I apologize in advance for the length......Too busy and when I had time...no Internet service..Sorry!
Thursday, July 24.....Today, we will find out more about the oil spill. Pastor and I went to the Parish President's office to get an update. Greg, the president, wasn't there but Pastor talked with the Homeland Security representative and one of the councilmen. They told us that we would have the results from the water testing at 10:30 which would tell them whether or not there would be a need for water distribution. It there was a problem with the water, then trucks of water would be sent in for mass distribution. Pastor offered all his teams to help with the distribution. The water distribution would be at the church, a city park and another church on the east end of the Parish. The government would bring in 60,000 gallons of water to the church and like amounts to the other centers. Barbara and I decided that we could go to Baton Rouge for an appointment we had made to get my Iphone fixed (it had developed a "dead-zone" on the touch screen). We drove to Baton Rouge and replaced my phone with a new one. While we were there, we heard about the results and the water was good, therefore, no distribution was necessary. We stopped at a Laundromat to wash our clothes and there had been a shooting across the street from the Laundromat with one person killed. We finished quickly and headed back to the church. When we arrived, all the teams were out in the field working and things were back to normal.
The South Carolina team had brought skate supplies and had scheduled a skate competition at the Blood Stained Skate Park (the park at the church). They had a competition of beginners and intermediate skaters....the competition was lively and there was a good turnout for the contest, 
free pizza
and free drinks. The prizes offered by the South Carolina teams were skate boards, wheels, bearings, T-Shirts, etc. It was a very successful event and brought a lot of attention to the park.
Barbara and I left early so she could attend a "Pampered Chef" party at Cheryl Rentz home. After I picked her up, we stopped by the snowball stand and got us a stuffed snowball.....yummy! Then, back to the RV for the night.
Friday......up and in to the church and Barbara helped Randy get the teams assigned to jobs. Pastor allowed the teams to report on their activities thus far and then gave them a word of encouragement and prayed with them. We also got the results from another test of the waters....it was OK so, as Pastor says..."We dodged another bullet!"
This morning, the Parish officials were at the site of a new fire station to be built in Arabi...just a few blocks from the church. It is exciting to see all the construction going on to bring the Parish back......even though there is still many more years before the work will be finished.
I had made a video last year showing the church's progression since Katrina....immediately after the storm, 6 months later and one year later. Pastor wanted me to update it to this year. So, he and I went out to take some pictures of the community to add to the video. I already had pictures of the church. After our pictures, we went out to eat with pastor and Jill. Barbara continued to work with the teams answering call and solving problems. I sat at my computer and worked on the video. Barbara fixed something for dinner and we watched a little TV and then to bed.
Saturday.....Up early and I went into the Church to work on the video while Barbara cleaned the RV....getting ready to leave on Monday. It was taking longer to re-do the video so I closed it down at noon....as we were invited to a BBQ at Pastor's home.
We received an update on Larry, my niece's husband.....He is feeling a little better and they have decided he will undergo chemo treatments. He began his treatments in the hospital and he will continue as an outpatient from his home. Keep him in prayer. In the natural eyes, it looks hopeless BUT God is good and Penny and Larry are remaining positive.
Barbara fixed her baked beans and deviled eggs and we headed out. We arrived a little after 2pm. We were there with Pastor, Jill, Colin, Pastor's sister, Nancy, and the three interns, Kirstin, Charity and Lauren (I'm sure of the spelling). Paul and Eric was invited but they did not show. Pastor BBQd some steaks and chicken and as soon as he finished, it started pouring rain...with lightning and thunder. It rained for a couple of hours. We had a good time of eating, fellowship and playing Scategories, Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit. We ended up staying until 11pm playing Trivial Pursuit until a winner was declared. We had a lot of fun.
Sunday.....up for church and Pastor again preached a great sermon...Also, the worship was wonderful. Pastor said goodbye to us and one of the interns, Lauren, who leaves Saturday. Jill was not at the service as she cam down sick that morning with flu-like symptoms. Pastor ad a meeting with some State Officials from Virginia with some of the Operation Blessing people. This Virginia group will stay for a wee working. Barbara and I went to a new restaurant, Par 3, and it was OK. Back to the RV to do a little work on the RV, cleaning the windshield and windows. Early to bed.
