Selma, AL – April 27 – May 3, 2025

This week MDS Selma had a fun group of six from PA and two lovely young women who drove all the way from Manitoba, Canada. All were hardworking even though they endured aching muscles and very warm weather.

A lot of painting was accomplished this week at the homes of Reynolds, Moore, and Mobley. Roofing was completed at the Parker place and drywall repair was begun at the Reese home. At the Moore house, over 245 hours of labor (and love) were given to install, stain, sand, and paint cabinets as well as install a tub surround, paint the porch, wash windows and do general cleanup. Some cleanup was also accomplished at the warehouse. The Reynolds house had locksets installed on doors and is now awaiting the arrival of the countertops, one of the last steps for this new-build house. Three homes were completed and signed-off as we begin to wind down the term in Selma.

Over the weekend prior to our weekly workers’ arrival, we had a bit of after-the-storm excitement as we lost power in the main living and eating areas. It got a bit warm before Alabama Power came through and fixed two of the three phases of electricity serving the building. All was well and we were soon ready for the arrival of our weekly volunteers.

Larry Loganbill and Jan Lehman began their terms as Project Director and Office Manager this week. Both newbies in their respective roles, they quickly learned that help and support was just an email or phone call away. Our cook, Dorothy Miller, took on the kitchen (solo!) like the experienced pro she is. By Thursday, she was joined by Janice Sackenheim as assistant cook. At the end of the week we said goodbye to Jim Herr who served as a crew leader since April 19^th.

Over the weekend, we were joined by special guests, the parents of Katie, one of our year-long volunteers. They enjoyed seeing just what their daughter and son-in-law, Jonathan, have been doing as they serve in Selma. Traveling with them was a Ukrainian couple and the number of languages spoken at the MDS site instantly doubled. They brought with them a special mealtime prayer that they saw on a sign along their way to town. “Bless the food before us. Bless the people beside us. And bless the love between us.” Amen!

Submitted by Jan for the crew: Larry, Dorothy, Janice, Jim, Katie, Jonathan, Maik, Adam, Mary Joyce, & Lucinda.