Well, we made it to Dulac safely, (Hooray!), about two-thirty in the afternoon. After unpacking the vans and claiming our beds, we headed off to "A Cajun Man's Swamp Tour", where we saw some beautiful scenery, and heard some pretty cool Cajun music. We even saw a few Alligators. :)
After the swamp tour, we went to Bayou Delight for dinner, and had some VERY good food. Sometimes, they have Cajun dancing, but not that night. After a SUPERB dinner, we headed home to the Dulac Community Center, were we had a short devotion, and went to bed.
On Monday, we went to our job sites. Before that, however, John came to talk to us for a bit, about Dulac, the history of Dulac, and the community center. (While he was talking, the power went out!) Eventually the power came back on, and the rain stopped, so we divided into different groups and left for our job sites.
The group I was in went to a house belonging to Ms.Pierre. We divided into two groups, one outside, pulling down siding (there were lots of ants), one inside, pulling up floors.
Ms.Pierre's house has flooded multiple times, so parts of her house a
re sagging, and her floors are ruined.
Another group painted the back side of Ms.Dora's house white. They had a very fun time figuring out how the heck to put together scaffolding, and choosing who got to go on the ladder. (Ryan Zumo and Miller Hane got that job.) It was completed thanks to lots of teamwork and ingenuity.A third group stayed at the
community center, where they mopped thefloors, shelved library books.( which we later had
to relocate, due to the rising water from Hurricane Alex.) They also cleaned out a lot of rooms, so the Vacation Bible School kids would have clean rooms next week.
The fourth group also stayed at the community center, where they repaired sheet rock, and mudded the walls of the gym. After completing that job, they joined the group at Ms.Pierre's house, and helped us.
After finishing up at the job sites for the day, we returned home to the community center to wash up (there was a mad rush for the showers), and eat some dinner. (We had spaghetti.) After dinner, we went fishing near the community center. We didn't catch much- just a few crabs- but Al the alligator returned, and
got closer than ever.After fishing, we came back to the community center, had our devotion, and went to bed.
We returned today, to our respective job sites. (For the most part. A few groups moved to different sites.)
My group went back to Ms.Pierre's house, where the water had risen a great deal, and covered most of her front yard. We divided into two groups: one pulling up floors and glue, the other taking down the ceiling in one of the rooms.
The second group proved to be the most interesting. By accident, one of the youth found a box of medicine bottles, which led to the exploration of her ceiling.
In the exploration, the group found lots of old artifacts, including an old dress, several old dolls, a fan (that still works!), an old radio (which unfortunately didn't work), and a dead rat.
They also found a Times Picayune from December 18, 1964. It's still in relatively good condition.After that: Lunch.
After lunch, we all returned to our job sites. By this time, the water at Ms.Pierre's house had risen significantly, so that there was only a little strip of land that we were able to walk on.
Cue the downpour.
The water quickly rose, until there was NO strip of land to walk on. Nevertheless, we pushed on, and continued to wage our war on the old flooring.
Another mini-group painted the ceiling in Ms.Pierre's kitchen.
After a few hours of painting and scraping (we didn't venture into the attic a
gain.), it was time for one group to leave. By this time, the water had risen significantly, and was now almost up to our knees.
On our way back, Breanna took a little (unplanned) swim. (She got dibs on showers first)
The other group (previously at Ms.Dora's house), went to a trailer that had been flooded. The walls and the flooring had to be removed, so we sent the demolition team to do the job. (Kasey's team.) Fully equipped with sledgehammers, crowbars, pickaxes, and a wild assortment of weapons, they eagerly
To quote Ryan Zumo: "So wait, do I say this looks good? Or do I say this looks bad?"
After only two one-leg casualties, a crowbar to the hip, and a hammer to the face, all in about five minuets, the group returned safely to the community center.
After the adventurous day, everyone came back to the community center and recouped.
Dinner: Jambalya, Beans, Veggies, and Chocolate Pudding.
Tonight we go fishing again. :)
Medical Update:
