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Typing from the living room of my 5th wheel trailer.

We have been living in our 5th wheel trailer since February 10th with no specific date for leaving. Up until this afternoon I could see into my empty kitchen window from my seat in the trailer. As of today all the windows are sealed and ready for something called an “abatement” procedure.

The reason for this living arrangement?

Let me take you back to the beginning.

A small water line broke in the roof of our kitchen. It was the line that ran to our ice machine at the back of our refrigerator. Many years ago, before we owned the home, someone thought it was a good idea to run the line above the insulation into the attic and then back down. Sometime around January 19-23 of this year (2025) there were several days under 15 degrees Fahrenheit (which does not happen often in our neck of the desert). The tiny little hose froze and then by the end of January it thawed and the water began to leak into our walls and ceiling.

By the time we noticed it the walls and ceiling were full of water and threatening to burst overhead. We had our plumber come and shut it all off as quickly as we could. The kitchen was rendered unusable at this point. It immediately started to develop mold and a rather strong mildew smell. With my allergies I could not be in the house very long at a time so we opted to move to the trailer while we worked through the process.

I need to say up front how incredibly grateful I am that we have this trailer with a bedroom, fully functioning tiny kitchen, and an extra pull out bed for one of the adult children living with us. Our daughter was also experiencing mold exposure symptoms. We immediately moved her to the trailer with us. She has since moved a few blocks away to live with her Grandmother for a few weeks so her brother could sleep int he trailer. The trailer has allowed us the comforts of familiar surroundings as well as being onsite for the duration of the work that will be happening. It has totally been a blessing to have it.

It has not been a speedy process. Our adjuster lives 8 hours away and for some unknown reason, has not come to personally inspect the property. Everything has been done through our clean up company (Rainbow International) with photos of the entire process being sent to him by email. It has been very frustrating. The frustration has been lessened by my sweet new friend (who is also a believer), Maggie, who is a supervisor of our project. She has been absolutely amazing to us through it all.

Now for the diagnosis… they have determined that we have mold AND asbestos in all the areas that are affected by the water damage. This means it will all have to come out. All of our belongings were packed up and shipped off to sit in a warehouse almost a month ago. This Monday we finally got the approval to remove all cabinets, sheet rock, ceilings, paneling, etc…

This morning they began sealing up our affected space to begin the abatement process. My understanding of the procedure is that the affected area is sealed off (containment) so that they can make a temporary airtight space with negative pressure that will allow the company to safely tear out all the toxic and harmful substances and seal them in bags and containers to be disposed of with as minimal contamination and damage to the environment and humans as possible. It is a fascinating process.

Yes, there will be hazmat suits.

Yes, there will be an outdoor temporary shower in case of exposure.

No, we are not allowed into our home for the duration of the process.

No, this process isn’t easy… BUT it is building patience and contentment.

After the abatement has been completed we will say goodbye to our friends at Rainbow and move on to our builder. The builder will walk us through the process of designing and choosing all the elements that will go into our new kitchen. I think this will be a much less stressful process and, hopefully, enjoyable. I have already been thinking about some new kitchen design elements I would like to incorporate into our new space.

In the meantime… this was my kitchen yesterday. Ick!

I will try to post some lovelier photos as we start to rebuild.

God has been so faithful through this process! He has provided every step of the way… a place to live, friends bringing food, sweet new friends walking us through the process, and even lovely flowers and birds to look at from my trailer window each morning.

We are living every day on His time and in His strength. For those who have been praying for us please continue and for those just hearing about this please add us to your prayer list. Thank you!

His Strength is Perfect,

~Leann