Mission Trip 2011

Made it home

2011-03-22T09:19:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we made it home safe and sound on Saturday at 7:15pm. It was sad to watch the temperature plummet from the beautiful 29 degrees centigrade to around zero, but spring is on the way.

I will post a photo montage in a few days once I have had a chance to collect my thoughts and find my camera.

A HUGE THANK YOU to all the folks in Kilmarnock who welcomed us and whose hospitality was top notch. So many had a hand on making sure we ate, we slept, we built and we worshipped. You are all integral to the success of our journey.

Until we meet again.

Homeward Bound

2011-03-19T00:35:00.003-04:00

Fridays are always days of mixed emotions. We busily try to complete the projects we started, we continue to share in fellowship and then we have to say our "see ya rounds". It really isn't goodbye, or at least we hope not. We all hope that our paths will cross again either on one side of the border or the other.

It was a gloriously sunny day with the temperatures topping out at 29degrees celcius. Couldn't have asked for better than that.

I was able to get the last of the shed cleaned up before we left and will share a picture when I can located my camera...I know it is in the van, just not sure where. I meant to take a before and after photo. I will have to check previous years photos as I believe I have a photo from then to which I can compare it now.

We were able to get a little shopping in at the Leesburg Outlet mall before retiring in Hershey PA for the evening. Time to get some rest for the remainder of the journey tomorrow. Thanks to Elise and Robert Farrell for their lovely letter tonight - Happy 50th - they are enjoying the celebrations with their family a little further south this year. We raise a glass to you both for such a wonderful milestone.

This time tomorrow I will be sleeping in my own bed, being pestered by my cat...ah, can't wait to be back in the land of the maple leaf

See everyone soon

Our Last FULL Day

2011-03-18T01:04:00.003-04:00

Once again, the build site was a buzz of activity, everyone wanting to finish their projects on the site before we have to head north.

The back side of the roof was completed and the front side was completed as far as it could be as the front dormer wasn't completed - the framing was completed by the end of the day which means that the roofing could be completed by the end of our 1/2 day tomorrow.

The young people, under the wonderful tutelage of John, began constructing the shed and should have a good chunk of it completed by tomorrow. Inside was also busy with the cutting of subfloors for HVAC equipment, spacers for drywall were added and junction boxes were added throughout the house. I was surprised to find out that more than 60 boxes were needed in the house - between outlets and light switches, I guess I just haven't really counted them on one floor at home before.

I spent the day cleaning out the tool shed which I am told hasn't been done in at least 6 years probably more like 10. There was plenty of "stuff" including pails of random tools which all now have their own place in the trailer, some really old, ratty paintbrushes and cloths, and plenty of mouse poop. I wore a mask when sweeping the floor - between the amount of dust, dirt, sawdust and mouse poo, I though it best.

Some of the group left the worksite an hour early to head to the local 10 pin bowling lane for an afternoon of fun. It was a great break and everyone seems to have enjoyed the experience. Just before leaving the worksite, we endulged in some really good brownies and lemon squares that Megan and I purchased in town at lunchtime from a local gourmet food store.

For dinner, we were hosted by Larry Adams and his wife at Moratico church about 1/2 hour north of Kilmarnock right on the Rappahannock River. A beautful spot to enjoy the sunset. Toni, her daughter and grandson joined us and we presented her with the quilt. Both the kids wanted the quilt in their room so I guess they will have to share it.

It was also a bittersweet evening as we said goodbye to Leonard, John's childhood friend who is an incredible teacher with a wonderfully wicked sense of humour and plenty of stories which he is always happy to share. He is heading back to North Carolina first thing in the morning and we wish him a safe journey home and thank him from the bottom of our hearts. He is a true blessing and an important part of our experience.

Tomorrow will be a busy day with packing out from the hotel and finishing our tasks on the jobsite as well as saying our "See you laters" to everyone who has been so kind and generous. True southern hospitality.

Tonight we spent some time preparing our Thank you cards to be sent locally to all the folks who fed and watered us on this journey. We enjoyed a great variety of meals including BBQ, grits, chocolate eclairs and so many other choices, too many to list. Thank you to Ryan Monkman for his lovely letter and also to Jimmy Carter for the forward in a book which I am bringing back to KUC about the history and philosophy of Habitat so all of you can learn about the program.

We have been blessed.

Rain turns to bright sunshine

2011-03-16T22:03:00.004-04:00

This morning it was a little damp around the job site. The first order of business was putting the straw around the house so that we weren't working in a mud pit.

Jobs for the day included installing the interior walls, shingling the roof with white shingles - I still can't get used to them, insulating around the shower enclosure.

It is hard to belive that we have reached the halfway point of our journey and only have 1.5 days left on the build site. Once again we have been welcomed into the community by so many people here that it is like coming home to family. There have been so many stories shared and so much mentoring from our hosts.

Tonight we enjoyed two letters from home, a video blog from Stephane and a note from Kate and Richard Batty.

Full Speed ahead

2011-03-16T00:26:00.003-04:00

Today, a little cooler than yesterday, saw the group split into two groups to take on multiple tasks. One group stayed on the build site to assist with the installation of the roof trusses. A boom truck was brought in to help lift the trusses up to the roof which allowed for the job to move ahead swiftly. By lunch break, the group had the trusses up, and one side sheathed.

The other group, returned to the Willis house to do complete some last minute tasks before they take posession on Wednesday. The bathroom towel racks were installed, a front path was set with patio stones and the leftover stones were used to put a couple outside the basement door and the bottom steps of the back deck. There was some raking of the yard which is currently all sand and the stray garbage and leftover building supplies were picked up and the tools were removed. The house looks great and we certainly hope that the Willis family will fill it with much love and have many wonderful memories.

After lunch, the roof crew returned to sheath the other half of it and then put up the tar paper. If it doesn't rain on Wednesday the shingles will be put on. We are told they are light coloured which will certainly be very different than we are used to. This is part of the new "green build" model that the affiliate is trying to incorporate during the building process. We will have to update folks tomorrow on the outcome.

