Still a newbie - having trouble

was the ceramic cap on your egg during the rain, could water have gotten inside?  If so then the internal ceramic is wet and you need to be careful with the first fire.  New ceramic can absorb a lot of water and when you heat it rapidly it expands and can crack your egg.  So I would go low temp for a few hours before cranking it higher.

To get charcoal out put on some nitrile gloves or similar and pick it up with your hands and put it in a large foil pan or garbage bag.  If it is sunny and dry out maybe leave the lid open and let the sun hit the inside of the egg for a bit to help dry it out.  Good luck

I'm sorry that your first times with your Egg haven't been as happy as you'd like, but I am positive that you will love it as you keep on going!

Mold grows when the Egg is closed, sealing in the moisture.  So to prevent it, allow air flow when you're not using the Egg.  Keep the bottom vent screened but at least partly open, and keep the Daisy Wheel open a bit -- use the ceramic cap ONLY to stop the fire -- then the next day replace it again with the daisy wheel.  If rain is a problem, use a vinyl cover on the egg, or a rain cap out of the kind of large thin pipe they use on roofs, etc.., or get a SmokeWare cap.

Yes, the way to get rid of the mold is to burn it off at 650-700 for an hour or more, but depending on what kind of gasket you have, it may either pretty much burn off, or even melt the top and bottom together.  I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen with the better gaskets they're using now, but it happened to me several years ago, and I had a time of it getting the Egg back open again.  I think they are using better, high temp gaskets, now, so if your Egg is pretty new, you may be fine.

If you can't get it lit, either the charcoal is wet, or there's no air flow, or both.  Take the charcoal out and put it into a big disposable aluminum pan, or even a box, if it's 100% certain there could be no embers still in it, and make sure the air holes in the bottom grate and in the fire box are all clear.  Then reload charcoal, maybe starting with fresh if the old might be wet (let it dry out and use it another time), putting the biggest pieces on the bottom to avoid clogging the air holes with small pieces.  Fill it to the top of the fire box, take the daisy wheel off, open the bottom vent wide open, and it should fire up like a champ.

I had a similar issue with my L.  the trick is to ensure that all holes (in the firebox, the charcoal grate and the screen) are clear of debris. It also may be wise to remove the grill ring, the firebox and get a small broom and dustpan and really sweep out the stuff that invariably accumulates in between the fire ring/fire box and the lower part of the Egg.  It's absolutely critical that airflow is maximized as if there are any obstructions on the firebox holes, or in the screen at the lower air inlet, the heat up characteristics can be compromised.

but, getting the BGE good and hot, above 700F and I like to go to 900F, will vaporize any foreign organic materials inside the grill and it'll emerge the next day free of mold and other junk that you'll be able to sweep out with a dustpan and a small broom.  good luck