Our Last Day

Monday, our final day. The heat continued here as in most places on the East coast: sweltering, oppressive, draining. We worked hard and long, but fell far short of finishing. Did you see that coming? I guess we did, too. However, we didn't want to think about it.

As I write it is 10 minutes to 9 PM, and JoEllen, Debbie and Don are still at work in the front room. Don is showing them how to lay out the lines to begin putting vinyl tile down on the floor. As with so many days before, the front room was all-consuming in terms of time. The trim work -- measuring, cutting, staining, coping corners, putting on polyurethane -- was simply without end. When the floor is finished being laid, the room will be done. Perhaps by Midnight??

The men's room/unisex bath and shower room has made continued progress, but it is far from finished. All three showers are in pace and connected, but the separate dressing rooms, benches and dividers are only pieces of pre-cut wood at this point. One toilet is in and the frames are up with Melamine on them. No doors, yet. The walls behind and on the sides of the toilets are completed, but not painted. The two-sink vanity is being donated and will arrive in about 6 weeks. The tile work is done and grouted, but not sealed.

At this point our plan is to return for about 3 more days of work to coincide with the arrival of the vanity. Most of us would like to be here for another Sunday of worship, too -- perhaps bringing some music along with us!

Mouse Count: 7.

Saturday

Saturday, which began as a half day of work, ended more like a 3/4 day of work -- somehow ending at 12 noon morphed into something like 2 PM.

Finishing work takes time. This has been demonstrated by work in the front room which never seems to come to a conclusion. The shelves are in and much of the quarter-round molding below it. The upside down scarf cuts were intellectually as demanding as the physical cuts themselves.

The men's room leaped ahead with the installation of over half the Melamine wallboard and the creation of the stall framework. Additional tiling was also done. While far from finished, the room has already taken on a much brighter and appealing face.

Additional Notes: Melissa, the church member who provided last night's dinner, has asked to be put on our NYS-FITS+ email list -- she's ready to join us in the Fall; Tom fixed the church's WiFi, so communicating has become much easier; we have begun talking about a quick return to D.C. to complete work left undone this Spring.

Please keep the congregation of Casa del Pueblo and their pastor, John M'Akwalu, in your prayers. They are laboring under difficult circumstances to be faithful witnesses in this corner of our nation's Capitol.

Mouse Count: 7.

Friday the 24th

Friday: another beautiful day, another day of hard work. But more than anything else it was a sad day, because JoEllen, Tom, Don and Edd's friend, Robin, died during the night. She had been sick for a long time, struggling with cancer. She never gave in, never stopped fighting, never lost her faith and hope, or her sense of humor. She was greatly loved and will be sorely missed.

Work-wise, things are shaping up, but time has now becomes an issue. Debbie and JoEllen worked in the front room most of the day. With the ceiling finally finished (which took about an hour, plus) they moved onto the wainscoting ledge -- a dimension of their work that would consume the remainder. They had to cut, stain, miter, scarf-cut, nail and glue it down. (The flooring has not yet been purchased.)

Over in the bathroom, the two new walls are up. All the wiring is done. The plumbing over 75% complete. Don, Tom, Edd and Eric kept bumping into each other as they worked there framing the walls and driving screws into the concrete floor and walls. Tom and Eric had great fun helping Don by finding a way to bring a flexible electrical cable through the boiler room/men's room wall.

Tonight, Melissa, a member of the congregation, has prepared a lasagna dinner for us. It's still in the oven but smells wonderful. Tomorrow will be a lighter day. We are looking forward to it with great expectations.

Mouse Count: 7.

Thursday Report

Our day began with the departure of Rose Ann and Roland. We were very, very sad to see our clever cook and her skillful husband leave for home, but everyone has many commitments and these two were on their way to fulfill theirs. (Marcia is taking over the cooking chores until she has to leave.)

Thursday saw us unload a Home Depot delivery truck loaded with supplies for finishing touches -- $1,300 worth of building materials -- in the front room and men's room. Getting the 16 footers through the narrow hallways was a challenge in itself. The 2 x 4's, Melamine and greenboard will keep us going for a while. (Yes, the time crunch is now beginning to become a factor!)

Most of our day was spent in the front room, although, like Wednesday, Edd spent most of his day doing plumbing in the men's room. The ceiling tiles are now mostly up -- just a few more pieces around the rear pier-supports. The wiring is finished except for one recalcitrant fluorescent and a few finishing touches. The front windows are painted, along with the front door casings and the stained ledges received their first coats of polyurethane.

Mouse count: 6.

On Wednesday

Wednesday was a strange day. We got a late start because Edd called in an order to a local Home Depot, and it seemingly took forever. Then at lunch time, we walked up to Christ's House and while we ate our lunches learned about their ministry of assisting the homeless with medical conditions. We also learned what the City and other organizations were doing to make their lives better.

In terms of construction, the suspended ceiling in the Front Room made rapid advances; almost all of the supportive pieces are in place as are some of the panels. Best of all, the last of the holes which had to be drilled in the concrete ceiling were completed. Don, Roland and Eric worked on this. Final adjustments were made to the wainscoting and the entry stairs by Debbie and JoEllen, while Marcia stained the boards which will go on top. Tom and Edd finished the frames around the new front door. Tom also put in the last piece of replacement glass while Edd did some plumbing work in the Men's Room.

Mouse count: 5.