The building then got wrapped with Tyvek, the some of the interior walls were prepared to be installed tomorrow, the shower and bathtub inserts were moved into the house and the inside stablizers were removed - a little demolition is always fun. Before leaving for the end of day two, the lumber we will need to use tomorrow was moved inside the house so it won't get wet overnight.

There is lots to do tomorrow, hopefully we won't be too many people indoors - we may need to come up with some other things to do to keep everyone busy.

Thanks Helen Pinel for your kind words this evening.

Here are pictures of the house at the beginning of the day, and what it looked like when we left for the day.

Good job everyone!

A First Day Pictoral

2011-03-14T22:50:00.006-04:00

The First Day

2011-03-14T21:06:00.004-04:00

We arrived at the site today with the sun shining and a slight breeze. It wasn 't really warm but above zero!

The day started with our usual safety talk from Herb - HE who must be obeyed. We prayed and then it was off to work. Lumber had to be moved from one place to another, the subfloor needed to have the plastic removed (which was keeping it dry), table saws needed to be set up, 2x4's needed to be crowned, and the walls begun. It didn't take long before the worksite was a buzz of activity with the hammers banging and the chop saw humming. All the red hard hats were heads down and hands were busy.

After lunch the first wall was ready to be raised. And up it went! Then the back wall. With braces in place, it was time to start on the two shorter side walls. And by the end of the day, we had encased the entire house, and cut out the front door.

It was a great day, a tiring day, some folks found muscles they didn't know they had. I am sure more will find those tomorrow after a nights sleep. All in all it was a safe day on the worksite, maybe a few slivers and only one swan dive off the side of the wall by yours truly! Poor Nick watched it all unfold standing on a ladder at the opposite end of the house and couldn't do anything - I knew after I took the first step off the edge that it wasn't going to be pretty but I just let myself go (as lesson taught to me by my wise grandmother) and then waited for the eruption of laughter or gasps from the rest of the group, only to have silence - then I thought Oh, no one saw me, just get up and brush myself off and then I won't have to explain.....that would be too good to be true! I got up only to have Nick looking at me wide eyed at the other end of the house asking me if I was okay - to which I responded a firm YES!

We were also being watched today, by an inquisitive hawk that had a nest up in one of the trees on the edge of the lot. I am sure the bird (assuming it was female - hope to be able to ID it tomorrow) was wondering what was going on. There hasn't been been any work on the site for a few weeks so it has been quiet, then today it was hive of activity. The hawk would return to her branch every so often and make a just enough noise to let you know she was there and then off again. The outdoors are waking up, everyday something we didn't see yesterday - robins, nuthatches, flying insects and the wonderful calls of the spring peepers. There have also been plenty of daffodils and dandelions as well as a pretty purple flowered ground cover that seems to add just enough colour to the landscape.

We wrapped up our day around 4pm and returned to the hotel for a little down time before heading to Grace Episcopal Church for dinner. What a wonderful meal of Brunswick stew (chicken, corn, tomatoes and lima beans in a broth), fresh garlic bread - with cloves of garlic baked right into the loaf, and some very decadent brownies, chocolate chip cookies and ice cream for dessert.

During our evening gathering we shared our experiences of the first day and read a wonderful letter by Lauren Delcourt (miss you and wish you were here!). The group is playing a rousing game of paper telephone - it is quite entertaining but wonderful to hear the laughter being shared amongst the group of 16, teens and adults alike, some of whom, only days ago had never even met.

Tomorrow the boom truck will be on site to get the roof trusses up on the roof so we will have a variety of groups working on different tasks: a shed needs to be built and there are some finishings that need to be completed at the Willis house before they "close" tomorrow. The weather is calling for a little rain tomorrow afternoon and Wednesday. Hopefully it won't set us back too far.

I'm not really sure....

2011-03-14T00:42:00.008-04:00

How to describe today's events.

I am not sure I could adequately relay our experience at Macedonia Baptist Church today. The 2 hour and 20 minute service included praise worship, liturgical dance, the women's choir, a powerful sermon on Commitment and a whole lot of clapping and proclaiming Jesus. They were so warm and welcoming to us. We had a wonderful turkey dinner for lunch in the church hall with everyone in their Sunday finery. It is always interesting visiting another church and it always causes pause for thought on how we do things in our own congregation. You can check out their website and snippets of the Pastor's sermons are there and you will get a little taste of what we shared in today. http://233140.myvideotalkstudio.com/streaming/pages/6

After lunch John, Herb and Leonard took us over to see the Willis house (the house we built last year). It was beautiful! The family takes posession on Wednesday of this week. There were still a few things that need to be "detailed" but the place looks great and will be such a wonderful improvement to their current living quarters.

From there, we headed to this year's jobsite to see where we would be starting tomorrow morning. The joists are in and the subfloor on top, so we will be starting with the walls and hope to have 4 of them in place before we leave the site tomorrow.

Then, on to the BEACH and had some fun in the sand and surf. It's not a huge beach but offered enough space for a frisbee to be thrown (until it needed to be fished out of the ocean water - thanks Megan), some beachcombing, some reading and most important! Catching some rays and Vitamin D! It was so nice just to be able to ditch the coats and the boots, put on the flip flops and some shorts and enjoy the warmth. The sign in town said it was 75 - the weather network said it was 16. Either way, we'll enjoy it!

For dinner we all headed over to a new Mexican restaurant which has moved in to where a great seafood place used to be. The Mexican family that owns the restaurant were very welcoming and the food fabulous. The waiter even came in with 5 plates of food all at once - he stacked them up his arm (4) and then held the last one in his other hand.

