Wednesday July 31, 2013 We all met at the church at 0830. It was immediately recognized that we would have to take out the rear seat in the rental van to accommodate all our food and belongings. Packing the van, having a send-off prayer and saying our goodbyes to loved ones had us leaving just after 9am. Thanks to Greg’s new smart phone he expertly guided us on a 2+ hour trip to Connecticut and the ferry to Long Island. Took the noon ferry and was smooth sailing on the hour-long trip and beautiful weather in the 70s left a few of us slightly pinker than when we left. We were the second vehicle off the ferry and decided to look for a bit of lunch. We found a nice, and somewhat out of place strip mall in the middle of farm and vineyard country. Lynn and Bob decided on Mexican while Katie, Greg and Mike found sandwiches at a deli. The drive and ferry ride was a great time to get to know one another. We shared much about our lives and our faith. We became closer as a group and really appreciated the time together. Back on the road we met up with Tom Casinelli at Exit 56 on the LIE and followed him to Brooklyn where we “set up camp” and got familiar with our new home of the next 4 nights. Tom also gave us the scoop on what has been going on (or not going on) with regard to the hurricane’s cleanup efforts. He told us stories of people losing their life’s savings and the great amount of work that has yet to be done. It was very enlightening and sad at the same time. His words touched me in particular and reinforced the reasons on why we are here. For dinner Greg & Bob barbequed some tasty steak tips on a less than desirable disposable grills. Had to finish the steak in the kitchen, but all came out just perfect! Katie and Lynn prepared a salad and rice. All helped with the cleanup and we had a few minutes of down time to make some phone calls and get ready for a Bible study. Bob had prepared a study on Nehemiah which was a good time for self reflection and to think about why we are here. Two things came to mind and I must steal the church’s mission statement: To know God and to make God known. Mike showed his musical talent We had a wonderful team building exercise after one of the shower’s sump pumps didn’t work and we had a massive clean up of grey water in the women’s bathroom. Mops and a bucket brigade ensued and we had the area fairly dry in short time. We quickly found that none of the sump pumps in any of the four showers worked correctly. So, we’ll get new batteries tomorrow and try again. If all else fails, the ocean is close by! Looking forward to tomorrow and helping those in need.
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