We had a good day Wednesday. The weather has been a little cooler and even the humidity seemed better today. We still worked up a good sweat!
My main job today was disassembling a floor to ceiling closet/shelf and drawer built-in unit. It used most of my day. I had to unscrew and pry and pound and beat and pry some more...but finally had the entire thing apart. The carpenter clearly intended the unit to be earthquake proof because that is a genuine concern in Ishinomaki. Once I had everything apart, it took me another hour to pull all of the nails and screw out before the scrap could be hauled out to the curb. The back of the unit was wood paneling that also needed to be removed so I could get to the drywall behind it. The paneling was nailed and glued so that was another tedious job. I only need to get things removed until we are above the water-line, but at the end of the day, our supervisor told me the Masus want to put in a window so they want me to tear out all the way to the ceiling. Yeah! :) That will be my first project Thursday.
Our one disaster Wednesday was a broken water line as we were gutting the kitchen. Water sprayed the crew working in the kitchen and there was a lot of yelling...but then you realize that water really can't hurt anything. The water mains were shut off and we cut and capped the pipe and went back to work. It did add a little excitement to the day.
I hope today and tomorrow we can finish tearing out all of the drywall in the house and start on the floors. That will be unpleasant work for me with my back, but we will get it done. Under the floors is all of the muck and mud from the wave. We need to shovel that all out and get it down to clean dirt before we can start putting in new floors and restoring the house.
Dean, the project manager, tells us the Masu family is very happy with our work. After 16 months in temporary housing, they are beginning to feel hope. Every day they work in their yard (they have a beautiful yard) and ply us with treats and cold drinks. Sometimes it seems an encumberance to stop and socialize several times a day, but this work is as much about building relationships and sharing Christ as it is about restoring a house. Mr and Mrs Masu are sweet people and I truly pray for God's blessing on them.
One final note. Did you know that few people in Ishinomaki paint their walls? Paint chips and cracks in earthquakes. Instead everything is wall-papered with a thick (and somewhat elastic) paper that holds together well and covers cracks.
God bless you and keep you.
In Christ,
Pastor Gary