We spent the rest of the evening sharing our thoughts of the day, sharing a song that I think reminds people that it is the small stuff that changes the world on a daily basis (Johnny Reid's - Today I'm gonna try and change the world) and Bev sent us a wonderful letter reminding us about being "bucket fillers" - Thank you. And then we played a variety of card games.

First day on the jobsite is always a busy one! Should get to sleep.

Spring does exist......

2011-03-12T21:53:00.002-05:00

It just happens to start about 800 km south of Ottawa.

This morning we awoke to a dusting of snow on the vehicles that Tom so lovingly cleaned off for all of us and we were off on our way. It was an uneventful drive...until we got back onto the highway going north instead of south after a pit stop - Oh well, just our version of groundhog day.

As we headed further south, the signs of spring started to appear: the grass started greening up, the buds of the maples were bright red and ready to pop, the motorcyclists and muscle cars were out in great numbers, and the greens on the local golf courses had pins in them and people teeing off at the tee box. The bright sun also helped as its warmth beamed through the van window. The further south we went, there were daffodils in bloom, magnolias in bloom and plenty of wildlife. There were 2 bald eagles, an owl (were not 100% it wasn't a decoy), numerous hawks, turkey vultures and the all american zebra.

We arrived in Kilmarnock just as the sun was setting and took a quick drive down Pond Park Lane to take a peek at our handiwork from last year. The houses look wonderful and were obviously being enjoyed - it appeared that at least one of them was having a gathering of friends. After speaking with John, the Willis house will close on Wednesday and we will have a chance to see the place before we leave. It will be great to see the Willis family again and share in their excitement of new homeownership.

Our hosts left us some gift bags with wonderful treats for everyone and are greatful for their generosity. We also got our 2011 shirts which we will wear out to church tomorrow. Thank you Steve and Wilma for your letter.

Oh the fire alarm in the hotel is going off...need to rally the troops.....False alarm. We are all back inside.

Time for bed, lose an hour's sleep tonight.

It was an ordinary day.....until...

2011-03-11T21:47:00.005-05:00

It is always nice to start a trip with a new experience....usually! We got away in good time, just after the lunch hour, all vehicles packed and on our way.

We arrived at the bridge and border crossing in on time and were surprised to find that the lineups weren't too long. Often times when we arrive, there is an agent directing traffic into specific lanes, but not today, there weren't enough cars to warrant it. Often times we don't all go through the same wicket so we congregate just past the border on the large shoulder to wait for the rest of the caravan - which we have jokingly named the silver bullet brigade as all vehicles (except Sue's) is silver.

Sue goes through first, Tom pulls up behind a few minutes later and then we wait......and wait......and wait.....finally Bob pulls in about 15 minutes later.....only to tell us that Ruth & Jason and Joanne & Gavin have been asked to vacate the vehicle and hand over their passports....there was papers they had to sign - meanwhile, the sniffing dogs are desperate to get under the car.

Now I have to also say that the vans we have are brand new...two had less than 70kms on them and the other only a few hundred.

So we waited......and waited......an hour and a half later Ruth had been cleared and told by the Custom's agent "Welcome to America" and sent on their way. Upon their return to the van, it was evident that Fido and his master had taken a good look - here is the paw print to prove it and as I write this, Ruth is wiping the dog snot from the outside of her suitcase.

Then it was time to stop to have a washroom break which we usually do just over the Wellsley Island bridge in the park rest area. The parking lot was quite full with people doing the same thing. Lo and behold, who is in the parking lot? but the group from Pakenham Pastoral Charge who were heading to Syracuse to board the train for their Habitat Trip to Mississippi. They too were waiting for someone from their group to get through the border. We wished them well and continued on our journey.

As you know, this is our first year doing the 15 hour drive in 2 days which so far, everyone has thought was a good idea. This is very similar as to how we do the return journey and gives everyone a chance to rest.

Tomorrow will be a long day filled with various word association games, billboard reading and discussing, movie watching, karaoke and getting to know one another. Another mission trip has begun!

3 days and counting....

2011-03-08T22:51:00.002-05:00

Until our next journey begins, our 6th, which I find hard to believe. When I look back to how many people have been involved over the 6 years of builds there are many. I am always inspired by the youth that spend all of their highschool March Breaks helping to make someone else's life better.

Plans are busily coming together, forms are signed, safety equipment packed, car "fun kits" are prepared with snacks and games to keep 10 teenagers occupied for the 15 hours of van time. We are set to take off at noon on Friday and for the first time in 4 years, take 2 days to get to our VA destination.

Mother Nature is toying with us at the moment with warm temperatures when we arrive and then cooling off for the build days. We are hearty Canadians so I don't think it is anything long underwear and constant motion won't be able to handle. We may also need to find some fun activities to fill a rain day - some bowling or swimming will be great fun.

Thank you for joining us on this journey from the world wide web. We hope you will enjoy our adventures

Here we go again....

2011-02-22T22:35:00.002-05:00

How is it that we are already less than one month out of our 6th HFH trip? Once again, we are returning to Kilmarnock,VA to build another wonderful house with an incredible affiliate who have taken us in like family. It has always been a pleasure to work with them and this year will present new opportunties to build in another part of the county and renew friendships while developing new ones.

This year we are a smaller group with only 17 people participating. While this is fewer than we have had in the past, they are no less eager to complete the same amount of work! I am sure on the first day the group will be talking about where they would like to get to in 5 days. We are always amazed at the house that stands before us on the last day as we pull away from the build site........I am getting away from myself, there is still plenty of work to be done before we even leave home.

We are excited......we are truly blessed to be participating.

A Pictoral Reflection

2010-03-21T14:44:00.008-04:00

Home Sweet Home

2010-03-21T14:28:00.006-04:00

Our last day was full of peace and quiet! Well okay, maybe not total peace and quiet....And who said travelling with teenagers was a problem? Within 15 minutes of leaving the hotel parking lot on Saturday morning, this was the view from my rear view mirror. 5 of 6 passengers "out like a light!" Maybe I could refer to them as "Sue's pooped peeps"

It was a wonderful drive home with the exception of the temperature gauge that records the outside air temperature. I watched throughout the day as it slowly crept lower and lower as we got closer and closer to home.

