Already???

Today marks the one week mark of my triumphal return to the place called work. Last week was fairly rough as I had a tight deadline on a brand new program, my body was still readjusting to being up and functional at 5:00am, and the 8 hour day seemed like forever (thanks to working no more than 5 hours per day the week before). My motivation was also somewhat low due to the dramatic change in weather. I have no way of seeing the outside world but I knew it wasn't as nice out as what I experienced the week before. Thankfully I took Monday off to recover and spend time with the girls, otherwise I would have gone insane by Friday.

This week, so far, has gone pretty well. Originally I was scheduled to have my new program done on April 9, then my boss asked if it could be done earlier and I said that I could have it done by the end of March (most likely the 31st), and then my boss asked if I could have it done on the 30th and I thought I could. I had the coding done and started on testing on the 30th but too many little things came up and I couldn't get it done (which was not a problem). Thankfully I didn't have much to do on it today and got it done before the afternoon hit! I am very relieved that it is done and I can take some downtime (aka work older tasks) before I HAVE to get on the next step of this task.

As for life outside of work (who knew that existed), things have been going fairly well at home. Yes the kids still get on my nerves sometimes but they are kids. Molly and I have gotten along much better. I think that the sharing of responsibilities (and not having to ask each other to do something) is helping a lot. I also think that the appearance of our house is helping Molly's outlook more so than mine. I am very happy with how things look around the house and I am very excited to see how the bathroom will turn out. The problem with that is I have no motivation to get started on it. I know that the first step is to run the new plumbing lines (but don't hook them up yet) and that will be fairly easy. Then I will need a really nice day so that I can knock the window out and fill in the hole with drywall and insulation. The exterior will look weird for a little while but it will be worth it on the inside.

Molly has kind of gotten on me for how much I would talk about the New Orleans trip and how I would spend hours looking at the pictures. I don't know if she was getting upset or giving me crap (I hope it was the crap). I kept telling her that there were over 2,000 pictures to go through and I was trying to find some that I wanted to have since I didn't take our camera. I think she understands that aspect. I do miss some of my new friends but thankfully we are all on Facebook so we can keep in touch and give each other crap somehow. I am very excited to go visit them in Lamoni this weekend, and I think they are excited that I am coming down too.

Aside from all of that I have another challenge to face (but I'm not alone). Our church congregation is dying (not the people) and someone needs to save it. Molly and I seem to be the only people that are optimistic that it can be saved. Other members know it's dying but are just accepting that fact and there are some who think we are fine the way we are. I think we took a step in the right direction when I was given the opportunity to cook lunch on March 1 rather than doing a potluck. We need to try these new things so that we could generate more interest in our congregation. It also helps if we need to recruit helpers. Molly and I are asking our friends to help when possible, hoping to get them in the doors. We have some more ideas and hope to get the ball rolling with them. We have been met with resistance but we are fighting it to get our way. We have also brought our concerns to the Young Adult Minister for the mission center and he is behind us 100%. It's going to be a long fight, and there will need to be some sacrifices made by everyone, but we will come out victorious! I have the honor of giving the sermon this week and on April 26 so hopefully I will be able to preach a little bit about the need to change things, as long as it fits with the theme.

The Final Rundown

Cue Europe (it's the final countdown)!

At the beginning of the trip we were asked why we came on this trip. We were not supposed to answer out loud as the question was rhetorical. At the end, we were asked, rhetorically at the time, what the trip meant to us. Well it is now time to make my final feelings known!

When I first thought about making going on this trip it was for three reasons: first was for the construction/demolition experience, second was the chance to visit New Orleans (another place I have never been to), and finally was the chance to help someone in need. I had no thoughts about how humbling the experience would be and the great relationships I would take from it. Another thing that I didn't think of was how it would affect my relationship with my wonderful wife Molly.

This was the first time Molly and I have been apart for more than a couple of days since we have been married. I honestly didn't know what to expect when I returned home. I came back to a completely different house; Molly and her parents spent a lot of time, and money, making our house finally feel like home. I am extremely grateful to all three of them for everything they did. The biggest thing in being apart and being around college kids made me realize that I have been kind of uptight about a lot of things. I used to live by the expression "if you take life too seriously you won't make it out alive." I now know how true that statement really is. Taking life too seriously affects you in ways you will never know. Our marriage may have been saved by this time spent apart.

