Today was the first day on the site with Miss Shirley Smith. Our site leaders, were Chris H and Eric for Habitat.
We’d seen photos of the house before, and it looked in much better shape than some of us expected. A new roof had been put on where we had seen blue tarps in the photo before
But when we arrived, it looked in better shape:
But there was still water damage from the once open roof.
So we went to work. We had a few tasks ahead of us:
a) replace the exterior doors (3)
b) replace bathroom floor, tub and commode
c) remove old paint from siding and repaint
d) build an access ramp/deck in the back for scooters/wheelchairs
e) repair ceiling damage (from the once open roof) in living room, kitchen
Some of the projects proved more complicated as they were worked on. Craig, Kevin T and Chris were working in the bathroom and had to raise/jack up the house because it had sank so much
Since the bathroom was unavailable to us, and we hadn’t yet received delivery of the outhouse, we drove to a local park to have lunch. It was cold and windy, and most of us stayed in the cars.
Afterwards, some of us picked up warm drinks at a local Starbucks, and we chatted with a few of the hundreds of FFA students who were here for a statewide meeting. We also noticed a man that was folding paper in the most interesting ways. Lorin went inside to engage with the fellow, sharing their interest in origami. It was a nice way to connect and understand someone, through their hobbies and interests, and we went on our way.
Later that evening, Lorin would be asked by a teacher at Hilltop Baptist, to speak and familiarize the kids (4-5 grade) with us being “missionaries.”
The kids got it, understanding that missionaries could be people just coming to visit people in a different town or culture. That they could come for a variety of reasons, including to help in case of disaster, but they really did understand that Lorin and her team came to bless because we’ve been blessed by God.