We did manage to get a quick hour of shopping in at the Carousel Mall in Syracuse where we stopped for a late lunch and then headed to the border. The Border agent seemed rather miffed that we had less than $150 worth of goods - "You could have $5000 worth of stuff with you!" he exclaims.

We arrived back at the church parking lot to waiting parents at about 7:30pm. No-one wanted to be the first to leave but by 8:00pm everyone was gone and I was on my way home in a very quiet van.

At church today, we were welcomed back with many questions and encouragement for what we had accomplished during our journey.

We look forward to sharing more of our stories with you on April 11th when we will present our trip to the congregation. We also have a special treat to share during Coffee Time.

Thanks to all of you who followed us on the blog, sent emails and prayed for us while we were gone. The congregation was never very far from our thoughts, for without your constant love and support, these trips would not be possible.

Until next time....

Time to say Goodbye

2010-03-19T23:48:00.005-04:00

The last day is always bittersweet. It is a day where folks are anxious to get some last minute projects done and many are dreading the goodbyes that come.

Many went straight to the roof to continue rolling out the papers and then putting the flashing along the edges. Some continued to run electrical wires inside the house and some walked the site to clean it up and make sure that all the tools made it home with the right folks.

Stephanie, Lance and their dog brought lunch which included this wonderful Orzo salad...we all want the recipie to that one!

After our wonderful lunch, we shared communion inside the house while giving thanks for all the blessings of the week. We shared hugs and goodbyes ahd were on the road by 2:00pm, heading north.

We decided to push through the traffic in Washington (yeah for HOV lanes) which allowed us to arrive in New Cumberland, PA just as the sun was setting. The youth were able to have some pool time before we met for our final community time.

We will be on the road in the morning, hoping to get home in the early evening - will depend on the border crossing back log.

Hard to believe it is over for another year! We look forward to sharing our stories with you in person on April 11, 2010 as part of the services at KUC.

Thank you to Peggy and Tom for your heartfelt letter. We also shared emails from Kate & Richard, Glenda and Naomi.

See you at church on Sunday.

Last Full build day

2010-03-18T23:39:00.003-04:00

And what a day it was! There was lots to do and the work site was busy. Many conquered fears and others learned new skills. Much of today's work was on the roof. The day started with the sheathing of the whole roof and then the papering of the back side was completed before quitting for the day.

Folks got familiar with tape! All the joins, staples and around the windows and door covering had to be covered with tape so that there were no holes in the plastic covering of the walls. This was a tedious job but one that had to be done.

Inside, electrical outlet boxes were mounted on the walls and Joanne had the pleasure of using the drill the holes through the studs for the electrical wires.

All the braces were removed - inside and out, the basement rooms were framed, and Robert and Herb started installing the supports for the porch roof. Sue and Ruth prepared the gable end with the sheathing.

A tradition that we have developed over the years is that we write a bible passage on the house walls. This year no different and Ruth was kind enough to write an Iona Prayer that was part of our evening letter tonight. Tomorrow, we will each write out name on the house walls also to be there for posterity.

Today's work effort was incredible and the youth were fantastic. They have truly blossomed in skill and in community....so much so that I have already caught them at two practical jokes. Well actually the same joke twice.

We are blessed at Kanata United to have such a wonderful group of young people who are so giving of their time and talents. They have done us all proud here in Kilmarnock. People continue to thank us for what we are doing - even had a gentleman pop into one of our gatherings and thank us for not just thinking about helping out but actually DOING it. We also received a lovely card from the Willis family, thanking us for our work on their house. They also brought us a gift of Northern Neck Gingerale some of which we are bringing home with us to share with all of you.
It was also the start of the goodbye's today. Leonard won't be on the jobsite tomorrow as he has to head back down to North Carolina for the weekend. He has been great to have around. Sharp witted, helpful and a real teacher, truly a gift from God on our build site.

There have been some great emails of support adn we appreciate them. It is great to know that folks are following with us on this journey.

Thanks for the wonderful letter Ann & Murray Gordon.

A day in pictures

2010-03-18T09:58:00.017-04:00

I didn't get a chance to upload some photos from yesterday so I thought I would put some up for you this morning....

Top of the Mornin'

2010-03-17T22:04:00.003-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It was a busy day on the build site today with all interior walls being installed (they were built yesterday), some insulation in the basement, some caulking and the final stapling of the building wrap.

After lunch there a large piece of machinery arrived to help with the installation of the roofing trusses. With this specific building site, it would have been very difficult (pretty much impossible) to put the trusses up by hand. A small group continued working on this installation while another group of folks went to the local Boys & Girls Club to help out with a project there. Some of us left the build site early (not enough work and too many spectators) and headed to the shores of Chesapeake Bay to enjoy the bright sunshine and sand between our toes.

Our evening meal was prepared by the folks at the Presbyterian church tonight - a seafood / grits caserole or pulled pork.

With alot of tired folks, we decided we would try to head to bed early.....or at least we are hopeful! Some are playing cards, others watching a movie....some already snoring away in their bed.

Tomorrow is sure to be another busy day with putting the sheathing on the roof and prepping it for shingles, drilling holes to run electrical wires and the installation of outlet boxes and I am sure there are some things to work on in the basement rooms...like an outside wall.

It's hard to believe that we only have 1.5 days left on the build site. God has been good to us, and blessed us with a wonderful opportunity and experience for this week.

Thank you Maureen Purnell for a wonderful letter.

God is Great!

2010-03-16T22:53:00.001-04:00

Today was a glorious day to build a house! It started out a little grey but as the day wore on the sun burst forth and by the end of the day folks were working in t-shirts.

The build site was buzzing...or maybe I should say banging with lots of work being done!

