Conroe, TX – Aug. 3-9, 2025

With well-wishes, we sent off Katie & Jonathon Snyder, year-long volunteers, as their year of serving with MDS came to a close.  What a gift they have given to MDS and the many people they have served.  We have made a smooth transition to our new group of long-term volunteers who are here through August 25.  We welcomed Denis Sabourin (PD), Tina Miller (HC), Gwen Hershberger (AC), Cindy Steiner (OM), Ryan Sprunger (CS), and crew leaders Maik Hinz (year-long volunteer), Dan Steiner and David Norris.  The weekly volunteers were a mix of people from Iowa, Indiana, and Pennsylvania with a total of 10 adults.

Painting has begun at the Springfield house.  They are almost finished with the bathroom.  Flooring has been the main job with completing the hallway and a large living/dining area.  The kitchen floor has now been torn up but needs time to dry out before installing the new flooring.

Ongoing mudding and sanding continue at the El-Ali house.  The kitchen ceiling is getting scraped and prepped for texturing.   A small closet was the challenge this week with a wall that moved and was not secure, and another wall that they discovered was covering up an exterior door.  The other challenge was trying to get in and out of the house without getting stung by red wasps!

At the La Faitey house, they have completed painting the ceilings.  As the crew began working in the bedroom of Isabella she seemed really intrigued as they were pulling up the carpet, so they encouraged her to watch and explained how carpet is laid and removed.  They asked if she would like to help and she quickly said yes.  One of the volunteers, who is a school teacher, worked with her and they painted together and then laid flooring together.  Isabella was beaming through the entire process.  The encouragement of the volunteer gave Isabella a new boost of confidence and a sense of pride as she beautified her own room.

Wednesday evening, guests Christine and Tom Riggle joined us for supper.  Christine is the administrative assistant at this building that we share with the United Methodist Texas Annual Conference.  She coordinates the supplies and volunteers for the Center for Missional Excellence.  She shared about their outreach of providing adult and child backpacks, school kits, hygiene kits and emergency supplies to those in need.  The organization “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” builds beds for children here in the warehouse.  It was inspiring to hear how many needs are met through the work of Hope Disaster Recovery, Cy-Hope, and other non-profit organizations in this area. It is a privilege to work alongside other organizations as we bring hope to those who have suffered from disasters.

On behalf of the Conroe, TX team, Cindy Steiner