Habititus
Pontotocius Volunteers From Missouri
Though Habitat For Humanity, International and its worldwide affiliates
prefer more subtle comparisons, Habitat For Humanity and rubella have more
in common than one might realize. Both are communicable diseases, and as
such spread quickly as humans interact. Rubella is more commonly known as
German measles, or just "measles." The "disease" associated with Habitat
For Humanity is "habititus," and differs from measles in that once a human
contracts habititus, the "disease" may last a lifetime. And, while the bad
news concerning habititus is there’s no cure, the good news concerning
habititus is there’s no cure. However, habititus affects a much smaller
portion of the world’s population than rubella, but that may be entirely
attributable to habititus being a relatively recent disease.
Habititus is less than thirty years old, but since being discovered has infected
thousands of individuals who somehow came in contact with Habitat For Humanity.
Its founders, Millard and Linda Fuller, believed that everyone deserves a
"simple, decent place to live." Habitat For Humanity utilizes a largely volunteer
labor force to build affordable houses for qualified low-income families.
Basically, a low-income family pays for the materials needed to build their
home. In something called "sweat equity," the family must participate in
the actual construction of their home or that of another built by Habitat
For Humanity. Hours of sweat equity vary, but the typical number of hours
required by the local affiliate in Pontotoc is 300.
Habititus is not uncommon among the owners of houses constructed by Habitat
For Humanity, but it is more readily associated with volunteers. Volunteers
must be at least sixteen years of age to participate on a worksite, but
volunteerism is not limited to the worksite. Some volunteers are enlisted
to provide meals or snacks for those who do the onsite work. Others help
with fund raising events and promotions.
The Pontotoc County affiliate of Habitat For Humanity has been successful
in enlisting a number of volunteer groups outside of Mississippi. Within
the past year, approximately thirty-five adults in and around Champaign,
IL, spent a week in Pontotoc helping with the construction of three new houses
and the rehabilitation of a fouth one. Several groups of students from
universities and high schools have contributed during Spring Break and this
summer to help in the same effort.
The most recent volunteer group came from Missouri. Three sponsors and eight
students from the Bread Of Life youth group from St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic
Church in the Waynesville/ St. Robert area spent a week in Pontotoc helping
with tasks on the three houses under construction in a new mixed income
subdivision named, "Circle of Hope." Most, if not all of this particular
group of volunteers had connections with the military. Two of the sponsors
were making a career in the Army, and many of the students’ parents
were in the military, though the term "army brat" did not seem applicable.
The volunteers used the facilities offered by the Family Life Center at By
Faith Baptist Church, Pontotoc, MS, for lodging and preparing breakfasts
in-house and for offsite lunches. Of the six nights spent in Pontotoc, only
two evening meals were eaten in the Family Life Center. Sunday School Classes
from First Baptist Church provided the food for those meals. The rest of
the week, various other churches opened their doors to feed the hungry workers,
Sunday – Cairo Baptist, Monday – Woodland Baptist, Wednesday –
Troy Baptist, Friday – Naylor Chapel.
I don’t know that the food committee purposefully planned for the volunteers
to be fed away from their base of operations most nights, but it seemed to
work well. The volunteers seemed to enjoy the opportunity to visit with members
from the host churches away from their base camp. And, the local churches
seemed equally happy to provide the meals and fellowship with the volunteers.
At Cairo and Troy, volunteers attended church services, as well.
It may not be true for other parts of the country, but in Pontotoc and Pontotoc
County, Catholics and Protestants have a good relationship. Barbara believes
this relationship was strengthened in the aftermath of the 2001 tornado that
ravaged much of our area, as groups and individuals gave of themselves to
help those victimized by the tornado and barriers associated with political,
racial, and religious prejudices crumbled. Because Habitat For Humanity provided
a channel for volunteerism to thrive, many were exposed to habititus and
continue to maintain a role in helping families gain affordable housing.
The youth group that was here from Missouri had little experience with Habitat
For Humanity but viewed their endeavor as a mission trip in which there would
be ample opportunity for them to serve our
LORDwhile serving others. They came not
knowing what to expect from the community or their Baptist hosts. Based upon
their experiences with Baptists in their area, they were apprehensive. But,
it didn’t take them long to find out that Pontotoc was, relationally,
a special place and that Pontotoc Baptists were receptive and encouraging,
not to mention they were also pretty darn good cooks. I’m convinced
several of them contracted habititus while they were here. One or more mentioned
a desire to become involved with their local affiliate of Habitat For Humanity,
and the leader of the group, Rick Vise, left asking permission to bring another
group next year. Furthermore, some of the youth said they also wanted to
come back next year.
