Thursday, July 12

We have returned to our housing at Des Lacs Burlington Elementary/Middle after our fourth day in Minot. Everyone had strenuous physical tasks today, and the shower felt especially delightful upon our return. It seems likely that sleep will come early tonight for most of us.Our group that has been working on restoring the North Dakota Medal of Honor Memorial at Roosevelt Park continued their efforts to pressure wash and reset 30 tons of stone around the base of the memorial. This memorial is a focal point of the park, and a great source of pride to the North Dakota armed forces veteran community, and restoring the memorial has been an important project for the veterans that are a part of our group. They are hopeful that they will be able to complete the project tomorrow.Another Roosevelt Park group that completed their projects of resorting the park's sundial, and cleaning and painting grills in the picnic area and spent today on cleanup, landscaping, and restoration at the Ward County Historical Society. The historical society is located on the North Dakota State Fairgrounds, and the society is working hard to have as much of their complex available as possible for the North Dakota State Fair, which opens July 20.The group tasked with painting the band shell at Oak Park completed their work today; the band shell is to be used for a community concert tonight, the first concert in the park since the flood in June of 2011. The Minot community is excited about this concert, and it is satisfying to know that our efforts to paint the band shell and repair the benches for seating at the band shell will have an immediate impact on the morale of the community.The group that worked on benches at Oak Park had the opportunity to work on restoration of a residence located on 150 feet from the Mouse River, the source of the flooding. The family that owns the home is presently living in a trailer provided by the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA); the trailer is parked in the home's back yard. Since the flood, the home was "mucked out", with nearly all of the family's personal possessions lost to flood damage. Interior demolition removed all of the existing drywall, kitchen cabinets, appliances, etc. The house was essentially reduced to stud walls and roof joists, and these surfaces were treated with fungicides and moldicides to that the house could be restored and be safe for the family to live in. To date, new rough-in plumbing and electrical wiring has been completed, and new drywall has been hung. The group today completed the second coat of drywall "mud" on all seams, and is hopeful that they will be returning to the house tomorrow to complete the messy task of sanding all of the joints smooth so that the walls may be primed and painted. The family consists of a mom, dad, and their two daughters. At the end of the day, the mom was very gracious and appreciative of the group's efforts to move her home closer to completion.The final group also had the opportunity to work on a residence for a couple that is also living in a FEMA trailer in their front yard. Much the the other groups's home, this one was also deconstructed, and is currently in the midst of restoration. Our group also worked on "muddying and taping" drywall, and installing siding on the exterior of the home. Group members reported that the woman was waiting in the front yard when our group arrived, and she told our group that "she was hoping the group would be coming today." A man who works with UMCOR in Minot told us about this couple on Tuesday evening - the woman lives in the trailer with her husband, who since the flood has had to have a leg amputated due to health issues. Like the other group working on a residence, this group had the chance to witness first-hand the devastating impact of the flood at the personal level, but to also experience the excitement at having "their project" move one step closer to completion.As a group, we thank you for your continued prayers and support, and we look forward to sharing more stories when we return. ks