I know it’s been a while, it’s busy here and of course we’re getting older and tired, right!

There’s been a lot that’s happened since my last update almost 2 months ago.  We’ve had 3 teams come and help and Mike, AKA Twinkle toes, from Calvary Chapel Clayton in NC.  He came by himself for what we thought was going to be 2 ½ weeks.  Unfortunately, 3 days into his trip, we had a bad windstorm that blew a bunch of things around outside.  He got up in the morning to go get some coffee and do his personal devos before the sun came up and he tripped over some debris, fell towards some concrete, caught himself with his arm, and ended up fracturing one of his arm bones.  He had to go home to recover, which is going to take 4-6 months.  Just driving home for him took days as he could only stand the pain for so long.  He’s doing better and we told him that he still owed us a couple weeks when he’s back at it!  We always enjoy serving alongside of Mike and wish it could’ve been longer.  Keep him in your prayers! 

The first group after Mike was from CC Frontlines in Fort Smith, Arkansas!  It was great to hang out with our good friends Chris and Heather and their kids, and we were blessed to become friends with 3 folks that we didn’t know!  Our devos seemed to focus on intentionally living and loving like Jesus did for us!  We discussed the importance of discipleship and Chris went home and started 2 new discipleship Bible studies!

We had 4 days of serving at Bonnie’s house.  We worked on getting the siding and trim installed and caulked, along with the extra flashing needed, so that it is all ready to paint.  We installed 5 columns on her front porch and got them all caulked and ready to paint as well.  Inside we began installing the wall board, kind of like paneling, in her kitchen and hallway.  I also needed to do get some cabinet work finished at Donna’s so 2 of us spent part of 2 days down in Bourg doing that.

A couple of weeks after that we were joined by Calvary Chapel Silver Creek from Garrettsville, OH.  It was again a pleasure hanging with our good friend Thom.  We met Thom in 2013 in the field.  He was passing by and decided to find something to do for the weekend.  He stayed for almost 2 months!  He’s great at construction so was and always is a huge help.  He’s one of my most trusted friends when it comes to questions this layman has about construction!

During his time with us back in 2013, God began using our time in His Word every morning, to show Thom that he needed to make some serious changes in his life.  These changes ended up leading him to stay in Ohio and a couple years later I was blessed to ordain Him as a pastor recognizing the call of God on his life for this position!  And thus the birth of Calvary Chapel Silver Creek!

In the past, he’s always come by himself, but always invites others.  He comes every year and usually stays for 2 weeks.  This time 6 others decided to come with him!  God used our time in His Word every morning to answer a lot of questions that some of these guys had about walking out the Christian life on this earth!  I had no idea what they were going through, but at weeks end it was a blessing to hear how our time in The Word was compelling them into a desire for a deeper knowledge of Jesus!  Two weeks after they got back home most of them went to a men’s conference.  One of them told Thom, as he watched his 13-year-old who had also been on the trip, lay his hands on another teenage boy and pray for him.  Joe said,  “this is what I didn’t realize I wanted and now see that I and my family need!”  So blessed to be a seed planter for Jesus!

We spent one day serving at Bonnie’s where we worked on more of the paneling, installed a new door and took care of a few other things as the contractor was holding us up on getting to Donna’s as we had a lot of work to do there, and I really needed Thom’s help to get it done!

We then spent 3 days serving at Donna’s.  Cabinets were finished with handles, knobs, and crown molding, all the appliances were installed, bathroom vanity installed, plumbing in the bathroom and kitchen installed, water heater closet modified for overflow drainage and then the water heater installed, and we got rid of all the junk and were able to finish everything on the inside so that Donna and her mom could move back in!

The next team just left.  Roy, Tina, and one of their sons Ramone came in from Calvary Life San Antonio where Roy is the pastor.  We met them several years back when we were serving folks affected by Hurricane Harvey in Texas.  They joined us a few times there and we’ve become great friends since!

They were able to serve 2 days which we spent at Bonnie’s.  We were able to finish up the paneling and trim in the kitchen and hallway, install the shelves and accordion doors in the 2 bedrooms, install the door hardware on 3 doors, did a bunch of caulking, installed the 2 screen doors, installed the fireplace mantle, and helped move some furniture around and do some cleaning so that her home is done, and she can also move back in!  God is doing a great work through them in San Antonio, and we were grateful for the encouragement they gave us and that hopefully we gave them through our time together, especially in The Word!