Monday.....up at 7am to leave. Dumped the tanks, unhooked everything and went to the service station to get gas....$3.75! Back to the church to hook up the car, say goodbye and finally leaving at 9am. We started driving and decided to get to, at least, Little Rock but we made it to Russelville, AR by 7:30pm...going about 520 miles...a pretty good day.
We heard from our granddaughter, Alyssa, about her competition. She is in Des Moines, Iowa at her National Acrobatic Gymnastics competition. After her first routine, her team is in second place but only by .05 points. Her final competition will be on Wednesday.
We went to eat at Cracker Barrel and returned to the RV, watched a little TV and then to bed.
Tuesday....up at 8pm, taking our time for breakfast and getting ready to leave. We only have 150 miles to go today. We are going to our niece, Barbara's brother's daughter, Cara, who lives in Westville, OK...just across the border from Fayetteville. We arrived a little after lunch. Cara and Roman and their 6 kids moved from Visalia almost a year ago. They wanted the slower life style to raise their kids. They live on 2 and 1/2 acres and 2 miles from the small town of Westville. They also brought in a mobile home for Cara's mother, Helen, who moved here earlier this year. We enjoy being around them and the kids are fun to be with. The ages of the kids are: Byron, 11; Geneva, 10; Tatianna, 8; Rheanna, 6; Savannah, 5; and Bryson, 3. We had a good time catching up since we had seen them. We had a great meal and sat outside until the mesquitos got hungry. We went in and the boys (myself and Byron) teamed up against the girls (Barbara, Cara and the rest of the girls) and played "Are you smarter than a 5th grader". Byron and I won a million dollars and the game. We had a good time.
I received a phone call from my sister informing me of my niece's husband, Larry. They had to take me into the ER because of extreme pain. He has gotten very weak and is feeling very bad. They started with the morphine to ease the pain. Keep him in prayer.
Roman worked late so he could have Wednesday off to be with us and the family. He didn't get home until 10:45pm. He works at a Mrs. Smith Pie factory, a big operation located in Stilwell, OK...about 12 miles away.
Wednesday......Cara fixed pancakes and eggs for breakfast and we got ready to go into Fayetteville to go to the mall and to Sam's and Walmart. We, including Helen, all went in two cars. We walked around the mall and had a good time just being with family. Roman, at work, and Cara, around the house, has been working extremely hard since moving here to Oklahoma and they both needed this time off, just relaxing. We stopped at a China Buffet and had a good lunch. After lunch, some of us headed back to the house while Roman and Cara went to Sam's for a few groceries.
We had a text message from Cindy and Alyssa and......drum roll....they took the GOLD METAL! They beat the other team out and took first place...congrats, Alyssa! They now qualifies her for the International competition, wherever it is - but they have to be invited. We are so proud of her, especially so soon after her appendix removal in April, this year....good recovery!
When they returned home, we went to the local theater to see a movie. It is an old small-town type of theater. It would seat on 100 or so....very narrow. The people waited until all the people was seated, had got their popcorn and snacks and then they started the movie.....Wall E! However, just one cartoon and then the feature....no previews. It was fun. After the movie, we went to Walmart to get some milk and then headed home. We were all pretty tired so we went right to bed.
Thursday.....Today is a travel day. We got up and had breakfast and said our goodbyes to Cara and her family. We had a good visit and was sad to go. OK....something unusual....I did not take one picture of Cara and her family. Sorry. Maybe next time. We left with only 150 miles to travel. We arrived in Miami, Oklahoma at noon time at Tommy and Connie Timmons home. Tommy was at a veteran's funeral....he is part of a VFW detail that works with military veteran services....taps, 21 gun salute and flag-folding. On the way from New Orleans, a rock hit my windshield and it cracked a little. When I arrived in Miami, I called my insurance company and they sent out someone to patch it. He patched it and it looks good....for the third time on this windshield. Tommy arrived and we all had a good visit. Debbie, their daughter, came by and visited. We had a good dinner and relaxed for the evening.
Friday....today, I hope to get this to you....We are up and ready to do stuff. But first, Happy Birthday, Darlene! We had breakfast with Tommy and Connie and we are now ready to go into town to post this, get a haircut and get some RV supplies.
Love you and will write later.
