Yesterday Cutters for Christ teamed with Riverchase UMC to help our friends in Nauvoo Al.

Nauvoo - An "Exciting" Job

You'll remember the job we were asked to undertake in Nauvoo, AL at Christian's Place Mission ("CPM"), located at Nauvoo United Methodist Church.  We postponed this job twice previously because of adverse weather, so we decided that we would not postpone again regardless of the weather today - which blessedly turned out to be partly cloudy to sunny all day, and the ground was only just a little bit muddy from the previous day's rain. A team of 10 volunteers comprised the Nauvoo team.

Today's Nauvoo team consisted of (l. to r.) project leader Ray Miller, Bob Thompson, David Moser, Jim Pressler, Tim Smith, Harold Beaty, Rev. Sam Williamson, Henry Averyt, Buddy Williams and Rev. Roger Watkins.

Our first order of business was to obtain a Right of Entry authorization from the neighbor, Mitch McDaniel, on whose property we expected the big pecan tree to fall.  With that in hand we went right to work trimming some of the low tree branches.  And that's where the "excitement" began!  Careful as we try to be, sometimes mistakes occur if we move too fast; and today we were destined to be presented with one of them. One of the low limbs we were trimming snagged on a live power line strung between a power pole and the Christian's Place Mission building as we were cutting the limb, which resulted in the power line being pulled down, a piece of fascia board being pulled off the building, electrical wiring conduit poles being pulled from the building and the electrical dial boxes that record electricity consumption spewing sparks that eventually ignited a small fire as some of the wiring insulation burned!  Very fortunately, the fire quickly put itself out and no damage occurred inside the building at all.  An Alabama Power repairman was on a job just down the road so when we called Alabama Power for assistance, he was on site with us within 15 minutes.  And within 30 minutes more he had disengaged the power to the line that was hanging from the power pole and laying across the main road in town - 4th Street - and cut the now disconnected, inert lines from the Christian's Place electrical conduit pipes.  Blessedly, the items needing to be replaced were estimated to cost less than $50.  Nauvoo UMC Pastor Roger Watkins had most of the replacement parts in place by the time we finished our work and all that remained was for the power company to return and restring the power line from the power pole to the building.

Note the sparks coming from the dial box on the right and the smoke emanating from both boxes!  The fascia board and metal conduit tubes are shown where they were pulled from the building.  The power lines are still "hot" in this photo.

But by the time we were finished with our tree removal job, almost everything was pretty much back together, thanks to Rev. Roger Watkins.  All that remained was for the dials to be reinserted in the boxes and the power lines themselves to be restrung from the power pole to the building.

This large pecan tree was the main subject of our assignment.  Its roots had been cut by the installer of a septic system for the building, thereby killing the tree.  Avoiding crushing the small building located just below the tree and making sure that when the tree falls it also would not damage the neighbor's property were originally the two major challenges to we needed to consider.

After careful engineering considerations - specifically, the depth and angle of the wedge to be cut into the tree which would ultimately determine where the tree would fall - project manager Ray Miller made the wedge cut and Buddy Williams finished with the rear cut, resulting in the tree falling just slightly to the west of where we had planned.  But Mr. McDaniel's shrub tree was spared, for which he was most appreciative.

And this is view of the site after all the branches and logs had been cut up and moved to their respective debris piles.

We also took down two hickory trees on the lot owned by Nauvoo UMC located just to the north of Christian's Place Mission.

Before (looking west):

After (looking east):

Two debris piles were established, one along the rear property line for smaller branches and the other along 4th Street for larger pieces and the possible future availability of firewood for church congregation members.

All in all our work took us 6-1/2 hours to complete, inclusive of the "excitement" delay we experienced.

We would be remiss if we did not thank team member Nancy Miller who, although not being with us today, sent along nourishment for us with Ray.  Thanks so much, Nancy, for your always welcomed brownies!!!  Yum!

Please remember to visit the Cutters for Christ blog website occasionally at cuttersforchrist.blogspot.com for our activity updates and to keep abreast of our members who are active in sharing God's love outside the realm of our disaster response ministry missions.