In between Paul and I have been very busy.  I spend a lot of time pushing and chasing the contractors to get them to do what they say they are going to do and be paid for, keep the materials stocked, and simply get these jobs finished!  I had to find another contractor to work on some outside stuff and they’re doing good work, but still takes a lot of herding to get things done!

The homeowner synopsis below can tell you just a few things that we’ve been doing beyond being a part of what you just read above!  I won’t repeat below what’s above!

Vehicles, tire issues just seem to consistently plague us!  We got a screw in a $300 trailer tire that was on the edge and not repairable, and this was a newer tire!  The next day, another tire was losing air, but I haven’t had time to get it into the shop so don’t know what’s going on with that!  We also had 2 other tires that got nails/screws in them and had to be patched!

I needed an oil change on the diesel so put it in the shop and asked our new mechanic what he thought about our brakes.  I’ve had it in several shops since we got it and they always “fixed” something and then told me it just is what it is.  He sat in it, moved 2 feet, and said, no way, your brakes are shot!  He had it for over 3 weeks as he had to work it in as he could.  He ended up replacing all the parts on the rear wheels, the fronts I had just done myself before we left TN last year, so they were fine.  Still didn’t work right.  He told me there was a problem with the master cylinder, but it had already been replaced twice.  He said if it wasn’t bad, he wouldn’t put the old one back.  He did find a problem with it, but the brakes still weren’t working right.

In the past I kept telling people that I thought there was a vacuum issue.  A couple of the mechanics said that was impossible since diesels don’t run on vacuum.  I had an issue with my ac/heater changing where the air came out a couple years ago and discovered that diesels might not run on vacuum, but other things do so there’s a vacuum pump on my truck.  That had to be replaced along with the brake vacuum booster.  Of course, the first vacuum booster went bad the next day, but 2 days later he had a replacement, and my brakes work like they should for the first time since I can remember!  I also won’t need to change my shorts as often!  Believe it or not, we got the diesel oil change and all of that for only $1200!

The van was having some shifting issues and I was able to trace it down to some loose screws behind the steering column that once tightened have resolved the issue, so otherwise that’s good.  The V10 hasn’t had any new issues and the brakes are doing great that I replaced a couple months ago.

Besides tires(!), the tool trailer is doing good, but I still need to get one of the brakes fixed when I get some time and find someone who knows how to fix them.

Both the toilet in our 5^th wheel and bunkhouse needed some work.  The bunkhouse wasn’t worth fixing so we purchased a new one and installed that.  The 5^th wheel had to have all of the parts replaced, but now it’s working just like new!  Trust me, this was huge for both of them!

We never really set up the bunkhouse for someone to live in more than a week or so, and I needed to add another roof vent fan in place of just a vent, so we also took care of.  We also changed out the thermostat for a wireless version that just became available for that style.  We were able to get it for half price because of what we do! Between the toilets, the thermostat, and the new roof fan, we spent about $1,200.

Besides the rising fuel cost that’s affecting all of us, the vehicles are doing OK.  It’s past time for us to do roof and a/c yearly maintenance, sealing the roofs, treating all the rubber, etc., and then washing and waxing both of the RV’s, but we really needed to stay focused on getting things finished up so folks can get back home and that’s at least a week’s worth of work for me.  Now summer is here, in the 90’s and humid, so I’m not sure what I’ll end up doing and as you’ll see below, we still have homes to serve at!

Here's an update on the homes we’re serving at:

• Donna & Keith.  See above for the interior, they are moved back in.  Paul and I put all the kitchen cabinets together.  They are real wood and come in a flat box to save on shipping.  We get them from a new friend we met when we were in Cleveland, TN and they are almost as inexpensive as the cheap stuff that HD and Lowes sell!  We also trimmed the rest of the electric and blew the insulation into the attic.  I still am consistently prodding the contractor to get the siding, soffit, fascia, and carport support poles replaced as needed.  He says this week, we’ll see!

• Ms Bonnie-Again, see above, she’s moved back in.  There are a couple minor issues that the contractor is finishing up on the inside first of the week.  The rest is outside and may or may not end up getting covered by insurance as its mostly not storm related, but she thinks it should be.  She’s going to tackle the insurance company on her own, but I have a contractor giving her a bid this week.