A picture is worth 1000 words...so here are a few.

We headed out to the edge of the Rappohannock River for dinner tonight with the Willis family. On our way out there, we had to drive through a very small place, but we felt right at home and felt moved to take a photo to share...

We presented them with the beautiful quilt the KUC quilting group crafted for them and made them promise to use it and not to hang it on the wall. We also celebrated a "Big" birthday with Elise.

Tomorrow we hope to be able to get all the interior walls in place and then on to the roof trusses. Since there is a walkout basement, puttin the trusses up will require the use of a crane - that will be a first for us.

Thank you for your kind words Shelley Rose.

What wonderful things to look forward to!

It was a dark and stormy day....

2010-03-15T21:32:00.004-04:00

Not the best way to start a build! We should really count our blessings...this is our first day in 5 years that we have been rained out. We arrived on the job site at 8:50 but decided that with the weather it would be in everyone's best interest to not work on the job site - for both safety reasons and not wanting to get soaked to the skin and cold before we even got to lunch. So instead, we returned to the hotel played a huge game of paper telephone and some ventured to Christ Church circa 1735.

The church providing lunch graciously brought it to the hotel.

After lunch, we headed out the brand new Kilmarnock Entertainment Centre and went BOWLING! Everyone had a great time. Herb joined us (he had his own bowling shoes in his truck) as did Vashti and her husband John. It was 10 pin, so there were a few balls that strayed down the wrong lane, and a few that were released too early and went backwards, but for the most part they went down the lanes and in some cases, into the gutter.

This evening we were treated to lasagna dinner at St. Mary's White Chapel, a church whose roots go back to the 1600's. Eileen and Debbie were priviliged enough to hold a chalice that has been used in communion services with the congregation since 1635 - solid silver and very large. I am sure it would probably hold a whole bottle of wine! It was truly beautiful.

We look forward to a nicer day tomorrow as we are all anxious to get started! Everyone wants to get a little more than we did the year before....which at this point might be a little challenging since plans were changed today. Only God knows what will get completed. There is no need for a shed this year as they already have one that has been donated which means there will be more hands on deck for the roof trusses.

Thanks Steve & Wilma Free for their wonderful words of encouragement.

This is what awaits us in the morning.....

What a Glorious Day

2010-03-14T22:55:00.005-04:00

Today started bright, sunny and warm. 16 degrees to be exact...at 10am. It was a glorious day. John met us at the hotel with his buddy Leonard - they have known each other for 66 years. What an incredible friendship they have shared!

We headed to White Stone Church of Nazarene for worship this morning. We were openly welcomed and shared our stories. Thier new building was really quite interesting. They had a two story indoor jungle gym, a permanent puppet ministry, a youth ministry area that included fuse ball tables, ping pong, pool table and diner bench seats.

In the afternoon, the skies darkened and torrential rains fell for a few short minute. At 4pm we headed out to Donna Yerby's house (the house we helped build last year) for its dedication. Just before we arrived it had been hailing so the yard was covered with ice pllets It was amazing to drive up Pond Park Road and see the house completed. During the service we were invited to share and Lauren stepped forward to share her gratitude for the opportunity to share in the building experience. Eileen finished the dedication with the benediction and blessing on the food.

In the evening, some of the youth returned to the Nazarene church for their youth programing while the rest of us played a variety of games at the hotel. We had a pizza dinner in the hotel and invited Herb to join us. There were plenty of laughs and the obvious blossoming of friendships. Our youth are really quite amazing and it is a blessing to be able to spend time with them.

I hope they are all tucked into their beds as I write...who am I kidding! I know they are all looking forward to getting on the jobsite tomorrow and see what they can accomplish. We will start building the walls as soon as we arrive as Herb has already been able to get the subfloor on. God willing, we could have all 4 exterior walls in place before the end of the day tomorrow.

Thanks to Kathy & Neil Thompson for their kind words - hopefully next year you will be able to join us!

Your continued prayers are appreciated.

We Made it!

2010-03-14T00:33:00.003-05:00

With only a few short detours, we have succssfully made it to the hotel here in Kilmarnock. One would think that driving 16 hours with 6 teenagers might be their idea of hell. I have to say, it was one of the most fun drives I have had in a long time! We played lots of "car games", multiple rounds of "would you rather" and spent the better part of two hours singing at the top of our lungs to anyone who would listen - even getting the trucker beside us to pull the horn!

The last stretch into Kilmarnock offered some fantastic lightening and some very heavy rains. That cleared as we approached the hotel and were able to unload without getting soaked. Most have hit the pillows as we have a long day planned for tomorrow and of course we lose an hour of sleep as the clocks spring forward tonight.

Thank you for your letter Tricia & Andy.

Tomorrow is a day full of promise and we look forward to re-connecting with old friends as we celebrate new beginnings. Let's see what God has in store for us!

2010-03-11T22:06:00.003-05:00

Things seem to be coming together fast and furious. The paperwork is almost done, the shirts and safety gear have arrived and tomorrow we will have to pick up the vans and try and pack them with all the gear....that may require some fancy packing! I have encouraged everyone to pack light but you know it really isn't that easy to pack work boots in a suitcase. Ah well, we'll make it work with God's guidance!

This year we are going for a Christmas look on the build site! With our forest green shirts and our bright red hard hats, we shouldn't be hard to miss.

The journey begins....

Mission Trip 2010

2010-03-09T21:52:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe...that in 4 more sleeps we will be on the road again to help build another house, our fifth in as many years. The 21 individuals that are participating this year include many new recruits and a number of folks who have participated before.

We welcome you to join us on our journey as we report back each day and share our stories from the build site.

This year we are helping a family of 7 which means that the house we are working on will have a basement which we have never worked with before - something new to learn about!

We are hoping that the weather will hold out for us. Here in Canada we have had less snow than usual while Kilmarnock has probably had more than their fair share. We hope we will be able to enjoy some early spring weather, God willing.

