We’ve been busy since our last update, but I think that’s par for the course for us! Our good friend Rob and a repeat offender from St. Louis, came and served with us for 2 ½ weeks last month. He was a huge blessing, and we were able to get a lot of things done. Hamilton still helps us often and Eric joins us once a week or so.
We were able to work on a few projects on the property, a lot of things to our equipment, and some things out in the field.
One of our AC units on our 5th wheel had quit working. This type runs on a remote control with the thermostat built in so there are no wires running from the ceiling and the company no longer makes or provides parts for these. This is something I realized after we had purchased the 5th wheel, and I decided to see if I could find some good used parts in case I needed them. Several years ago, I found a complete unit that was in good shape and a brand new inside part which houses the brains of the unit. I ended up storing everything at our good friends, Doug and Sam, in Cleveland, TN. Someone from our church was camping north of them and was able to bring the complete unit to us and then Rob stopped on his way down to get the inside unit.
Rob was able to help me with this project. We started by taking the old unit apart to see if there was anything we could do to resurrect it, but to no avail. We then went through the outdoor unit and found a couple of issues and were able to fix those with parts from the unit we were replacing. We then set up the outdoor unit connected with the new inside part on sawhorses and set up a 12vdc and 110vac system and it worked! I did have to order a new squirle cage for it, which took a bit to find and come in and cost $100. We were able to JB Weld the one we took off of the old unit to get the new unit up and going and I still have to install the new one!
We then finished a few things on the unit we were installing, removed the old unit, and installed the new to us on the outside. And then we finished it off with the new inside piece. So far it’s been working great!
During the removal I discovered that we had an electrical system issue that ended up being throughout the house. This took a bit to trace down and we discovered that our 24vdc to 220vac pure sine wave inverter/charging system was the culprit. This unit is buried in the basement of our trailer, so it was a lot of work to get to it, check it out, and then remove/bypass it. It also weighs 80lbs!
I set up shipping for it to NV where the manufacturer is, which wasn’t cheap! Unfortunately, it was damaged in transit. I had it insured for what I figured it was worth based on what I paid for it and how old it was, $1k. UPS denied our claim, so I spent a lot of time disputing it with them and it appears they are willing to do something but as of this writing nothing has been given to us. I went ahead and ordered another one. The manufacturer gave us 10% off, so we got it for a little over $1800 and hope UPS comes through with the $1k, so pray for that! It will be here at the end of next week and we can get our system up and running again. We’ve had 2 small power, brown outs since it was removed that we would’ve never known about had it still been working! Brown outs are prevalent in FL and the culprit of more damage to electronics than surges, so we need it replaced!
After we got the AC up and going, we needed to do our spring cleaning, so started with the 3 step cleaning and sealing of the roof, and then washed the entire outside of the trailer. I still need to get the bunkhouse done, but I did fix some roof leaks on it as well as a couple of small roof leaks on the 5th wheel.
We’ve been having some water intrusion in our slide outs that has resulted in some flooring getting wet and rotting for some time now. I decided to put some awnings over the 4 slide outs and some window awnings on the 2 worst spots. This was a $2k project but was our best option to keep our home going and dry! When they arrived, 3 of the 4 awnings came in either damaged or missing parts! Once we got them all here and installed it appears that the water has stopped coming in. It’s a trailer so we know there will always be issues with water but way better than what it was! We’ve had a couple of big storms, so I hope that takes care of it. Now I need to figure out how to fix the floors from the outside, underneath. Not looking forward to that.
We’ve had a lot of settling under our 5th wheel since we set it up and that’s also causing some issues. I spent a day trying to level it without moving it completely out and starting over because of all the prep for that, but it didn’t work. Next week I’m going to have to pack it up, move it out and back in and start over and hope this fixes things!
While Rob was here, along with Eric, we were able to also go back to Brett and Shannell’s. We were able to get some doors installed, which is no small task as their home is old and nothing is square and the sizes that the new stuff is, so it’s slow going. We were supposed to go back this week, but they were all sick, so we’ve rescheduled for next week. They are currently “camping” out in their home but are happy that they’re home! We’ve also got a new guy from church, Dave, that wants to join us next week when we go up there.
Rob, Hamilton, and I took a day to fix all the framing issues on Jen’s shed roof that still needed fixed from the storms. Then Alan from our church brought 2 guys that work for him, and the 4 of us were able to replace the whole roof and fix a hole in one of the sides. She’s just waiting for her fence to be fixed and needs to decide what to do with the large stump in her yard. Alan and his guys are going to slowly haul off all the tree debris still sitting from the storms. She’s still fighting with her insurance company to get paid for the tree removal!
Our good missionary friends, Patrick and Barb from Haiti, who were both trapped in the earthquake there in 2010 and we were able to help after the quake, have moved to Sarasota. Barb lost part of her leg and Patrick lost his right arm. You can read more about our two responses with them by clicking here and scrolling down to the 1st and 4th Haiti Earthquake Responses from 2010 as both of these involved Patrick and Barb. This link takes a bit to load becaise all the responses and pics, sorry! Barb recently had a fall and is currently using a wheelchair and a scooter to get around. Their new place needed wheelchair access so Hamilton, Eric, and I built a small ramp for them. Barb has not been able to return to Haiti since the earthquake because of the difficulties getting around, but Patrick still spends a lot of time discipling folks there and helping with several churches. Calvary Relief is still helping them through disaster related issues over 15 years later!
We got the AC fixed in the diesel, had a couple parts that were bad, that cost over $1300, but needed it done. I still have some other maintenance things to do on all the vehicles and tool trailer. I’m also having some time to catch up on tool maintenance, repair or replace, as well as getting everything organized better.
We lost our new dehumidifier in a freak accident drying a home out. Todd from our church, who’s one of the guys who trained me on mitigation and donated some equipment in the past, gave us a used one and several air movers as some of ours have become unrepairable and needed replaced!
I'm staying in contact with others we know in different areas doing relief work and praying about putting some folks together for a couple of trips. One we need to do for sure is go back to Savannah to our son Nicks, who got flooded from Debby. We were able to tear the flooded room out, dry it, and remediate the bacteria, but we didn’t have the time to resolve the water intrusion in his yard and then rebuild the bottom part of the walls so that water will no longer come in when it rains like that again. They don’t have flood insurance. We need to do this soon and are working on the arrangements. Of course it will be good to see our grandkids, but we also want to take care of them.
There are also a few folks in the SRQ area that still say they will want our help, but the county government here is really slowing things down if not completely shutting them down, at least for now.
Healthwise, we’re doing OK. Think we’re both still learning what we can and can’t do and what we have to do in order to keep pressing on in this world! We both got sick shortly after we got back from the pastor’s conference in Merritt Island. I was in bed for over 48 hours, which was also good to give my back/hip/leg/knee issues a rest! The conference was great and if you want to listen to it here’s the link, SECCPC 2025 - Calvary Chapel Merritt Island. A great study on how to Biblically understand and use the gifts of The Holy Spirit today!
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we continue to want to serve The Lord in relief and other avenues that He opens!
If you’re interested in growing in The LORD as you selflessly serve others alongside of Calvary Relief, please let us know! For more info on joining us, click here. Plenty of things to do!
If you feel led to help with any of the expenses with Calvary Relief, please click here.
If there’s ever anything you need prayer about or just need to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us and let us know!
Here to serve and disciple until He calls us home,
Curt & Mary Jo
