That's Robert on the left. He's our boss. He's in charge of a handful of volunteer work crews, including ours. It's his job to assign the projects we work on and make sure we have the tools and materials we need to accomplish them. He has at least two cell phones and he's a busy guy. Don't ask him anything about the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (fictionally located in Bayou La Batre in the movie Forrest Gump) unless you're prepared to endure a lot of teasing.
The guy on the right is Alan. He's the one in our group who assigns work crews to the projects Robert puts us on, and makes sure we really do have what we need to accomplish them. In addition, he has to make sure we know what we're doing, which is a big job in itself. Fortunately he (and the others among us who know what they're doing) has been generous and gracious about teaching when necessary.
The first thing Robert told us when he met our group last night was that the primary qualities we'd need to make our week successful were flexibility and patience. Today we had a chance to practice those skills, as we waited for tools and materials needed to finish the jobs we were working on. We had a relatively good first day, though. Among other things, we pulled out carpet and plaster board to fix a bedroom and bathroom that had been damaged by water, replaced two exterior doors, fixed some unanticipated plumbing leaks as well as a leaking roof, and worked on a shed. It was hot and humid, and we got some sunburn and some insect bites.
At the end of the day we had some time to share reflections, and everybody said they'd had a good day, enjoyed working together and getting to know each other and ourselves a little better, and appreciated the appreciation expressed by the woman who lives with her two children (one born under emergency circumstances during the hurricane) in the house where we did the most work.
More tomorrow.
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