On Day Two of our trip we “mucked out” Miss Mary’s house. This was by far the buggiest, hottest, dirtiest day of our week. We arrived at Miss Mary’s early to beat the heat and were astounded by the condition of her home. There was evidnce of mold all the way to the ceiling of each room in the house. Our instructions said to start by ripping out paneling. We started at the back of thehouse in what I can only imagine was once a family room. We donned masks and gloves and with crow bars and other tools in hand we started the job of ripping away the paneling! And then the bugs came! Behind the insulation crumbling boards were revealed. It was obvious that along with the roaches and wasps some termites had taken up residence in the back of the house. Everyone worked so hard. It was such a hot job and difficult to breath with the masks but the group perservered. During the day we were visited by Miss Mary’s pastor who thanked us for coming to help her with her home. He told us she had been waiting for a year for the work on her home to proceed. He brought us a lunch made by church volunteers. The snacks, sweet tea and plenty of fresh water were much appreciated. In the case of Miss Mary’s home mucking I think a picture is worth a thousand words. You can see our pile of debris growing as the day continued. We managed to not only pull out the paneling and insulation throughout the house we also pulled out the full bathroom including Thom Larkins conquering the tub. I learned the Texas roaches apparently believe that Black Flag bug spray is an appetizer. I learned that randomly there can be a tiny skull in a wall. Who knows what is lurking in yours.  I also learned the power of humidity. At the end of the day I stood on Miss Mary’s FEMA trailer porch and took a photograph with her. Her sweet thank you made the entire day worthwhile. After our short drive home we all showered off the grime of our day and even felt it necessary to wash our clothes to get rid of any possible bug and mold residue. We enjoyed some nice fellowship as we took a quick swim in the hotel pool followed by a nice dinner together at a local cafeteria. It was early to bed for all of us. The next day we would be heading to the the Habitat for Humanity job site in Beaumont.

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