Dad and Mom
Papa and Mema
Jerry and Barbara
Thursday, July 24.....Today, we will find out more about the oil spill. Pastor and I went to the Parish President's office to get an update. Greg, the president, wasn't there but Pastor talked with the Homeland Security representative and one of the councilmen. They told us that we would have the results from the water testing at 10:30 which would tell them whether or not there would be a need for water distribution. It there was a problem with the water, then trucks of water would be sent in for mass distribution. Pastor offered all his teams to help with the distribution. The water distribution would be at the church, a city park and another church on the east end of the Parish. The government would bring in 60,000 gallons of water to the church and like amounts to the other centers. Barbara and I decided that we could go to Baton Rouge for an appointment we had made to get my Iphone fixed (it had developed a "dead-zone" on the touch screen). We drove to Baton Rouge and replaced my phone with a new one. While we were there, we heard about the results and the water was good, therefore, no distribution was necessary. We stopped at a Laundromat to wash our clothes and there had been a shooting across the street from the Laundromat with one person killed. We finished quickly and headed back to the church. When we arrived, all the teams were out in the field working and things were back to normal.
The South Carolina team had brought skate supplies and had scheduled a skate competition at the Blood Stained Skate Park (the park at the church). They had a competition of beginners and intermediate skaters....the competition was lively and there was a good turnout for the contest, 
free pizza
and free drinks. The prizes offered by the South Carolina teams were skate boards, wheels, bearings, T-Shirts, etc. It was a very successful event and brought a lot of attention to the park.Barbara and I left early so she could attend a "Pampered Chef" party at Cheryl Rentz home. After I picked her up, we stopped by the snowball stand and got us a stuffed snowball.....yummy! Then, back to the RV for the night.
Friday......up and in to the church and Barbara helped Randy get the teams assigned to jobs. Pastor allowed the teams to report on their activities thus far and then gave them a word of encouragement and prayed with them. We also got the results from another test of the waters....it was OK so, as Pastor says..."We dodged another bullet!"
This morning, the Parish officials were at the site of a new fire station to be built in Arabi...just a few blocks from the church. It is exciting to see all the construction going on to bring the Parish back......even though there is still many more years before the work will be finished.I had made a video last year showing the church's progression since Katrina....immediately after the storm, 6 months later and one year later. Pastor wanted me to update it to this year. So, he and I went out to take some pictures of the community to add to the video. I already had pictures of the church. After our pictures, we went out to eat with pastor and Jill. Barbara continued to work with the teams answering call and solving problems. I sat at my computer and worked on the video. Barbara fixed something for dinner and we watched a little TV and then to bed.
Saturday.....Up early and I went into the Church to work on the video while Barbara cleaned the RV....getting ready to leave on Monday. It was taking longer to re-do the video so I closed it down at noon....as we were invited to a BBQ at Pastor's home.
We received an update on Larry, my niece's husband.....He is feeling a little better and they have decided he will undergo chemo treatments. He began his treatments in the hospital and he will continue as an outpatient from his home. Keep him in prayer. In the natural eyes, it looks hopeless BUT God is good and Penny and Larry are remaining positive.
Barbara fixed her baked beans and deviled eggs and we headed out. We arrived a little after 2pm. We were there with Pastor, Jill, Colin, Pastor's sister, Nancy, and the three interns, Kirstin, Charity and Lauren (I'm sure of the spelling). Paul and Eric was invited but they did not show. Pastor BBQd some steaks and chicken and as soon as he finished, it started pouring rain...with lightning and thunder. It rained for a couple of hours. We had a good time of eating, fellowship and playing Scategories, Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit. We ended up staying until 11pm playing Trivial Pursuit until a winner was declared. We had a lot of fun.
Sunday.....up for church and Pastor again preached a great sermon...Also, the worship was wonderful. Pastor said goodbye to us and one of the interns, Lauren, who leaves Saturday. Jill was not at the service as she cam down sick that morning with flu-like symptoms. Pastor ad a meeting with some State Officials from Virginia with some of the Operation Blessing people. This Virginia group will stay for a wee working. Barbara and I went to a new restaurant, Par 3, and it was OK. Back to the RV to do a little work on the RV, cleaning the windshield and windows. Early to bed.
Monday.....up at 7am to leave. Dumped the tanks, unhooked everything and went to the service station to get gas....$3.75! Back to the church to hook up the car, say goodbye and finally leaving at 9am. We started driving and decided to get to, at least, Little Rock but we made it to Russelville, AR by 7:30pm...going about 520 miles...a pretty good day.
