Eight Days o' Hope

Hey Y'all! I'm writing from the church that is the main host for Eight Days of Hope in Cedar Rapids Iowa. It's only the second day of work for me, but it feels like I've been here for a least three now. There's 1400 of us trying to rebuild as many houses as we can. So far we've completed 66 projects! We invite all the homeowner to come eat dinner with us, and this evening we had one lady come who told us how, for the first time in four months, she smiled all day. I'll tell you what, hearing her say that made sleeping in a room with 70 of the loudest snorers in America worth it all. There is a shortage of people who have the training to lead the construction projects, so I've had to lead three so far. My first two went really well (thanks Dan!) and my third is a huge, complicated rebuild so I'm probably going to be on it for the rest of the week. My team is working for a couple (and all of us for a city) that really needs to see the love of God, so please pray for us. I saw the inside of a house today that has not been touched since the flood. I would try and describe the immensity of the destruction, but words are escaping me. Even pictures cannot portray the smell and the oppressive atmosphere. We are making tremendous progress, but I doubt we will even touch a quarter of the flood plain, so do pray that these people would be able to rebuild quickly even after we leave. If I get another chance to get online, I'll tell you about my schedule and other cool stuff, but don't expect it for a few days yet.