An exciting journey awaits all of us. Can't wait to see what God has in store for us this year.

Our last day

2009-03-24T17:19:00.010-04:00

It's always bittersweet, our last day, that is. We can relish in our accomplishments of the week but we then have to say goodbye to our gracious hosts that have become friends over the week. What it dosen't mean is a lazy day! Typically Friday is a half day of work so that we may head back north over two days instead of the epic one day journey on the way down.

It has become tradition to write a scripture passage on side of the house and this year we chose this one from 1 Corinthians.

This Friday was no different. The roofing crew were quick to get back up there and get going, wanting to finish the backside of the roof and start the front portion. Another group were given the task of beginning to run the wiring inside the house, some youth continued on the shed, some started to wrap the house with a Tyvec type product and others spent part of the morning sorting nails!

Work stopped just after noon and we had a wonderful lunch prepared by Stephanie & Lance before we said our goodbyes for another year. Herb (site foreman) promises to come and visit sometime this summer and we look forward to the opportunity to show him where we live.

After a group photo at the front of the house, we loaded up and headed north. We made a stop in Tyson's Corner to get out of the Washington rush hour traffic....and a little shopping, and then continued to Harrisburg, PA where we would spend the night.

Thanks for the letters from Robert & the Macauley Family.

Roofers Unite!

2009-03-19T22:26:00.011-04:00

The day started off with folks heading straight for the roof on both the house and the shed. Our progress is surprising everyone including ourselves. We can't believe that we will be heading for home tomorrow. The week has passed by so quickly and we have been welcomed and hosted by the incredible folks here in Kilmarnock. The various church families who have hosted us for Sunday service, prepared lunches, and served us dinner. They have all been integral in the building of this house. God has supported us throughout the week and the prayers and kind words from our KUC family have been a part of each of our evening. The youth have been busy building the shed and should have it shingled by the time we leave after lunch tomorrow.

This is the verse we placed on the side of the house. We all signed our names and will be part of the house forever.

Here are a few (of many) pictures that show some of the progress of today and the teamwork that this build has been all about.

Tonight we were hosted by Nan & Ernie for a BBQ at their home on a creek that feeds into Chesapeake Bay. Donna & her son Shaq joined us for a few mintues before heading out to Shaq's concert in the school band where he plays the trombone.

Hooray for Roof Trusses

2009-03-18T21:39:00.017-04:00

Wednesday is usually our day to be a tourist but since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to work on the build site. Today was all about trying something new! We arrived on site with blue sky and a little bit of fog. It was a very serene site as we drove up in the morning. But there was no time to waste! There were roof trusses to be hoisted and a shed to be built.

Under the guidance of Gil and themselves, the youth got started with building the shed at the rear of the house, while the other half of the group started hoisting the roof trusses up to the top.

It didn't take long! By lunchtime, all the trusses were in place and the frame of the shed was done.

After lunch, we had the opportunity to see the fruits of last years labour with a visit to Pearl's house next door. Pearl was so gracious and hugged everyone that entered. Eileen presented her with a prayer shawl that the knitters at Kanata United had prepared. The rest of the afternoon was filled with more of the same activity - lots of ladders, cutting, hammering, nails and fellowship.

Since we were supposed to be touring, we made our own dinner plans. The youth went into town and had dinner at Lee's restaurant and the adults returned to Rose's for a wonderful seafood meal. We all ate so much that we shared one dessert amongst most of us, passing the creme caramel around the table and each taking a spoonful - if that isn't sharing a meal, not sure what is.

We are truly blessed! Halleluia, Amen!

Thank you for your letters Angela and Kathi.

Off to bed - the fresh outside air today has tuckered us out.

Top O'the Mornin' to ya!

2009-03-17T22:59:00.015-04:00

St. Patrick's Day! It was a green day on the build today. John arrived with a smashing green tam, folks were decked out in green shirts (under their layers) and wonderful head pieces and even had St. Paddy's inspired cupcakes for lunch.

The day started with the building of the last two walls and cutting out the door & window openings. It was another dreary day to start (very Irish indeed with a light mist in the air) and quite cool which required a coffee and hot chocolate run to warm folks up mid morning.

After the break, folks began to build the interior walls and after lunch those installations began. By the end of the day, the all interior walls had been installed and the house is ready for the roof trusses! It is supposed to be very nice tomorrow - finally some sun! Ruth has just come back inside from the van saying all the stars are out and not a cloud in the sky - hopefully that means a wonderful day is in store. It would certainly dry up some of the worksite which is starting to look like a barnyard with all the straw we have put around to help soak up some of the water. Donna should have some good "compost" for gardening once they get to that stage.

The young people left the site a little early to go and hang out with some local high school students. Talk to them about Canada (the map came out and some postcards used to show off our fair city), and life as a teenager. Our youth brought t-shirts and other items from each of their schools to share with folks which were a great hit.

For dinner, we were treated to a wonderful Irish meal starting with a wonderful potatoe soup with cabbage on top, followed by Cornbeef & carrots. We had an impromtu St. Paddy's inspired variety show with Robert singing with 2 backup dancers, Megan, Claire & Ella showing off their Irish dancing skills, then Megan and Kate sung a song together, and John & Ruth shared some Irish jokes. All in all a wonderful evening.

Thanks for your wonderful letter Jan & Bob.

Here are some wonderful signs we have experienced today!

Some comments from our youth:

"My knees hurt!"
"Hammering nails is a lot harder than it looks. But I am getting better (sort of)"
"Well we got 2 walls up so now we have half a house. The time passed really quickly. I can actually hammer a nail now. That's what I accomplished today."
Challenge: Staring using "y'all" in everyday communication.
Quote of the day: "I will be behind you to catch you if you fall".
Adult Quote of the day: "Your order is ready at the wood pick up window"

Two walls are up...