We heard from our granddaughter, Alyssa, about her competition. She is in Des Moines, Iowa at her National Acrobatic Gymnastics competition. After her first routine, her team is in second place but only by .05 points. Her final competition will be on Wednesday.
We went to eat at Cracker Barrel and returned to the RV, watched a little TV and then to bed.
Tuesday....up at 8pm, taking our time for breakfast and getting ready to leave. We only have 150 miles to go today. We are going to our niece, Barbara's brother's daughter, Cara, who lives in Westville, OK...just across the border from Fayetteville. We arrived a little after lunch. Cara and Roman and their 6 kids moved from Visalia almost a year ago. They wanted the slower life style to raise their kids. They live on 2 and 1/2 acres and 2 miles from the small town of Westville. They also brought in a mobile home for Cara's mother, Helen, who moved here earlier this year. We enjoy being around them and the kids are fun to be with. The ages of the kids are: Byron, 11; Geneva, 10; Tatianna, 8; Rheanna, 6; Savannah, 5; and Bryson, 3. We had a good time catching up since we had seen them. We had a great meal and sat outside until the mesquitos got hungry. We went in and the boys (myself and Byron) teamed up against the girls (Barbara, Cara and the rest of the girls) and played "Are you smarter than a 5th grader". Byron and I won a million dollars and the game. We had a good time.
I received a phone call from my sister informing me of my niece's husband, Larry. They had to take me into the ER because of extreme pain. He has gotten very weak and is feeling very bad. They started with the morphine to ease the pain. Keep him in prayer.
Roman worked late so he could have Wednesday off to be with us and the family. He didn't get home until 10:45pm. He works at a Mrs. Smith Pie factory, a big operation located in Stilwell, OK...about 12 miles away.
Wednesday......Cara fixed pancakes and eggs for breakfast and we got ready to go into Fayetteville to go to the mall and to Sam's and Walmart. We, including Helen, all went in two cars. We walked around the mall and had a good time just being with family. Roman, at work, and Cara, around the house, has been working extremely hard since moving here to Oklahoma and they both needed this time off, just relaxing. We stopped at a China Buffet and had a good lunch. After lunch, some of us headed back to the house while Roman and Cara went to Sam's for a few groceries.
We had a text message from Cindy and Alyssa and......drum roll....they took the GOLD METAL! They beat the other team out and took first place...congrats, Alyssa! They now qualifies her for the International competition, wherever it is - but they have to be invited. We are so proud of her, especially so soon after her appendix removal in April, this year....good recovery!
When they returned home, we went to the local theater to see a movie. It is an old small-town type of theater. It would seat on 100 or so....very narrow. The people waited until all the people was seated, had got their popcorn and snacks and then they started the movie.....Wall E! However, just one cartoon and then the feature....no previews. It was fun. After the movie, we went to Walmart to get some milk and then headed home. We were all pretty tired so we went right to bed.
Thursday.....Today is a travel day. We got up and had breakfast and said our goodbyes to Cara and her family. We had a good visit and was sad to go. OK....something unusual....I did not take one picture of Cara and her family. Sorry. Maybe next time. We left with only 150 miles to travel. We arrived in Miami, Oklahoma at noon time at Tommy and Connie Timmons home. Tommy was at a veteran's funeral....he is part of a VFW detail that works with military veteran services....taps, 21 gun salute and flag-folding. On the way from New Orleans, a rock hit my windshield and it cracked a little. When I arrived in Miami, I called my insurance company and they sent out someone to patch it. He patched it and it looks good....for the third time on this windshield. Tommy arrived and we all had a good visit. Debbie, their daughter, came by and visited. We had a good dinner and relaxed for the evening.
Friday....today, I hope to get this to you....We are up and ready to do stuff. But first, Happy Birthday, Darlene! We had breakfast with Tommy and Connie and we are now ready to go into town to post this, get a haircut and get some RV supplies.
Love you and will write later.
Dad and Mom
Papa and Mema
Jerry and Barbara
posted by Jerry Northcutt @ 1:49 PM
1 Comments:
At 4:15 PM,
Unknown said…
Hello from the Luce household. It's so good to see how you keep close to all your family and friends. We could all take a lesson from you. We will continue to pray for your neices husband. How is your son? Last time we heard they had sent him home but he still wasn't feeling well. By the way there were no pictures of Cuddles and Peaches this time. I am sure they are loving living high on the hog with you both. Happy travels...
Jaime
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