• Ms Marilyn-waiting on the insurance company to go over her account again.  They were supposed to be doing it but closed it out, so they had to reopen it.  I’m working on getting a quote for the siding, soffit, and fascia this week in hopes to have her done by the end of the following week

• Ms Linda-The roofing company still hasn’t given us the correct paperwork so we can’t file with the insurance company for her recoverable depreciation, so they still haven’t gotten paid!  Crazy!  I got the new contractor I’m working with to build her carport and walkway and he fixed all her soffit and fascia.  I’m waiting on a bid to caulk, fix and paint all her exposed trim and then clean up her home.  Her solar panels haven’t been reinstalled yet, but that should be this week.  There’s some insulation work that needs done in her garage attic and we may do that ourselves.

• Ms Cynthia-We’re still waiting for more info from the insurance company, but the work is progressing.  I couldn’t get to her home last week, but I’m told the inside is all done except the painting.  I’ll be going there first of the week to figure out what’s needed and get the contractor on it.  I’ve got the new contractor going to replace the soffit, fascia, and a roof vent and parts are on order.  He’s also looking into replacing or fixing a couple of broken windows.  She’s close to being able to move back in and will be what our focus is after we finish Ms Cindy’s.

• Ms Cindy-CAM finished the inside, so we started to do the electric trim.  We were able to spend a day there last week and got a lot of it done, but probably need 2 more days.  She’s more comfortable though because her AC is up and running!  Hoping to finish her up this week or the next week for sure.

• Shane and Deserey-The adjuster asked for a quote on the electric, so we got that to them a couple weeks ago.  We received the invoice from the remediation company, and it was $25k more than what we were told!  They are underinsured because of all the damages and the increase in construction costs so this is a huge thing.  We found all kinds of things they claimed to have done and didn’t, so now that fight begins.  This needs to happen quick as we can’t just sit around waiting too long for things to be ready.  Pray for resolution soon!

• Allemand’s-This was a home that we didn’t have but the contractor we were working with did.  They were short some money so we helped them get kitchen cabinets from our friend in TN.  We then put them together for them and got our new contractor to install them.  Other than that, we’re done with their home.

• Holland’s-This was another home that we didn’t have but the contractor we were working with did.  They needed some electrical work done and couldn’t find one to just do what needed done and who could do things as needed.  We did some rewiring when the home was torn apart and then we changed out all the outlets, switches, and lighting fixtures.  By doing this we were able to help the contractor be able to do extra things that we couldn’t do on some of our other homes, just like a trade for work, which worked out well.  I’ve also been helping prod some of this along with running materials out a few times!  We won’t be doing anything else with their home.

• Pellegrin’s-We met Kelly when he stopped at Donna’s, one of his neighbors, while we were serving there back in January.  He asked us about what we did and then explained the issues he had.  He was actively doing the work himself.  His insurance was in limbo, and still is, and while he has some money but not enough, he can’t find contractors who will do anything when they say they will do it.  I had told him we’d at least remediate his home for free.  We never heard back from him so figured he was doing something else.  He contacted us a few weeks ago when we were busy getting Donna and Bonnie back in their homes.  I finally went down and met with him last Wednesday.  He’s not quite ready for remediation but should be this week or next and we’ll go down and take care of it for them.  I’m also working on getting our new contractor involved to see what he can do for the money Kelly has available.  I told him that it’s possible that we could do some other things as well, but I need to go over his finances, insurance, and then see what the contractor comes up with.  So, we’ll see.

• Living Word Mission House-Nothing’s changed, we’re just too busy!  All the teams were able to use this to sleep and shower in, which as been a huge blessing to us.  Among a lot of other damages, this home had its roof torn off.  The roof has been replaced and it’s been mostly remediated.  We told them we’d do what we could to help get it back together in between things.

As you can see, we’ve been busy and there’s still lots to be done.  Paul is going home for a family wedding and to spend some time with Gina, probably 6 weeks with travel.

Mary Jo’s mom is coming for a short visit in June and there’s a few places we’d like to visit and share Calvary Relief with soon as well.  We’d also like to go visit my mom in Ohio and hopefully get some time with the kids and grandkids in SC/GA as we haven’t seen any of them since last August.

We are so thankful for your prayers and support and please keep the prayers coming!  You are a part of what The LORD is doing with and through Calvary Relief!

If you’re interested in growing in The LORD as you selflessly serve others alongside of Calvary Relief, please let us know!  For more info on joining us, click here.

If you’re interested in helping with any of the expenses with Calvary Relief, please click here.

If there’s ever anything you need prayer about or just need to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us and let us know!

Lots of pics this time, enjoy!

Here to serve and disciple until He calls us home,

Curt & Mary Jo