In His Service, Bob T. Bob Thompson Riverchase UMC Disaster Response Ministry Coordinator

Monterey, Tennessee Ice Storm Debris Cleanup

Eager to get "into the field" once again to update our chainsaw cutting skills before severe weather potentially hits our local area later this Spring, 6 CFC team members packed up and headed to Monterey, Tennessee last week to assist Samaritan's Purse in its debris cleanup activities following the ice storm damage suffered by that community in late February.  While most of our members were there 3 or 4 days, one of our members was able to stay and work for 10 days!  The majority of us were even "stranded" in Monterey ourselves on Wednesday evening, March 4, when another ice and snow storm literally encased our vehicles in ice in the parking lot, requiring Samaritan's Purse to declare Thursday a "no work" day - good thing as no one could chip through the ice encasing their vehicles until Friday morning when the sun helped us to even get into them, start our engines, and operate our heaters and window defrosters!

The Monterey, TN Samaritan's Purse CFC Team included: (seated, left to right) Boyd Martin, Buddy Williams; (standing, left to right) Kenny Adcock - a SP Program Manager, Tim Smith, Bob Thompson, Judy Wingert - a SP Volunteer Leader, John Calhoun, Lester Wingert - a SP Volunteer Leader.  (Not pictured: Henry Averyt.)

We were housed in the Fellowship Hall at First Baptist Church of Monterey, behind the sanctuary building.  All meals were provided by SP and chief cook Mona fed us quite well - scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, biscuits and gravy, cereals, fresh fruit, coffee and orange juice usually comprised breakfast.  And each of the three nights I was there we enjoyed baked chicken, barbecued pork and baked ham, all with traditional sides and salads.  Sandwich meats, PB&J, sliced cheese, bags of snacks and fresh fruits were available for make-your-own lunches.  Bottled water was abundant and especially needed when working in a cold, dry winter climate (despite the rain, snow and ice!)

The sign welcoming us to First Baptist Church. The Fellowship Hall - dining room, kitchen and gymnasium on the first floor; men's overnight quarters upstairs - our room was re-purposed for us from its intended use as an exercise room.  (The women serving this week were housed overnight in the classrooms in the sanctuary building.)

My "spot" in our room (shared with 10 others!). The SP Shower Trailer - Yay!!  Hot water on demand - although they had to shut it down Thursday night for fear the water lines would freeze!

The dining room - and gathering place before a meal.  We also enjoyed a movie on Ice Thursday entitled "Courageous."  If you haven't seen it, may I humbly recommend you do so. Entertainment was frequently provided by the cadets from International ALERT Academy located in Big Sandy, TX.  During our deployment to Augusta, GA last year we were introduced to these outstanding, disciplined, well-mannered, Christian young men who respond to disasters and assist in debris cleanup as part of their educational training.

Ice storm debris, as we learned on our deployment last year to Augusta, GA, is not anything like the aftermath of a tornado.  Branches (and sometimes, yes, whole trees) fall right where they are when the weight of the ice becomes too much.  Unless limbs fall on roofs or fences, or perhaps careen into a building, the debris simply lands and stays right where it falls.  And being winter time, there are no leaves to worry about that might hide "creatures" underneath them.  Other than tree trunks and big limbs themselves, when the smaller branches fall they make for twiggy pick-up-sticks.  We encountered much of the same at almost every property to which we were assigned.

Nevertheless, when the debris is on your property or any damage, however slight, has occurred to your home or outbuildings, the suffering a homeowner experiences can be significant.  Even simply the loss of sleep when they're consumed by worrying about the debris and how it is ever going to be removed can be defeating.  Fortunately, everyone we met in Monterey already seemed to know Jesus Christ and had placed their trust in Him.  And He called us and others to go to Monterey to meet and love these people, to make new friends, to share his Word and embrace one another in love.  Mission accomplished! Here are some images of the folks we served and the before and after pictures of their properties.

Before After

Before After

Before After

Before After

Before After (a bit muddier!)

Before After

Before After

Before After

Appreciation was expressed by the townspeople everywhere.

So that's our story...and we're sticking to it.  Sharing the joy of Christ through our witness and through our service wherever we travel - and hopefully leaving behind new disciples in the process.  All for His glory!   Don't forget to stay in touch with us by reading our blog at cuttersforchrist.bolgspot.com in your spare moments!

In His Service, Bob Bob Thompson Cutters for Christ Disaster Response Ministry Deployment/Team Coordinator