The Week Begins

Monday saw us re-tiling in the men's room -- some tiles pulled loose from their mortar. Before we got to that, though, the last of the old drains were capped-off. Several new valves were installed on various lines to give some cut-offs in needed places. Then, we closed off the room so the tiles could set, and we could get back in for other work on Wednesday.

In the front room, the wainscoting went up after the electrical boxes were put in place. The walls and door frame were painted. The front windows were removed, the protective grates taken off and the broken windows replaced. Some repainting was also done on the windows by Amos, a church member who came to help. The ceiling lights were re-wired and new switches installed, in preparation for the new suspended ceiling which we hope to start on Tuesday.

After dinner, Kevin left for home. Pastor John, Florence his wife and Sammy his son joined us for our evening meal, along with Bernardo and others from the church family. Before we went to bed we had heard from Kevin that he had made it home safely.

Mouse count: 4.

After Four Days

Today is Sunday. Much of Friday was spent at Home Depot. We went on a spending spree purchasing among other things: 2 x 4 and 2 x 6 (treated and untreated), Trex, plumbing supplies, wainscot, and screws for concrete and wood. We must have been at the store for five hours. Fortunately, the store is not too far away. Last trip for the weekend was made Saturday evening at 9:15.

Decision-making is still a complex issue, with things changing constantly in both the Men's room and the front office. However, every time this occurs we come up with improvements over our previous ideas -- sometimes these are simple things we just never thought of before, like the wainscoting to conceal pipes and wires in the front room, which grew from the suggestion for an extra-large baseboard.

The entry platform into the front room is now completed and all of the wainscot supports are in place. Mid-Saturday we cut into the water pipes and installed a new valve and a cap; we also took out the old mixer valve from the shower room. Another ball vavle needs to be installed so that this line can be used for the new sinks on that side of the room. By mid-afternoon we began laying the new tiles in the bathroom.

These tiles had been purchased at 7:30 in the morning. Ryan, a member of the congregation, laid the tile in the afternoon and in the evening after supper. By the time he stopped about 3/4 of the floor had been done. Both rooms are now really beginning to take shape.

Day Two

With eight of us here Wednesday morning, we went to work in two rooms: Demolition-R-Us. The men's room stall dividers and the urinal surrounds are now gone. It did not take long for the dust to settle, and most of the floor has been swept. In the front room, destined to be office rental property, the smaller room separators have been removed and the floor partially cleared of the wood and drywall debris. This room seemed to grow in size as the work progressed.

Outside the rain has continued, which isn't a problem except when we are out there filling the dumpster. We hope that you are having dryer weather where you are than with what Washington is sharing with us.

Tomorrow more reinforcements arrive -- Johnny, Marilyn, Don and Edd. By the time they join us, we hope to have the front room almost entirely prepped for retiling. But you know how it goes, things are often a bit more complicated than you expect.

D.C. Mission, Day 1

Our rebuilding team members have begun to arrive on Columbia Road. Roland and Rose Ann, arrived with Debbie and Eric yesterday. JoEllen and Tom are on their way today as are Marcia and Jim.

We spoke with Pastor John in the afternoon, and then in the evening we had dinner with Melissa, an active member of the congregation, and spoke at length with her about the recent and distant history of the church which extends back to the beginnings of last century. Several times this congregation has been severally challenged; each time, by the grace of God, they have rebounded stronger than before.

As you can see from the photo, Spring has sprung in Washington. We've had rain and a little chill in the evening, but nothing like the weather we left in upstate New York. Really wishing you all were here!

Washington Set Back

George The (our irreplaceable, irascible, irradiant) Cook was told by his doctor to call off his scheduled trip to Washington. We knew that he was planning to have aortic valve surgery in June, but we -- and apparently he --were unaware that there were certain limits on his pre-surgery activities.

So, now we are scrambling to find a stand-in at the prep table and stove for our current culinary specialist. George is one of the ones who helps make us the NYS-FITS+. He, more than most, helps keep the mishuggeneh in our group. We are all major contributors to the quality of life that we share, but George pushes us over the top -- say have been know to say over the edge -- more often than others. His skillet will be hard to fill, but we have been blessed so often in the past that we believe someone will come forward.

Speaking of blessings, we are delighted that many others who have been ill are well on the road to recovery. We are thankful too that supporters, friends and team members have helped to raise over $4,000 to purchase building materials while we are at work in Washington. Lastly, your prayers are coveted for the time of our stay and for the congregation after we leave.

Pre-Mission Visit to Casa del Pueblo

Pastor John M'akwalu was standing outside the church when this picture was taken. He has served the congregation in the midst of a changing neighborhood for over six years. Casa del Pueblo on Columbia Road has been an area where immigrants have settled into the community. Latinos, Asians and African Americans have populated this section of the Adams Morgan district for decades. Now the neighborhood is beginning the process of gentrification, adding a new challenge to work and witness of this congregation.

Don, Edd, Eric and Seth made this visit, and again measurements were taken and alternatives examined prior to the start of our work camp after Easter. We will be cleaning old paint off of pipes, then priming and painting them along with the walls in the down stairs bathroom entryways. How to precede with the installation of the showers is still being mulled over. While the goal is clear, the stages of the construction process are not quite so clear. Likewise for the front room, the goal of renovation is clear, but the step-by-step process, especially the floor, are still options being examined.