We hauled out of Yuma a couple of days ago to help Pastor Dave get moved into his Double Decker RV. Since the passing of his beautiful wife Lizzy, Pastor has not really lived in this unit for several years. Given his health it was decided that if we could clean it up it would be a much better place for Pastor to live in. I had been in touch with Hosanna City Church, and they arranged to send out some volunteers to help with the clean up, along with building materials we would need to build a ramp so he had easy access to his home. I had also purchased a lot of medication for him while we were in Mexico, and he says that his pain levels for the past few days have been much better!
Our first day back was rather chaotic with the onset of two fires. One had taken out a large farm area just down the hill in Niland, and sadly another resident lost everything they owned when their RV went up in flames. The Niland fire department was quick to arrive, but it was too late to save anything. Fires are a weekly occurrence out here. Pastor has stated that a donation of a water and pump truck in the Slabs would be wonderful to have because they could assist with fires immediately rather than waiting on help to arrive from nearby towns. I will have to add that to the wish list and see if we can either raise the money to purchase one, or find a generous donation. I can see where having such a pump truck would be a massive asset to the community.
On February 9th, a crew of volunteers arrived from the Church with a massive tailor to haul away garbage, and several men prepared to put in a long days work. We only had a day to accomplish what needed to be done, so we had Pastor walk through things with Doug to make sure we knew what could be tossed and what should be kept. Given that Doug had been sick and in the Yuma Hospital for tests, he opted to wear a suit and mask because of the dust and presents left by mice over the years. I thought that was smart thinking 😉 It does not take long for the desert winds to turn a vacant unit into a sand box.
Our amazing helpers arrived early, and we asked a fellow who lives on the church property to help us sort through everything and make decisions on what would have to go and what could be kept. He wanted no part of that task, so Doug got busy cleaning things up and tried to be careful to make sure things of value did not end up being tossed.
Steve, Lemma, Connie and I helped as best as we could bagging trash, and sorting out a lot of books, papers and tools that we put in crates to save. The men unloaded all of the building materials they had brought, and got busy loading things up to take to the trash. Doc was such a great help! While Doug was bagging inside and setting things to be sorted and kept, Doc was busy sweeping and putting anything he found of value aside for Pastor Dave to go through later. It was a long day, but when it was all said and done, Pastor finally had a clean and large kitchen area to use, and a bedroom area set up complete with a chair for company, and new bedding. It looked fantastic! Before they headed out to make the two hour trip back home, they left us with a shop vac that we could plug into the unit and use until we saw them again at a later date. After they left, Connie and a couple of other girls were in there scrubbing floors, dusting off books and making his unit look very inviting and safe to be in.
The next Day, Doug set out to build a ramp so Pastor Dave could easily access his home. Jerry came down to help him, and together they really did a great job! Jerry really enjoyed working along side Doug, and they did a bang up job! As for everyone else, they had a chance to show Pastor Dave how much they cared for him. A lot of people worked very hard, and they were super pleased with the end results.We found out later, however, that sadly some things that were very precious to Pastor Dave had indeed been tossed in the flurry to get everything done as fast as possible. We tried very hard to be careful, but I guess we didn’t do as good of a job as we thought we had in being sensitive to what was to go and what should of stayed. It would have been nice to have an extra set of eyes helping us to make decisions, but we have to accept responsibility for what ever losses happened. 🙁
On a bright note, we did manage to get the Double Decker looking really good. It was as clean as we could possibly make it, and we tried very hard to make sure Pastor would be able to get around, and be comfortable. Our deepest gratitude to Hosanna City Church and all of the friends who came together to help someone we love get back into his home.
Before we left, Doug had ordered parts to fix Connie’s furnace while we were in Yuma, so he spent a day making sure everything was running fine for her again. She has kept that unit impeccable, with the exception of having to toss out the couch after someone who insisted his dogs should be in there destroyed it.
That same particular person, whom we once thought of as a friend, is sadly no longer anyone we want to associate with. The past few days we have witnessed such a vile temper to anyone who wanted to help with Pastors home, he verbally assaulted Connie, Doug and myself. It’s just horrible really. All we can do is pray for him, but as far as having anything to do with him, well that bridge has been severely burnt. Drama, intimidation, and vile accusations and expressed deep hatred is not what we want in our lives. So we move forward, and hope at some point he can find peace with himself.
Now we are headed back to Yuma again, and will return soon.
Given his health it was decided that if we could clean it up it would be a much better place for Pastor to live in. I had been in touch with Hosanna City Church, and they arranged to send out some volunteers to help with the clean up, along with building materials we would need to build a ramp so he had easy access to his home. I had also purchased a lot of medication for him while we were in Mexico, and he says that his pain levels for the past few days have been much better! 
The Niland fire department was quick to arrive, but it was too late to save anything. Fires are a weekly occurrence out here. Pastor has stated that a donation of a water and pump truck in the Slabs would be wonderful to have because they could assist with fires immediately rather than waiting on help to arrive from nearby towns. I will have to add that to the wish list and see if we can either raise the money to purchase one, or find a generous donation. I can see where having such a pump truck would be a massive asset to the community.
Given that Doug had been sick and in the Yuma Hospital for tests, he opted to wear a suit and mask because of the dust and presents left by mice over the years. I thought that was smart thinking 😉 It does not take long for the desert winds to turn a vacant unit into a sand box.
While Doug was bagging inside and setting things to be sorted and kept, Doc was busy sweeping and putting anything he found of value aside for Pastor Dave to go through later. It was a long day, but when it was all said and done, Pastor finally had a clean and large kitchen area to use, and a bedroom area set up complete with a chair for company, and new bedding. It looked fantastic! Before they headed out to make the two hour trip back home, they left us with a shop vac that we could plug into the unit and use until we saw them again at a later date. 
After they left, Connie and a couple of other girls were in there scrubbing floors, dusting off books and making his unit look very inviting and safe to be in.
Jerry really enjoyed working along side Doug, and they did a bang up job! As for everyone else, they had a chance to show Pastor Dave how much they cared for him. A lot of people worked very hard, and they were super pleased with the end results.
We found out later, however, that sadly some things that were very precious to Pastor Dave had indeed been tossed in the flurry to get everything done as fast as possible. We tried very hard to be careful, but I guess we didn’t do as good of a job as we thought we had in being sensitive to what was to go and what should of stayed. It would have been nice to have an extra set of eyes helping us to make decisions, but we have to accept responsibility for what ever losses happened. 🙁 
It was as clean as we could possibly make it, and we tried very hard to make sure Pastor would be able to get around, and be comfortable. Our deepest gratitude to Hosanna City Church and all of the friends who came together to help someone we love get back into his home.