The relationships I took from this trip were another great surprise. I met a lot of people that I wouldn't have otherwise met. I am very grateful for the chance to meet so many new people. My only regret was not getting to know more about everyone. That is 100% my fault as I kind of went into my anti-social shell a few days into the trip. If Molly was there I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to go into my shell as she wouldn't have let me. I am looking forward to talking to everyone now that the trip is over, and I am planning on visiting Graceland before school is out for the year.

All of my primary objectives (construction/demolition experience, visiting New Orleans, helping others) were met. I didn't get construction experience as much as I hoped but I did learn demolition. New Orleans is an amazing city; I can't fathom how difficult the rebuilding could have been. Helping others was extremely gratifying and humbling. Nothing could prepare me for what I was about to see. I could not imagine having to leave memories behind. Photo albums and baby books would be very difficult to leave. Having to start over would be even more difficult. I can understand why people wouldn't want to come back as it's bound to happen again. It might not happen during my lifetime but it will happen again somewhere.

On Wednesday I was talking with Eric about the destruction and I had the thought that this was a repeat of Noah's 40 day flood. God wanted to clean up the city and decided that the best way to cleanse it was to cause a great flood. It is my sincere hope that the caring response of God's children is either as great or greater than it was for this tragedy when it happens again, either in the same area or a different area of the world.

It was an amazing opportunity to witness, first-hand, God's power and His children's generosity. Molly and I are very excited about the next young adult mission trip. Thank you once again to Dan and Maggie for letting older "kids" go along. Thank you also goes out to my new friends, you are all wonderful people and will lead very fulfilling lives as long as you keep along this path. God bless you all!

The Last Days

It's over! I'm at home! The weekend seemed like it was a never ending car trip, mainly because it was. Friday was spent away from the house and then we were on the road all day Saturday and Sunday.

On Friday we visited some Louisianan swamp land and took a boat tour with Louisiana Swamp Tours. We arrived just before our departure time and we packed the boat. Our guide, Reggie, was very knowledgeable of the area as he has lived there all of his life. He took us to a lot of parts of the swamp and knew where to find the alligators (the most popular part of the tour). We were able to come across many alligators during our tour, but Reggie had a guarantee that we would see a gator one way or another. Halfway through the trip he pulled out Elvis, his pet gator. We all got a chance to hold Elvis, who is estimated at 1 1/2 years old. We ended our tour and stopped for lunch before heading to the Mississippi Gulf coast, Pass Christian, MS to be exact. When we arrived the college kids were ready to hit the beach. Some got in the water, some sun bathed, and some stood around in their clothes not wanting a sunburn (Eric and I). We ate supper at a great restaurant (picked by Eric since he used to live 2 miles away) called Pirate's Cove, which specializes in Po Boy sandwiches. We ended our time away from "home" with sharing of what the trip meant for us while on the beach. We ended the night at "home" with devotions and sharing thoughts with each other.

Saturday and Sunday could be summed up with one word: road. We drove from New Orleans to St Louis on Saturday. We left NO at 7:30 am and my van got to the Bel Nor Community of Christ in St Louis at 7:30 pm. We ate a good dinner with soup and salad (no pizza!) and stayed in a house with real beds! Being a driver I got to sleep on a bed rather than the floor. Saturday was the most difficult driving day as almost everyone slept for the first few hours. It was pretty boring but I made it through. We again led the church service on Sunday, had a potluck, and then hit the road. We left around 12:30 pm and I arrived home at 9:48 pm. All 3 of my girls tackled me right when I walked in the door. It was a great feeling to be home!

Last Day Of Demolition

Today was the day everyone was shooting for, the last day of demolition. We got a lot done in the four days of demo. All but 3 or 4 of the apartments' first floor was gutted. We didn't feel safe starting on the second floor and decided that the next group can tackle that. The full dumpster was still there when we arrived. I was thinking to myself "yes, let us go back" but we ended up pulling nails and cleaning up the "living room" floors. The dumpster was then picked up and unloaded so we were able to take our piles and throw them away. It was an amazing feeling to be done, knowing that we helped someone who needed it and how 30 kids (even Eric) from different places were able to come together for this one goal.

After "work" we went to a "project" area and spent some time playing with kids. It was a blast. I got in a football game with the kids and they loved playing with and against us old kids. One of the kids has some serious NFL potential and I even said "you are going to be on an NFL field someday if you keep working at this" to him. He responded with "I know". It was great!

After that we went back to "Frenchie Land" as I call it (that's the French Quarter for those of you who don't understand my humor). We ate at a really nice restaurant that is only in the Quarter. After supper we walked up and down Bourbon St. Nothing too exciting from this trip.

