guy who stayed during the storm and filmed the storm coming to shore in Biloxi, from a casino parking garage, which we drove by today.
Right now, our group is sitting in Camp Victor's lounge and watching a Hurricane Katrina documentary put together by the local ABC affiliate. Amazing.
The team has a great sense of what our work means after our drive, tour and video today. People are very thankful we are here.
Tomorrow, sigh...tomorrow, the weather looks to be promising working weather! We hope to have a decent, productive, full day of work. Prayers for safe weather.
Thanks for reading, more later.
~gena~
True Lutheran's
Rain today, but not as much as on August 29, 2005.
Gena and Gretchen at the official Katrina memorial. The flat top represents the sustained water level. Gena is 5'10".
Waveland (literally), MS
Outside attire for day 1.
Gretchen in rain gear headed out to pick up trash on beach. Build cancelled today....when life gives you rain..go to beach wearing a garbage bag.
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