Jennings, LA – Jan. 14-20, 2024

The middle of the month has come and gone, and what a doozer it has been here in Jennings. On Monday evening we had freezing rain and extremely low temperatures in the night (19 F), which froze the water pipes to the campers and burst some of the fixtures. Some areas lost power, including where the RV crew is staying, so they came over to get warm in our gym, while others of us were making use of the church showers instead of those in our campers. 

In a rural area with little to no public transport options for incoming weekly volunteers, our weekends have been more than busy, running multiple trips to airports, train stations or bus depots. 

The payoff, of course, has been large influxes of helpers to raise up our six new homes at a rather astonishing rate, particularly this past week. One house went from floor girders to rafters in two days!! We had FOUR groups this past week, two from Ohio and one from Pennsylvania, plus two young women from New York. 

All the homes are now above ground, and four are in finishing stages, with hopes of a couple of them being done within the next several weeks. (Two of these are being worked on by the RV crew.) 

David Stelly’s home has doors and cabinets, floors and lots of paint, with the jokes and laughter still ringing around the walls. Wilford Miller’s home had a break this week while we scrambled to get the last two framed in. Joyce Prudhomme’s home has rafters on, ready for sheeting the whole frame, while Beau Landerman’s house is ready for rafters. High winds slowed the rafter insallation.  

The hilarity, enthusiasm and teamwork was tremendous. We are grateful for all the help!! 

Christa Barth, Office Manager 

On behalf of the Jennings crew