Final week in Chatham, Illinois

As our final week begins, we have been asked to update the brick memorial patio.

These are the bricks to be added, so

Wayne and Bill set out to install them.

Meanwhile, Ron and Bill begin stallation of a replacement storm door in employee housing

and then they set out to repair the front office door.

We were asked to continue filling cleaning buckets and we got two ready and then realized that we did not have the needed supplies ready.

This is the view of the 340 buckets that we filled last week.

Jodi has rolled so many garbage bags they call her the bag lady so she decides to dress the part.

Bill has been fixing all sorts of plumbing around the complex.

The center got the OK to ship Personal Dignity Kits (towels, shampoo, toothpaste, etc.) to Puerto Rico so we are called upon to sort, count and pack the kits.  Joyce and Dave on left just joined us for a couple of days and the aid Gary and Kathy in upacking.

Prepackaged items like these nailclippers have to be "unpackaged" so Stel is cutting the packages with Avis supervising.

Avis joins the others in unpacking.

All incoming material is sorted and counted for repacking.

Jim and Brenda are in the back of the warehouse unpacking and sorting incoming donated materials for cleaning buckets.

Gary is sanding a donated flagpole for the Center

and Ron and Bill are painting it.

Outside, Ron, Wayne and Bill have dug a hole for the base of the flagpole and installed rebar

and then the cement is added

and finished off.  This flagpole may be destroyed by a tornado but the base is never going anywhere.

and with our final week complete, it is time to head on down the road.  See you in Arkansas.

2nd Week at Chatham, Ill

 Mulch was delivered over the weekend so we head back to the volunteer dorm to finish the work there.

 

First we add landscape paper and it is so windy Jim and Stel are working together to get the paper down.

Brenda working to arrange the paper around existing plants.

Ron and Bill loading mulch.

Bev leveling the mulch behind the bushes.

Jim and Ron making finishing touches.

Since we have leftover mulch at the dorm, Wayne, Bev, Brenda and Stel clean out the memorial at the campground and prepare it for mulch.

And this is the finished product here.

We move to the front of the warehouse/office complex and Bev and Bill begin removing the stone around the shrubs.

And Jim and Bev and Brenda continue the efforts while

Stel trims the shrubs.

We use the stone to fill in a grass areas between the building and the bicycle storage area and Bill, Wayne and Jim spread it.

We were using the golf cart to haul the buckets of stone but the battery died so it's time out for Stel to hook up the charger.

 Rain moved us back to inside work.

So Bill and Bill begin painting the enclosure they built last week.

Ron and Wayne go back to repairing bicycles.

And Wayne takes out time to realign the mitre saw to insure accurate cuts.

Joyce painting the desk parts with polyeurethene

as are Kathy, Esther and Avis

and Mary as well.

Gary is prepping old bleacher wood for desk parts by plugging the bolt holes with dowell rods.

Stel begins preparing new desk tops by routing the edges of 100 precut sheets.

Jodi is binding school supplies for addition to kits.

Brenda, Joyce and Janann are rolling garbage bags to be added to cleaning kits.

These cleaning buckets are all packed and have been stacked on a skid so Joyce prepares to start the shrink wrap

and then she steps aside to let the machine do it's magic.

A new project came up so Bev, Mary and Brenda join in preparing a mailing for the Center

as does Jodi

and Janann and Joyce and everyone else within reach.

The week is jamb packed with activities but we are called upon frequently for special efforts.

Here, Bill, Bill Wayne and Ron are called upon to unload this incoming shipment from this tractor trailer. 

And here, Stel, Wayne and Ron are asked to unload a 53' trailer filled with cleaning backets prepared by volunteers around the midwest

and here the crew is asked to unload private vehiles that have dropped off empty buckets and filled buckets.

In this case, volunteers are needed to load this trailer with used bicycles.

Although it happens several times a week and sometimes more than once a day, we pause to pray over a shipment headed for the disaster areas.  Next week will provide more opportunities to serve.