Happy New Year! We pray that it will be Jesus filled! In case you missed our CHRISTmas/Year end letter you can view a copy by clicking here!
We got back from moving the rest of our things from VA to FL and got busy around camp and church again. We did some follow up with some of the folks we’re helping with recovery and not a lot going on with the holidays upon us.
We had a group coming in from CC Silver Creek in Garrettsville, OH the last week of December so set some things up for them to do. They showed up late on Sunday night the 29th and left late in the afternoon on Friday the 3rd. The group consisted of 4 brothers from 14-21 and their mom, and one of their friends, 22.
These guys had a lot of energy, and we had a great week! Lots of fun and banter back and forth, especially with Mr. Miyagi (me) floating around! We began each day with Jesus, breakfast, and coffee. We were able to get some good Bible/life conversations going around the table and some of them really opened up with some things. This of course led to some other conversations during our work days!
While here we were able to help 2 different widow ladies with some cleanup. One had a shed that was destroyed. We finished demoing what was left of it and moved the remnants and former contents to the curb. Another shed that used to be at the end of her driveway got moved off into the grass. We had to remove all the contents, move it back on the cement, secured it to the slab, and then put everything back and organized it better.
The other widow lady had a bunch of twisted tree branches that needed cut off and up and moved. We also trimmed a few things for her. We cleaned the debirs off of the roof and out of the gutters. There was also a lot of her fence line that needed to have trees cut off of and moved back along one side of her property. On the other side she had a bunch of wooden fence line down and we were able to put one part back to normal and temporarily fix another section until her fence company finally comes out to replace it.
We were also able to help an elderly couple with some tree and debris cleanup and removal. The wife was extremely grateful because he continually was pushing himself to get it done and really shouldn’t have been doing it!
We also spent time working on getting our stuff situated. We’ve been setting up some RV hookup spots at our church to make it better for us to stay here. While we were in VA the electric was ran and is in a spot that was good enough for us to use. The sewer was tied into the main, but still needed to be ran to where each trailer was going and we had to run water hookups for both.
The guys were great at digging up the ditches and then learning about water supply and sewer runs! Once it was all done and everything leveled off, we were able to get both trailers moved, leveled up, and utilities all hooked up before they took off on Friday!
Friday we were finally able to sleep in our own bed for the first time in 4 ½ months! There are also other pluses, like not having to go through a locked gate access system, to a locked building, and then inside to use the restroom first thing in the morning!
We’ve been working on unpacking and setting our house up once again and we’re back to having Jesus, coffee, and breakfast mornings with Hamilton and others in our house before getting to work. We’ve also had a few other folks in and out for different things! Not to mention all the room we have to relax, and I know right where everything is to make our coffee every morning!
We’ve also been able to get our storage container cleaned out and organized and moving our vehicles around to make things more permanent where we keep things. The fence guys came out Monday and finished moving the fence so that all of our things are completely fenced/locked in.
In the meantime, I’m still in contact with some possible folks to help including helping a couple of folks through their insurance process. One of the homeowners still hasn’t gotten a settlement and it’s now over 5 months since she was flooded by Debby!
We’re currently waiting on a few things so we can continue serving at Brett and Shannell’s. Looks like doors and trim will be next, but it’s all on back order!
Wouldn’t be an update without mentioning some maintenance things we’ve got going on. I thought the V10 had brake and rearend issues but think that’s all good for now. Diesel is still running great, but the AC has quit so I need to get that in to get looked at and need to change the oil, etc. Van has some normal maintenance things that need done as well! It’s also cooler around here now, so I need to get some things done to our RV’s as far as cleaned from the roof down and I need to start working on fixing the slide out leaks on the 5th wheel and replace to wood subfloor in a few areas. We’ll see how that goes! I also need to repair or more than likely replace one of the roof AC units on it.
Praying you’ll all have a Jesus’ filled New Year and that you’ll press in to Him as you press on serving Him!
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. Plenty of things to do!
If you feel led to help 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