Tomorrow we will be rewarded with a swamp boat ride and a trip to the Mississippi Gulf coast and a beach (sorry Molly). Tomorrow will also be our last day in the New Orleans area. I seriously can't wait to come back, this city really is amazing.

I have also started to have my anti-social feelings kick in. I have been in this group of people all week and I need a small escape. This blog helps with that but there are still 15-20 people in this room. I realized that my escape will be the 10 hour drive on Saturday. Yes I would like to sit in the back rows and converse with the others but I like the isolation of the driver's seat. I have become quite the popular driver. I have 7 other people in my van and NONE of them want a different van. There have been 3 people that have been in the van since we left Lamoni and there is no way they are changing vans. Right now I think that the 7 that were with me today will be with me for the rest of the trip.

Day three

Today was a little different than the previous two days. Instead of doing the demolition work I came back to the house with Eric to start working on supper and my berry mix for tomorrow. Supper was wonderful (it would have been better if we could have added spices). My berry mix looks a lot better than it did the first time I made it. I can't wait to try it.

The day began with a small breakdown in the communication between Dan and Eric. It got sorted out but it was the beginning of what was to come. It seemed like today was the roughest day for the group. Today was planned as laundry day. Once the crew returned from the apartments a group went to a laundromat to clean the clothes. The drying machines didn't want to dry the clothes very effectively. The group that did the laundry had to go back after supper to finish up. The rest of us went to a Baptist church for bible study. It was very interesting. The topic was the creation of man through the exile of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. It was definitely a different experience. I think I would enjoy a service but I don't think I could be a follower as some of their beliefs are completely different than mine. The reverend asked for all of the visitors to stand up to be recognized; he also asked where we were from. I still want to deliver a sermon in the way of a southern Baptist minister.

A group of us went to Wal-Mart to get some stuff and once we got back our clothes were spread out on all of the tables in the "group room". We had to hunt for our clothes, and the socks had to be the hardest to find. To top it off, they were still damp since the dryers didn't want to cooperate. I really hope my socks will be dry in the morning as I can handle other clothes being damp but socks are unacceptable to wear!

Before we went to Wal-Mart another group decided to go to a movie. We will need to wait for them to get back before doing our nightly devotions. After devotions I am kicking everyone out of the "Group Room" so that I can go to sleep!

Two for the price of one!

Since it's late I am going to do two days at once.

Yesterday was the first day of demolition. We are working on a 2 building apartment complex on the east side of New Orleans that has been empty since before Katrina. Each building has 5 apartments. Our first mission was to get the furniture, carpet, electronics, and other debris out. We then could focus on the drywall, insulation, and cabinets. You could tell how high the water was as the drywall would crumble when you tried to pull it. There was black (color, hopefully not type) mold all over the walls. The stentch was terrible. Overall I would say that we have a little over half of the first floor done in each building. We have not started on the second floors of the buildings. Those could be a little tricky as there could (and will) be leaks in the roof, causing soft spots in the floor. Some people would stop and look at the items that were left behind. It is really a shock to see so much stuff ruined and you feel for the people who had to leave. From what I have been told, the owner of the apartments did not have flood insurance, which explains why he is having a non-profit group gut the buildings after they have been sitting for almost 4 years. Quite a bit of the buildings in the area have been rebuilt and they are really nice. I cannot fathom living in New Orleans since most of it is below sea level and it is between a major river (Mississippi) and a huge lake that is connected to the gulf.

Our original plan for later in the day consisted of going to a youth shetler and spending time with children and then helping feed some homeless people. Turns out that the schedule got mixed up and the children weren't told to go to the shelter. We assumed we were going to a soup kitchen to feed the homeless when, in fact, we were supposed to prepare the food and take it to them. Since it had rained our facilitators said the people would be in buildings. We had to decline since we didn't have money in the budget for that and it would be dangerous for us to walk around with food and go into a building, that we have never seen, and look for homeless people. We then talked about going to the French Quarter, but that idea was pushed back to today. We ate supper (Muffelattas, an Italian New Orleans sandwich that is amazing) and then were given two options for entertainment. One was to walk to the Garden District and the other was to stay in and relax. I chose to stay in so that I could go to Wal-Mart with one of the other guys.

This day made me very thankful that I have the job that I do. I know there are people who like demolition, and I probably would too if it wasn't in the situation I am working in. I don't think I will get the bathroom and window demolition experience that I want/need but there are still 3 working days left.

Today we started at the house a little before 10:00. We were off the job site by 1:00 as we filled the dumpster and they only bring one per day. We mostly pulled drywall from the walls and ceilings. We will most likely start the second floors tomorrow afternoon. It is going really well and everyone is doing very well. Tomorrow we also get our laundry done!

