Disaster - Day 9

Can it be day 9 already?? These packed days are flying by, and though my mind has trouble believing I've been working 10 -12 hour stressful days for over a week, my body refuses to let me forget it. I'm sore and sleepy this evening, but it's all for a good cause, and also a means to an end. I'm sure I'll miss it when it's over.

I did a lot of driving today, because my team was assigned to finish the last few houses that hadn't been visited in 2 adjacent counties. We drove back and forth over a mountain several times, and let me tell you, I have seen enough beauty here in TN to last me for a while: so picturesque. I went out with Ashlyn, and an 84-year-old lady named Pauline, who is spunky and hilarious. She volunteers as a mental health worker for the Red Cross, and she is sweet, sassy, and quite a flirt with all the old fellows we ran into.

We went to a Baptist church on the mountain for lunch, and we got to see a lot of neat things that are being done in the community there. The church has tables filled with clothes and food donations that anyone can come by and take if they need it. They also serve 3 hot meals a day for victims of the disaster, as well as volunteers who are working in the area. One of the ERVs from my Red Cross disaster chapter brought the food for lunch today, but often a group of indefatigable church ladies prepare and serve the meals. Patsy, the lady who is running the whole operation, has been working every day all day since the storm occurred two weeks ago, and when I spoke with her, she had a smile on her face and asked me what she could do to help me in the mission I was on.

While we were at the church, a large group of Mennonite men and boys came to eat lunch. As it turns out, they live in the area, and they are going around the mountain with chainsaws, cutting up downed trees in peoples yards and cleaning up the debris. Talk about tireless, these guys have also been working in their button down shirts and suspenders since the storm, starting early, ending late, and taking half an hour for lunch.

I keep meeting remarkable people!!!