2009-03-17T00:20:00.009-04:00

I couldn't get the photos to work with the last post and I figured that they warranted their own post. We had great success today....lets celebrate with a little hand praise!

If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning....

2009-03-16T23:11:00.004-04:00

The sounds of hammers echoed through the air today on Pond Park Road as we started our work on Donna's house. When we arrived, this is what we saw. A house foundation with floor joists in place and half of the joists covered. We would have a busy day of building ahead of us - just hoping that the grey clouds overhead would not turn into the rain that had been forcasted. Luckily it didn't and we had a great day of building. The raindrops waited until the very end of the day to appear.

We started the day with a safety talk from Herb. Suited everyone up with their hard hats, tool belts and safety glasses and off we went to work. The worksite is very wet and covered in clay / mud so we were able to bales of straw that were spread around the areas that most of the traffic would travel - it certainly made a huge difference. Once that was done, some folks finished covering the joists with the plywood floor, some insulated the crawlspace walls, some put together the headers, some built ladders for the roof overhangs and others made sure that tools and nails were readily available. Everyone had a place in the process.

Today's work even included some wildlife rescue. Since the ground is so wet and there are plenty of still pools of water, the Spring Peepers were out and plenty of them in the foundation area of the house. These are the tiny frogs with the very big voices so we thought it might be better to get them out of the foundation, so we did.

We were treated to some wonderful fried chicken for lunch thanks to the folks at Chesapeake Bank. Donna came out with Paula to deliver the feast. After lunch we continued with building the walls - our goal - to raise them by the end of the day! And Voila!

The evening was another wonderful meal of BBQ = pulled pork sandwiches, homemade baked beans, coleslaw and applesauce. There were plenty of sweets to complete the meal. All prepared by the loving hands of congregants from Grace Episcopal Church. The youth had the opportunity to "hang" with some of the youth from the church. It is Elise's birthday today so we gave her a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday followed by a tossing of marshmallows - it was more like a pelting of marshmallows but Elise thought it was a great surprise (this was something that Amy, a friend of Elise's instigated).

Some of the words used to describe today were: Spring Peepers, "The Power of the Saw", Cat's Paw, Precision or Persuasion, "Getter' Done", There are no stupid questions.., inspiring, accomplishment.

Thanks for your letter Bob.

Give me that Old Time Religion

2009-03-16T00:07:00.004-04:00

We got to sleep in this morning! 8:00am or so. Church didn't start until 11:00am, so all in all a pretty lazy morning - especially with the drizzle outside.

John showed up at the hotel and after hugs and handshakes to renew friendships we were off to Mount Olive Baptist Church, a good old southern gospel church. Plenty of gospel music, powerful, physical preaching, and wonderful, southern hospitality. This church is also in a time of transition. Rev. Jenkins was a guest preacher who the congregation will be voting on whether to bring him on as an Interim Minister. Some folks in our group had already spoken with Rev. Jenkins not knowing that we were going to the same church for services. His sermon was titled "Can God Trust You?"

After the 2 hour service (yes, the service was 2 hours, but we aren't going to suggest this as a recommendation to Eileen & Angela) we returned to the hotel for some R&R time. Some napped, some shopped.

We donned our group shirts and headed to Wicomico Parish Church - Episcopal, for a wonderful dinner and fellowship. We were able to meet Donna and her youngest son Shaq, her daughter and two grand-daughters. We presented her with the quilt and she was extremely thankful for it - I did emphasize the point that it was to be used and not hung on a wall.

Back to the hotel for a movie and our nightly community meeting. Thank you for your letter Harold & Carolyn.

Off to bed as tomorrow morning will come early. Praying that the rain will go away and the sun will shine through.

Some thoughts from the Burgundy Van...

2009-03-15T20:15:00.005-04:00

This year, we thought we would give you a taste of the trip from different perspectives along the way. These are some of the notes taken from the Burgundy Van from yesterday. At least the first part of the journey.

And I quote from the "journal"......

Day 1 - March 14th.

Made it through Friday the 13th unscathed except for Kate's problem with her van's tire and Sue being "required" to take an upgrade of a Yukon.

Hwy 401 - a little excitement outside of Brockville - a big scene with first a cloud of blue smoke from a big white van before a fireball exploded from underneath - just as we passed "kaboom" - Yikes! Robert reported from the rear of our caravan that he saw the driver get out okay - "whew"

Spent some time "cooling out heels" before crossing the first toll bridge to the USA - due to "traffic volume", people escaping the Great White North.

10:00am and waiting to cross the border - Sue was in the "right" lane, cleared hours ago. Shelley is looking for the "ladies room". She knew she should have brought that "porta-pee-er for women" - free Timmies was too hard to resist.

So just as we are next in line to clear customs, everything stops - big red cone and officer leaves.

- as written by the passengers of the Burgundy Van.

Something else we have started to do to keep us occupied is looking for funny signs - you have to fill 15 hours somehow. Here are some of our favourites to date:

Restaurant: Spiedie's Rib Pit
Garden Centre: Turkeyfoot Nursery
At the Wawa Service Station: "Bug Prep Area"
Street Sign: Box of Gourds Road

My favourite: Slow Church in Session

We Made It!

2009-03-15T00:47:00.002-04:00

It is just after midnight and we are finally settled in our rooms and anxious to crawl into a nice warm bed...at least I am!

Left the church just after 7:00am with Alex and a few parents waving us on our way. We had our regular Timmies stop in Mallorytown and had one roll up the rim to win winner - a donut I think.

It was a long trip with a few hiccups...it took us almost an hour and half to get across the bridge and through Customs (it has never taken us more than about 15 mintues...), we watched the under part of a truck cab burst into movie style flames, we now know that a large drink in the US = many pits stops and one of the vans has a leaky tire which needed filling regularly....we are on top of getting it fixed.

Stopped at Wendy's for lunch, Cracker Barrel for dinner and a variety of gas stations along the way. It was wonderful to see the snow all gone and the green grass growing and I think the trees out front of the hotel are actually in bloom. I can confirm this in the morning when I see them in the daylight.