Medical researchers continue to work to find a cure for cancer, AIDS, and
other dreaded diseases. I believe that research will one day result in a
cure for many of the diseases that now plague mankind. However, as long as
folks allow themselves to be exposed to the work of Habitat For Humanity,
habititus is likely to thrive, and I cannot envision there ever being a cure
for it.
Getting Ready
By Barbara Carter
Plans for the annual Ridge Rider party start shortly after January each year
with the selection of a date, etc. That's easy, in that just thought goes
into that and not a lot of physical energy. Then momentum picks up when we
start putting together the "guest list".
July is one active month around the Carter household. The Fourth kind of
gets blended in with the final details for the RRN cookout. I really don't
remember what we did this year on the Fourth of July. That may be an age
thing, though.
The "week of" is when the scurrying gets in full swing. This year Rayanne
was not working at a full-time, outside the home, honest-to-goodness, paid
job, so she has been free to come over to assist. They came over after church
on Sunday night. She got started early on Monday cleaning, rearranging, and
redecorating. Since I had work to do at my office, I was out of her way and
she could do what she wanted with the house
I do not have any talent when it come to decorating, so I consider it quite
a treat to have my own interior decorator come in and change things up for
me. Occasionally I do decide I want something changed, like lighter flowers
in a corner, or a picture moved to another wall. I just tell Rayanne what
I want and she usually picks up on my theme. The rest is up to her.
On Monday, while Rayanne and Katherine were moving heavy stuff and vacuuming
and dusting, Wayne and Merilese were outside tackling an equally strenuous
task. They were pressure washing the drive and walks. Wayne had borrowed
a pressure washer from one of our gracious neighbors to accomplish this chore.
You know, when I came home for lunch I really felt guilty that I was "working"
while they were slaving. But, I got to pitch in some when Rayanne came outside
with a wet knee on her jeans. She said, "Mother, look. I was working in front
of the fireplace and I had my knee on the carpet. It got wet." I went in
to check it out and discovered that the entire wall along the baseboard on
the west side of the fireplace was wet. Wayne had discovered that the brick
on the exterior wall was also wet, around the faucet he was using for the
pressure washer. Plumber needed. That's where I got involved.
I lined up a plumber for the afternoon, but it was going to be after 5:00
p.m. before he could be there. To make a long story short, he had to replace
a frost-proof valve on the faucet by chipping away at the mortar on the outside,
but he also had to cut a hole in the sheetrock from the living room.
Anson and I made a Wal-Mart run about 9:00 p.m. to get the supplies need
to patch the sheetrock. Plumbers are specialized, you know. They just do
the pipes. Fortunately, Anson could do the patching job. We had to leave
a fan blowing on the wet carpet and the patching compound to get everything
dried. That worked.
Tuesday morning I took some time off to add my help to clearing away some
of the around the house chores and to keep an eye on Wayne. I was afraid
he would over exert himself outside in the mid-day heat and humidity. He
either came close to over heating or else he merely forgot to take his morning
medication. When routines change it is sometimes difficult to stay on track
with things like taking medication. Whatever the cause, Wayne did not feel
well Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.
After lunch on Tuesday I chose to go to the office to take care of a couple
of things and when I got there I remembered that we needed to sit down and
make out our shopping list for Sam's, Wal-Mart and the grocery store. A quick
call to the house got a response from Wayne and Rayanne. They came up to
the office for this task. The break away from the house helped because the
things that still needed to be done did not distract us.
By the way, in case you were wondering where Merilese and Katherine were
on Tuesday, their sister, Anna, had taken them with her to go swimming.
Wednesday was another day I had to go to the office to work. There were reports
to file and a noon meeting to attend. After that my plans were to jump into
the last last minute tasks. Rayanne and "the girls" left early Wednesday
to return to Belmont to take care of obligations they had back home. Oh yes,
I forgot to mention that Rayanne also had been driving back and forth to
Red Bay, Alabama, each night to play for a revival at the Red Bud Baptist
Church on Sunday through Wednesday. However, on Tuesday she called on a
substitute since we had a heavy thunderstorm about the time she was getting
ready to head up to the Red Bud Church.
Yesterday, Wednesday afternoon, Wayne and I went to Sam's and picked up supplies
for the cookout. We took my car, a Buick LeSabre, because of the large trunk
space. We needed it, because the trunk was filled to capacity and so was
the back seat. But, that's one more thing to mark off the to-do list.
While Wayne and I made the Sam's run, two of our neighbors, Mr. Raymond
Montgomery and his brother-in-law, Mr. John Schubert, trimmed shrubs and
edged the driveway. When we returned we found a beautifully manicured lawn.
Thanks, guys!
