Rain, rain go away

We're starting off this morning in Hayti, Missouri (pronounced Hay-tie, not Hay-tee as we supposed). We had dinner last night at Chubby's Pit Barbecue--great barbecue pork--although it is our goal to get less chubby as we travel around. It's a rainy morning, and it rained most of yesterday too, so not such great driving. But it's 55 degrees already and it's supposed to clear up later. We're headed for Memphis, about 1 1/2 hours away, for a day of museum visiting--not Graceland though! Probably the Museum of Soul and Blues Music and maybe the Civil Rights Museum.

For those who don't know, we are going to be in Mississippi for a couple of months, working on Katrina disaster recovery and at the same time learning the role of regional managers for CRWRC (Christian Reformed World Relief Committee). First stop is Gulfport, MS, to mentor a woman who's starting up a gourmet grocery business. A lot of businesses foundered because of the hurricane--loss of workplaces and loss of customers--so CRWRC is assisting new small business development.

The next stop will be a needs assessment project in Columbia, MS (like the work we did in LA in November), then helping set up a construction site, a quick trip home for some meetings (and Calvin homecoming), and 2 weeks on the construction team. That will take care of February. March, not sure yet. April will be vacation on South Padre Island in Texas. Home again, early May.