The March project at Gospel Rescue Mission is complete.

We have completed another project month and boy was it a month of raises. We spent most of the month on the roof of some building or other.

The week began with a bit of a surprise.  Monday started cool and wet and during the day hail fell at the center and piled up around the house.

But the sun came out and the rest of the week was pretty warm.

We did get to do a few other things than paint rooves but they were pretty short lived.  The swamp coolers at the men's facility needed to be cleaned and repaired....

...so a couple of the guys worked on the  project.

Meanwhile Howie and myself built a set of shelves in the bathroom and painted the room.

But after that it was back to roof painting.  The man on the left is Matt and he is a staff member here while the man on the right is our Canadian brother Howie.

There were times of relaxation.  A coffee (or tea in Howie and my case) along with a little fellowship could be shared most days at break.

One night a week we all met around the conference table for a game of Mexican Train or penny rummy.

The ladies tried to keep order in the donation room.  Note that this is on the day that we had hail and it was cool out.

We also took time one evening to have a barbeque.

This roof is the roof on the main building.  This roof alone is 11,000 square feet.

There was always cleaning to be done in the offices...

...and the cafeteria tables and chairs really needed to be cleaned.

On Thursdays the ladies went over to the distribution center and handed out goods to those who came in. 

We will see you here again next month.  Till then God bless.

Another week gone!!!!

We've had another great week at Gospel Rescue Mission.  Didn't take many pictures this week of what we were doing since almost all we did was paint roofs.  We did spend a little time working on the jungle gym sets, finishing one of them and cleaning two more in preparation for painting.  We did, however, have a visit from our daughter Rhonda and her husband Kirk.  They drove down from Silver City, NM to see just what we are doing.

Here is the Royal couple sitting on the veranda at the Tucson Botanical center.

Of course Billie had to show them her new toy (and ask them how in the world to get anywhere in facebook).

This, of course, is one of MY favorite pictures!

The gardens at the botanical center are set up so beautifully, even the desert gardens...

...and of course there is always interest in the "old railroad town" in the middle of the garden.

On Sunday we took the "kids" to the International Wildlife Museum to see some of the animals from far and wide as well as some of the native Arizona critters.

This is a classic display of a bobcat and a couple of California quail.  Note the one on the ground which the bobcat has already snatched out of the air.

After a long day visiting the museum, it was time to take a little break as the Safari Clubhouse.

One week complete at Gospel Rescue Mission

We had a very good week at GRM and was able to finish the work on 3 roofs as well as repair a number pieces of playground equipment.

The ladies cleaned rooms and sorted donations...

...while the men got a raise-all the way to the roof...

...where we washed and sealed several roofs. 

We also rebuilt and refinished these picnic tables.

This one will stand the test of time for the next several years.

This play set had a number of rotted boards and every bolt was loose.  We have replaced most of the boards and tightened the bolts.  After adding the last few boards and giving it a fresh coat of paint, it too will be ready for kid service.

On Thursday, the group gathered to have a barbecue.  It was a great time of fun, food and fellowship.

Friday and Saturday Billie and I visited the Tucson Botanical Center and the International Wildlife Museum.

At the botanical center we saw many lovely plaques and plants and this "how to" for garden growing.

In one of the buildings on the property there was a butterfly house.  This one thinks he can hide by looking like a dead leaf.

Others use the "zebra" camo.

Then, there are those that just grow huge!

Some of them were very friendly...

...and they really look different from the top.  This is the same butterfly as is on Billie's jacket in the previous photo.

Then there are those who are helping these beautiful flowers to germinate.

Outside there were several different areas of plants, including this Arizona exhibit.

At lunch time we visited the little shop on the ground and had a bowl of creamy, cheesy spinach soup!  Boy was it good.

As we were moving toward the exit we had locals watching.

At the International Wildlife Museum we saw many more butterflies, all of them in displays.  They were a lot easier to study.

Remember the top view and bottom view of the blue butterfly above.  Check out the top and bottom view of this one.

The displays were done so well...

...including this display of a wolf pack and a slow elk.

However, I am not too sure what they were trying to say here?????

This wall is one which was a copy of the living room of the man who donated most of the exhibits here.

And, of course, I can't leave without a view of my favorite subject.

The start of a new project

Today was the start of a new project.  However, all we did today was go on a tour of Gospel Rescue Mission.  The Mission has been in operation for 60 years and has been trying to expand to keep up with the ever growing needs of the down trodden of Tucson.

On Sunday evening we held our opening meeting in the shade of Alfa.

This morning we toured the women's facility, where we are parked, and then went downtown to the original facility which is for men.

There are a number of buildings at the men's facility, one specifically to house the men, another to house a whole host of donated items and one which services the community directly.

Here we see the building which houses the donations.  The personnel here must itemize each item which comes in, assign a fair value for a receipt and store them for distribution.

This is the men's facility.  It can hold over 100 men and there are still not enough beds to go around.

Tomorrow we will start work in earnest.