Well, it is Thursday morning now at about 4:30 a.m. and I'm mapping out the
plans for today and tomorrow. Rayanne and "the girls" will be back sometime,
bringing flower arrangements and clothes to stay for the rest of the week,
I think. It's down to the final chores, and it looks like we will make it
again this year.
The guest list says 123 today, but there may be some more who call to add
their names or some who have to call and cancel for various reasons. The
guest list will be ever changing until Saturday evening.
Set-up of tents and lawn furniture, which has to be picked up today or tomorrow,
will begin. Jason and one of his friends, Sam Lester, are going to work on
that project. Yesterday, too, Wayne and Jason cleaned out and defrosted the
freezer to make room for whatever may need to be stored there.
My list for today and tomorrow include sorting out a stack of papers in our
bedroom, cleaning some mirrors and windows on the doors, dusting the shutters,
sweeping down any stray cobwebs, and straightening the pantry one more time
to make room for storage of the extra supplies.
At 6:50 a.m. today Jason came by on his way to work and said, "Mom, my air
conditioner isn't working. It was making a noise last night, but after dark
it cooled ok. It's 80 degrees in my house now. I turned the unit off." Well,
looks like a call to Mr. Wally York for today. It's always something.
We'll be ready to entertain by Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. I just hope
no one inspects too closely, because some things may not hold up to inspection.
It is all done as a labor of love for family and friends and besides I need
a little motivation to get some of the chores done that I tend to let slide
for too long.
Saturday, July 23 will be here soon. I hope you can come and join the fun
and celebration. Enjoy!.
Bodock Beau
Respectable Rednecks
The following was received from Ken Gaillard, and is untitled and without
known authorship. It’s more serious than humorous but it gives us a
different perspective on rednecks.
We have enjoyed the redneck jokes for years. It's time to take a reflective
look at the core beliefs of a culture that values home, family, country and
God. If I had to stand before a dozen terrorists who threaten my life, I'd
choose a half dozen or so rednecks to back me up. Tire irons, squirrel guns
and grit -- that's what rednecks are made of. I hope I am one of those. If
you feel the same, pass this on to your redneck friends. Ya'll know who ya'
are...
You might be a redneck if: It never occurred to you to be offended by the
phrase, "One nation, under God."
You might be a redneck if: You've never protested about seeing the 10
Commandments posted in public places.
You might be a redneck if: You still say "Christmas" instead of "Winter
Festival."
You might be a redneck if: You bow your head when someone prays.
You might be a redneck if: You stand and place your hand over your heart
when they play the National Anthem.
You might be a redneck if: You treat Viet Nam and all vets with great respect,
and always have.
You might be a redneck if: You've never burned an American flag.
You might be a redneck if: You know what you believe and you aren't afraid
to say so, no matter who is listening.
You might be a redneck if: You respect your elders and expect your kids to
do the same.
You might be a redneck if: You'd give your last dollar to a
friend. God Bless the
USA!
Freedom is earned! Were our country’s allies on one list and all others
on another, would you know which countries had earned their freedom?"
Recent Late Night Offerings
Jay Leno.... Sandra Day O'Connor is retiring from the Supreme Court
and now a number of special interest groups are pressuring President Bush
on the selection for Supreme Court nominees. Some want Bush to nominate a
women, some want a man, some want an African American, some want a Caucasian.
You know who the perfect nominee is? Michael Jackson. .... O'Connor
is 75 years old. That's going to be a drastic lifestyle change, you know,
from sitting in the Supreme Court in a black robe all day to sitting in front
of the TV in a flowered robe all day, watching Judge Judy. .... The
president of CBS News has commissioned his staff to come up with an evening
news format that favors more of a "storytelling" style over the traditional
news format. Storytelling? So it sounds like they're bringing back Dan Rather,
huh? .... In an article in USA Today, Senator Olympia Snowe
from Maine says that terrorists will try to take advantage of our Coast Guard's
aging fleet once they find out its weaknesses. You know how they're going
to find out about our weaknesses? By reading her article in USA Today!
.... In fact, many in Washington say that if the Coast Guard's ships
aren't replaced soon, they will be unable to keep out drugs and illegal aliens
from entering our country. God forbid that should ever happen -- imagine
what this place would be like if illegal aliens and drugs were able to get
in here! It was reported that nearly two out of ten men and four out of ten
women of recruiting age are too fat for the military. To meet goals, the
Army may change its slogan. An Army of one -- the size of two.
David Letterman.... "Top Rejected Titles For Saddam Hussein's New
Novel": "The Da Vinci Goat"; "Of Lice and Men"; "I'm Okay, You're Uday";
"20,000 Leagues Under the Sand"; "Mahmoud Potter and the Goblet of Hummus";
"Along Came a Spider Hole"; "Sunnis are from Mars, Shiites are from Venus,
Americans are Infidel Pig Dogs."
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