Always busy! It’s gotten hot here quicker than expected with heat indexes over 110° every day. We don’t have any shade where we’re living so our AC runs almost all day and doesn’t cool off enough until evening! But at least we’ve got AC. The refrigerator that we replaced the guts on a year and a half ago, is running great! This was the first real test of that, just pray it keeps running as it should!
Paul went home to officiate his son’s wedding and then spend some time with Gina and other family members. At this point he’s staying put and we’ll see what The LORD has for him and us next. Continue to keep his health in your prayers.
We’re no longer getting any volunteers and we’ve finished our commitments here. While there’s still plenty of people to help and I’m still getting phone calls, I can’t do this without a couple people helping on a regular basis. I’ve still got a few things I’m handling between the homeowners and the contractors, and it’s next to impossible to get anyone to do what they say they’ll do when they say they’ll do it. Pray things would get finished this week!
Been working on a lot of maintenance. Keeping 2 trucks, 1 van, 2 RV’s, a tool trailer, and tons of tools maintained is almost a full-time job itself!
Diesel brakes are still working fine. I can’t believe that several mechanics told me they were working like they were supposed to when clearly, they weren’t! Only The LORD kept me from rear ending someone! Van is also working well, but the V10 F-250 is another story.
We just passed 200k miles with it of which 135k+ were ours. The motor lost a lot of oil almost immediately and the valves started making bad noises, more than likely the bearings went. So now we’re having to replace the motor! We work our trucks harder than what would be expected so I wasn’t shocked with it blowing, but still not happy! I looked at used trucks, $30k with 100k miles, used motors, $7k for just under 100k supposed miles with no warranty, and settled on a rebuilt motor by a national, reputable company for $9,500 that comes with a 3 year, 100k nationwide warranty. We’re on a waiting list to get one. As with everything else in the world, parts and help are scarce. We were originally told 2 months to get it shipped out, but now they’re saying 1 month. Of course, I deal enough with ordering stuff doing construction that I realize we really don’t know! Please keep this in your prayers!
I did our annual clean and maintenance on all the AC units, then thoroughly cleaned and sealed both RV roofs. Got some chemical burns on my feet! Looks like the bunkhouse will need a complete recoat within the next year, but too hot to deal with now! I also washed both outsides and usually I wax the 5th wheel, but since we were busy getting folks back into their homes, I missed the window of cooler weather to get it done, so that will need done when we move and/or it cools down!
When we got our bunkhouse, it had extensive water damage in several areas. Some of the framing, walls, and subfloor were completely rotted. You may recall I had to rip apart the back half of the trailer last year and replace everything as it wasn’t even attached to the frame! I was able to get everything I could sealed up to stop more damages but didn’t have the time to fix everything that I knew of. The front had some water stains that seemed to be growing and one of the outside corners was coming apart. Last week I spent most of my time tearing the front inside apart, remediating, reframing, reinsulating, new plastic underlayment, new wallboard, resecuring the outside walls, and then caulking all the corners and windows! Hope that’s it! I also had to replace all the tires as they were old and undersized for the trailer. Had a couple of wiring issues, painted a lot of the metal rusted stuff, replaced all the running lights with LEDs that are not only brighter, but most of the old ones didn’t work and were leaking. Waiting on new tail/brake lights to arrive as the old ones can barely be seen and probably aren't legal! Think we’re ready to take it down the road!
Mary Jo has been busy taking care of me, our house, cleaning out the bunkhouse, clearing out the mission house from our volunteers, and helping me with different things as I need it.
We had some bad news with our home in FL that has resulted in our property taxes increasing a lot and resulted in also paying some back taxes. The government doesn’t see things the way they are, just how they want it, but it is what it is. We’re having to raise our rent and praying our renter can afford it and stay, we're still renting it for cheaper than what it should go for. Could use prayer in deciding what to do with that as well!
We’re going to be headed out for a long road/camping trip. Several churches have been wanting us to visit them and we haven’t seen my mom in over 18 months or our kids and grandkids since last August. We’ll be leaving most of our stuff where it is in LA and our truck will be getting its motor. We’ll be praying about our next steps for when we get back, so keep us and that in your prayers as well. We’ll keep our speaking schedule up to date on our FB so if you’re interested and don’t FB, then let me know. I’ll be teaching at Grace Chapel of Houma on 6/12 before we hit the road. For now, I know I’ll be teaching and sharing at Calvary New Life in San Antonio on 6/19, then Calvary Taylor, TX on 6/26. Love to see you if you’re in any of these areas!
Here's a final update on the homes we served at since our last update:
- Donna & Keith. The contractor and I lifted their carport and replaced all the support beams and then a sub redid the siding and wood on the chimney, so they are complete! They are very thankful for all the help and glad to be back in their home with all the upgrades!
- Ms Bonnie-We finished up all that needed done on the inside and then Mary Jo and I painted the outside siding that we installed, and we are finished with her home.
- Ms Marilyn-Still waiting to see if the insurance company is going to do the right thing, but it’s doubtful. If she wants to pursue it, she’ll probably need to get an attorney, but I doubt at her age she will, sad. Still waiting for those ever-elusive contractors to fix her siding and soffit issues and then clean the outside of her home, crazy! I was told again it would be done last week, but once again lied to.
- Ms Linda-The roofing company finally gave us the correct insurance paperwork and we’ve submitted it. They said it’s in processing! She needed some extra things done and I was able to get a contractor to get it done. I insulated her garage/shed attic and just installed a ceiling fan on her outside porch so she is complete.
- Ms Cynthia-We’re still waiting for more info from the insurance company, but the work is progressing. Finally got a contractor to start working on finishing her house up. He rarely shows up, but at least it’s moving forward. I did a bunch of prep stuff to make it easier on him to finish up, but still, we wait! There’s some outside soffit work that still needs done and she has some window damages that need glass replaced. Glass companies won’t come to do the small job so we got a glass company to give her a bid to replace all her front windows and it’s been submitted to the insurance company to see if they will pay for it as it’s our only option at this point. I also was able to trim out the rest of the electrical plates, etc. Was really hoping she’d be back home by now, maybe by next weekend? Pray!
- Ms Cindy-Paul and I finished the electrical and she’s all set.
- Shane and Deserey-Unfortunately they are still fighting their insurance company. I told them that we had no help, and they don’t even know what they will do once they settle. We probably won’t be helping them anymore.
- Holland’s-Me and the contractor installed some closet and bathroom fixtures, and they are moved back in, house looks great!
- Pellegrin’s-I was able to spray for mold/bacteria and he’s ready to start his rebuild. He’s still fighting for insurance money and is getting bids from contractors and moving forward.
- Living Word Church Mission House-Nothing’s changed, we’ve just been too busy! Pastor Matt said don’t worry about it, but I think I’ll have some time this week to do some demo and some electrical work
Mary Jo’s mom will be here later this week for 5 days and we’re looking forward to that! She’s never been in the field with us! Pray we’d have a good visit, she’d get a good idea of what we do, and we wouldn’t melt from the heat!
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!
Here to serve and disciple until He calls us home,
Curt & Mary Jo
