We have been on the job here in Minot now for three days.  We have been working in the home of a family that was flooded out by the Souris River two years ago.  There are still a lot of homes that were flooded in need of repair.  Most homeowners along the Souris River did not have flood insurance.  Apparently the river had never been a threat to flood until two years ago.  The rains were very heavy and lasted for a long time.  What I have been told is that a dam in Canada was about to break due to the rains.  Canadian officials notified the United Stated that they were going to have to release water to take the pressure off of the dam, thus causing the Souris River to rise rapidly.  The people in Minot were given about a six hour notice to evacuate.  That was enough time to allow those along the river to evacuate and prevented any loss of life.

Jeff, and his family, have been working to repair their home since 6 weeks after the flood.  Due to some financial set backs, they had to delay a lot of the work.  FEMA provided them with a small mobile home to live in until their home was ready to move back into.  Jeff had been able to buy the building materials, but lacked the ability to hire a contractor to do the work.  Four different church denominations, the Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist, joined together to offer some financial assistance and labor.  The labor is provided by volunteers, like the organization that we belong to, the NOMADS, a mission of the United Methodist Church.  That is why we are here.  To help families like Jeff's.

Sharon and I have been doing something we have never done before, we are putting up sheet rock, or as some people call it, dry wall.  It requires that the wall board be put up, then taped and the seams and screw heads plastered over.  The plaster is referred to as mud, so we are mudding the wall.  It's fun learning a new skill, and I am so proud of my bride for how hard she has been working and learning the sheet rock skills.

The framing had been completed and the wiring run prior to our arriving to do our work.  Jeff had been working by portable lights, but while we were putting up the sheet rock he installed some temporary overhead lights.  That provided a much better working light for us.

Let me show you what we have done so far.

Sharon, on the left, is putting screws into sheet rock that has been put in place on the ceiling.  The red contraption next to her is a lift to lift the sheet rock into place.  We would have to place a sheet on the upper cross bars, then crank it up to the ceiling.  Once the sheet rock is lifted into place, the lift system is locked into position, therefore holding it in place while the screws are installed.  The ceilings are only 7 feet high, so Sharon is able to stand on a stool to reach the ceiling.  Jeff, on the right, is connecting the temporary ceiling lights.  He had worked for and electrical contractor several years ago, so he knows what he is doing.

This is Gary, no not me, he is our team leader.  Gary, and his wife Avis, are from South Dakota, and have lived in Minnesota.  They are our interpreters while we are here.  The people here talk a little different that we do.  Gary is double checking the screws to make sure that they are put in deep enough to allow the mud to cover them.

Gary and Avis have done a lot of sheet rock work, so they have accumulated and good collection of tools for the job.  One of them is the one Sharon is using in this picture.  Prior to screwing the sheet rock up all the way we needed to mark where electrical plugs and switches would go.  The yellow item in Sharon's hand is half of a magnet that will locate the electrical boxes behind the wall.  The other half is placed in the box, the sheet rock is then put up, then the part that Sharon has is run along the wall until the magnets connect.  Then all you have to do is draw around the magnet, then cut along the lines.  It works great.  Keeps from having to make measurements, and hope that they are right.

Here Sharon is installing some screws in the wall.  A screw is put about every eight to twelve inches, depending where the sheet rock is being installed.

This is what one of the rooms looks like after three days of work.  Seams have been taped and mudded, and screw heads have been mudded over.  We will finish this up tomorrow by putting more mud along the tape to smooth out the edges.  It will then be ready for painting.

Again, Sharon and I have never done this type of work before, but with the great instructions from Gary and Avis, we are learning.   That is another thing we like about the NOMADS,  there are many different opportunities to learn new skills.

We are looking forward to our first weekend here in Minot.  We have never been in this part of the country before.  Hope to do some sight-seeing and check out the area.

I'll be back with you all later.  Have a great weekend and take the time to remember our fallen military on Monday, Memorial Day.

Above all remember that,

God Loves You

Gary