Amory, MS – Oct. 20-26, 2024

Project Director and Office Manager, Don and Rachel Horst arriving from KS on Oct. 14^th to open the Amory site and were joined by Construction Supervisor, David King driving in from VA.  Mid-week, our Head Cook, Tim Gerber arriving from OH.  Darin Bontrager, Region 2 ROC, joined us for several trips to the Columbus MDS Warehouse to bring our vehicles and supplies up to the Morganwood Youth Camp at Tupelo.  On Saturday, Ruthi and Jim Gochnauer, serving as Assistant Cook and Crew Leader, flew in from NY.   Sunday afternoon, our Canadian team of 13 arrived as well as the Ranks from Lancaster, PA.  On Thurs., Andy McKee, serving as a Crew Leader, arrived from OR, bringing the total number of volunteers this week to 22.

A crew of four did a super job building temporary walls in the upstairs classrooms of the Activities Building and some temporary walls in the dorms for our long-term volunteers.  Seven windows and trim were installed at Wilma Smith’s house as well as repairs in the bathroom.  At Lori Polk’s house, kitchen, dining room and bedroom ceilings were insulated, drywall hung, taped, mudded and painted.  One crew replaced the porch ceiling at Alice Freeman’s house while another crew completed the replacement of the ceilings in two bedrooms.   The big project at Ardis Cheney’s house began with the installation of vinyl plank flooring in the living & dining room; drywall hung on the bedroom ceiling and front porch soffit replaced and painted.

Highlights of the week included taking advantage of a dip in the swimming pool here on the campgrounds, even though it was a bit chilly!  The folks from Amory treated us to a lovely dinner at the Meadowwood Baptist Church.  Staff from the Renasant Bank sponsored the event which was a catered meal prepared by a restaurant that is getting back on its feet after their building was destroyed in the March 24, 2023, storm.  Our Canadian volunteers sang several songs in German for all the folks gathered for the meal.

Next week we will continue the repair work at Ardis Cheney’s house as well as the final repairs at the Freeman and Polk houses.

Our team of volunteers has been touched by the various expressions of gratitude shared with us from the  Amory community.  We found their expressions of thanks not only inspiring but also humbling.

Rachel reporting for the Amory team