We made the local paper

Here is the article that was in the local paper here in Kilmarnock.

http://www.rrecord.com/-news/2015/3-19-15/church3.asp

Siding, roofing and more concrete!

Another sunny day met us this morning, albeit a cool one. There were lots of odd jobs to do today.  A group took to the roof to get a section of that completed. The youth continued their cement making skills to pour the last of the footings for the back deck (that now included a "loonie") and a group helped put up the tents for tomorrow's groundbreaking ceremony for house #18.  We also worked on cleaning up the debris around the site as the Mayor of Kilmarnock will be attendance tomorrow too.

Ranesha and Jentre were onsite today and we presented them with the quilt and some Canada t-shirts for the kids.  They loved it.  Thank you to the KUC quilting group who so lovingly prepare and provide us with the quilts every year.

In the afternoon, we were John's guests at his beautiful home on the Potomac River.  He cooked up a wonderful lunch and we lounged around the outdoor fireplace.

This evening we were hosted at an open house at the local Chamber of Commerce.  The youth were presented with certificates highlighting their volunteer hours.

The overnight is supposed to bring rain so building might be a wash tomorrow until the ceremony at noon.  We will start the journey home around 1pm and spend the night in Harrisburg.

Two words: Roofing & Concrete

The temperature dropped considerably overnight so we were all bundled up on the site today.  The sun was shining and once we started working the cold seemed to disappear.

There was plenty of concrete mixed and poured today so that both the front and back decks can get started.  The front porch will get tied directly into the roof so with teamwork, the gang got the back roof completed and much of the front roof finished.  Tomorrow we are hoping to tie in the trusses for the front porch so that we can complete a number of projects.

This evening was seafood and karaoke night!  We are always welcomed with open arms to the restaurant and the group are alwasy enticed to get up and sing.  Don't Stop Believing is the one they start with then move on from there.   A good tiime was had by all!

 

Up in the air and down in the ground

Today was a day that saw us on the roof, under the house and digging holes! 

It was a slow start to getting on the roof, but with some teamwork, the shingle packs made their way from the ground, onto the roof.   Starting on the backside of the house, they got about 1/3 of the room complete and it is their intention to get the rest done tomorrow (weather permitting - temperature was due to drop 20 degrees overnight).

One group of youth installed baffles inside the house and completed the caulking they had started on Monday.  Another group dug a number of footing holes that then got filled with concrete.  These will support the front and back decks.

We were dinner guests at Nan and Ernie's for a wonderful "irish" dinner.  Early to bed for most.  Here are some pics from the day!

Pick up your hammer and follow me.

Today was our first day on the build site.  This year we are building the house next to Jennifer's house from last year.  It is the same house (as there is a common floorplan followed) but due to the grade of the lot, there is more of a drop at the back of the house requiring more ladder works and scafolding for the higher bits.

We arrived on site at 9:00am and were eager to get started.  Bob, John and Ernie grabbed a team of volunteers and they headed for three sides of the house to begin the siding.  The sun came out towards lunch time to make for a nice day on the site.

We ended the day with all the siding done before the roof is completed. This was more than Bob had expected us to do - which seems to be the case every time we have a new foreman on site. So tomorrow we will look up and work on getting the roof done which will in turn allow us to continue on the siding.

We headed up to St. Stephen's Episcopal Church for a nice dinner of roast pork, collard greens and cornbread muffins.  We are truly thankful for their generosity.  Our tables were set with this warm welcome.

 

A busy day on the build site:

Allan, hard at work

 

Where the house was at when we started this morning



Saw these beauties at the church this evening.  There is hope!



 

Cara learning to use the tools of the trade

 

Brianna under the watchful eye of a great teacher.  Measure twice, cut once!

 

Carl getting started on his section of siding

This is Matilda, an exchange student from Sweden who joined us with her "surrogate Canadian famly" - the Sniders

 

What a day!

 

 

As promised, here is a picture of the bunch this morning on the steps of Macedonia Baptist Church after a wonderful, music and spirit-filled worship and lunch.  We were welcomed by this vibrant congregation and thoroughly enjoyed the service and lunch.

 

Sunday afternoon is always a day we explore and head to the beach.  Today was no different.  The spring peepers were singing, the daffodils were pushing their way towards the sky and we saw fields full of wild turkeys and Canada geese. 

 

Once upon the beach, we met up with a young man who was playing his mandolin and guitar and enjoying the sunshine.  He told us about another beach and was happy to provide us with a map and the directions.  Off we went to explore this new haunt.  It was beautiful - about a mile long sandy beach with a tidal pool.  We didn't have a lot of time to explore this new haunt but I think we will definitely return another time.

 

Once again, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner prepared by the folks at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church.

 

 

Some photos from today: 

We made it!

Just a quick message to let you know that we made it to Kilmarnock!  Today's drive was rainy and very foggy through the mountains of PA.

We met up with Ernie and Bob for dinner at Sal's Pizza which was very nice.  The calzones were enormous.

Tomorrow we are off to Macedonia Baptist Church and then maybe out the beach in the afternoon.  The weather network says it should be around 13 degrees with 11 hours of sunlight.....I'll take that!

A group shot tomorrow....I promise!

And so we begin again.

I find it hard to believe that we are heading out on our 10th Habitat journey, until we start the trek and sharing the stories that we have from previous trips.

We are a group of 14 people this year - with 7 young people and 7 adults.  A truly international trip with Matilda, an exchange student from Sweden, joining us with her host famliy. 

There was a bit of a hang up at the border...but after a few questions and some research, we were off on our way.  There were no dogs involved this time!

It was a nice day of driving, lots of state troopers out and about keeping everyone safe!

We had a wonderful Italian meal and returned to hotel to find the remainder of our group arriving in from their journey down.

Even after Stéphane reminding me,  we forgot to take our usual "departure" photograph.  Maybe tomorrow morning before we start the next leg, now that everyone is with us.

Lights out for tonight.  Another long drive ahead of us tomorrow.