After we were done with "work" we came back to the house to clean up and eat lunch. We then hung out until 3:00, at which time we left for the French Quarter. We ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp, which was decent. After supper we broke into groups and traveled to the party known as Bourbon Street. Every block had at least one bar with live music playing. I received 3 strands of the famous beads and I didn't have to do anything terribly naughty to get them. Thankfully I got 3 so that all of the gils can have a strand when I get home. We also got to see part of the St Patrick's Day parade that travels through the Quarter. It was really interesting to see and hear the history of this great city. It is amazing to think at what happened under 4 years ago and how the city has come back to life. I really want to bring Molly down, just for a day on our way somewhere else, so that she can experience it as well.

Speaking of Molly, I wished she could have been here today as she would have really liked the atmosphere that the French Quarter and Bourbon Street have to offer. It would have been interesting to see if she would have gone with me or if she would have gone with some of the new people she would have met had she come along. I feel sorry for Clarissa and Kimberly because Daddy isn't coming home like he normally does. I know they will be very excited to see me on Monday morning. I can't wait for them to come in and wake me up!

That is all I have for tonight. Tomorrow will be another fun filled day of destroying things!

Day two

I know this is a little late but I had no internet connection last night. Here is an update of yesterday:

We started off the day by getting donuts from Wal-Mart for breakfast. We then attended Sunday school (most of us attended a class being taught around John 3:16). We then led the worship service. Everyone did a great job with their parts. It was great to meet the members of the Memphis congregation and see their wonderful church. After the service we had an outstanding potluck. Our time in Memphis was amazing!

We then set out on our last 6 hours on the road. Thankfully it didn't feel like 6 hours! I spent a good part of the first "leg" of the trip talking to Ryan Holler about a lot of things. He was very interested in the professional IT world as he is studying to be a system administrator. Everyone in the van was awake for the entire trip (I couldn't say that about Saturday's trip). We were able to talk a little bit and joke around.

We arrived in New Orleans around 8:30 last night. We were greeted by the directors of Youth With A Mission at one of their youth lodges. The building is amazing! The main floor has been remodeled after some damage sustained during Katrina. We were then given our instructions for our day and a general outline of our week. The day starts at 9:00 this morning; we are leaving the lodge around 8:45. Today is filled with excitement and anxiousness. It will be nice to get in the house and get going!

Day one

Today was the first official day of the New Orleans trip. We went from Pleasanton, Iowa to Memphis, Tennessee. We left at 7:00 am and, after some initial issues, arrived in Memphis at 7:30 pm (the van I was driving got to the church 10 minutes before the next van). I drove the entire trip and was ready to get out of the van when we got here. Of course the first thing I did was sit down when I got inside, but I had a couple pieces of pizza staring me in the face. Tomorrow we will be leading the church service and then there will be a potluck so that we will be stuffed for the next 7 hour leg of our trip as we get to our final destination. I'm sure tomorrow will be much more eventful as it won't be a full day of driving. The real stuff begins at 9:00 am Monday; that is when we will be getting down and dirty.

I have met a lot of great people. I have realized that they truely want to be here, for whatever reason, and that they will enjoy it. I look forward to getting to know as many of them as I can. I know that I won't get to know everyone but I will do my best.

I am already anxious to get back home to see the great job Molly will be doing to the house and getting a lot of stuff organized and cleaned up. I can't wait to see all 3 of the girls too.

Departure Day

Today is going to be a day with a huge first. This afternoon I will be leaving for a church service trip to New Orleans. It will be the first time since Molly and I have been married that one of us will be away from the family for more than a day. In fact, I will be gone for 9 days. Molly and I have left the girls for a week while we went on a cruise last year (we can't wait for the next one), but this is going to be a lot different. I have complete confidence that everything will be fine. Molly has some projects that she is going to be doing to pass the time and I am excited to see the results when I get back. I know that the girls will miss me but the will understand, in time, what I will be doing. I think Molly will deserve at least a weekend away sometime after I get back.

I will hopefully be able to provide some updates of our journey next week. I am excited for the opportunity but also a little apprehensive about the organization of the trip. I know everything will be fine once we are there.

First!

This is my first attempt at blogging. My plan is to have my blogs consist of my opinions on different subjects, ranging from sports to religion to politics to work-life to family-life and some others in between. Keep in mind that these are only my opinions and I don't intend to start an argument about anything. Stay tuned, there is a lot to come.