God has many things in store for us...now we just have to wait and see.

The quote on Shelley's desk calendar for today is:
"When you engage in fulfilling the needs of others, your own needs are fulfilled as a by-product"

How very appropriate for the beginning of this journey.

They are waiting....

2009-03-12T16:55:00.005-04:00

Hard to believe that we are not just a couple of days from leaving. All the paperwork is signed and everything is in order, or at least I think it is. And the weather....well we can't do anything about that so hopefully God will take care of that.

The folks in Kilmarnock are anxiously waiting our arrival and have plenty for us to do and keep us busy and well fed. This picture was sent earlier in the week to give us an idea of where we would be starting from. God willing, it looks like we may be raising walls on the first day! What an amazing feeling that will be!

We hope that you will enjoy our journey vicariously through this blog and will look forward to sharing the experience with all of you upon our return.

God Speed.

The Countdown begins....one month

2009-02-13T23:46:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that one month today another group of adults and young people from the church will be leaving on another journey of hope and faith. We will be returning to Kilmarnock, VA to help build the "house next door". What a wonderful opportunity this presents - we will be able to see the finished product of last years trip, we will get to see the happy homeowner, living her dream in a house that we helped build. I still have a hard time getting my mind around the fact that our group raised the walls of someone's house, providing them with shelter, one of the foundations of our existence. I look forward to seeing Pearl standing in the doorway of the house that we and God built together!

It will be another large group this year with 23 of us in total. There will be 12 adults and 11 youth (ages 14 - 18). Some have been on this journey before, for others this will be their first experience. Whatever their reasons may be for participating, it is my hope that God will shine in their lives on this trip and that they will stop and listen to what he is saying to them.

There is still plenty of planning before the vehicles pull out of the church parking lot in the early morning hours of March 14th......but what a journey it will be!

We invite you to follow along with us and encourage you to share our story with your friends and neighbours. We are a "Community of Faith, Reaching out in Love" and thank you for your continued support.

The Ripple Effect continues

2008-04-03T15:52:00.002-04:00

The work on the house continues.....Easter weekend saw volunteers install the trusses and the following weekend, the Home Builders Association helped out. I continue to hear from the folks in Kilmarnock about the good that has come from our visit. It has energized people!

The following was printed in the Kilmarnock paper this week, highlighting more involvement from the local community!

God is at work here!

Home Builders Association partners with Habitat

Members of the Home Builders Association of the Rappahannock volunteered their time and efforts to assist in building Lancaster/Northumberland Habitat for Humanity’s 10th house Saturday, March 29.

“It is our turn to share our success with the community,” said Ron Herring, builders association member and owner of Home Crafters.The nine members from the association included eight builders and one electrician. The members sheathed and papered the roof and gable ends, built and installed the gable end overhangs, and installed rake boards. Inside the house, they nailed on hurricane straps and installed wood to recieve dry wall.Lamberth Building Supply in White Stone donated 4’ by 8’ sheets of OSB board and also donated the use of a boom truck to lift the boards to the roof. All of the work was finished in four hours.The association has volunteered further to partnership with Habitat by helping to find materials, and by donating their expertise, knowledge and time in building the next house.“The Home Builders are looking forward to their next experience with Habitat,” said association president John Hendrickson.

Lancaster/Northumberland Habitat for Humanity is looking for volunteers for committees and construction. To join, visit www.lnhabitat.org, or call 435-3461. House construction takes place each Tuesday and Saturday.

Canadians arrive to help build local Habitat House

2008-03-20T11:26:00.002-04:00

This is the article that was in the Rappahannock Record on March 20, 2008

Canadians arrive to helpbuild local Habitat house
Lancaster-Northumberland Habitat for Humanity hosted a missions group from Canada March 9-14.

The group of 17 people traveled hundreds of miles from Kanata United Church outside of Ottawa in the town of Kanata, Ontario, Canada, and arrived in Kilmarnock to assist Habitat with building its 10th house.

Seven teenagers and 10 adults came in hopes of building a bridge between the two communities and having their efforts leave a lasting and meaningful impression, said trip organizer Susan Maslin.

Eileen Hepplewhite was the minister traveling with the group. The participants represented a diverse group which included a veterinarian, politician, stay-at-home mom and remodeling contractor.

The group has an annual mission trip through their church and chose to come to Kilmarnock. This was the church’s third mission trip, but the first to Virginia. Previously, they have been to Tennessee. Their mission search began with the desire for a warm climate. While the group was in Kilmarnock, Kanata was experiencing a near record-breaking year of snowfall. They contacted several small affiliates of Habitat by e-mail and Lancaster-Northumberland Habitat responded with a welcome invitation.

Habitat for Humanity building supervisor Herb Fowler prepared for the group in advance by having tools and materials organized and ready each day. “I’ve never had to find work for 18 people before, but I could not have asked for a better group to work with.” said Fowler.

The guests put on joists for the first floor, subfloor and framed the inside and outside walls of the house. By the fourth day, the group had completed enough work on the house that it was time for the roof trusses. However, the trusses had not arrived yet. So they began working on the front porch, back deck and shed. Each of the missionaries signed their name to an outside wall of the house.

The Northern Neck community supported the group by providing dinners and lunches including the Lancaster-Northumberland Habitat for Humanity board, Irvington Baptist Church and White Stone Baptist Church. Several businesses also donated food for the group including White Stone Wine and Cheese, River Market, Subway, Tri-Star and Pizza Hut. Habitat for Humanity board member Mary Summers coordinated all of the meals. While visiting, the Canadians took a day off to visit Jamestown and Williamsburg. They stayed at the Kilmarnock Holiday Inn.

On the final evening of their stay, the group presented Lavonda King, the future homeowner, with a quilt for her new house. The quilt was made by ladies of Kanata United Church. King expressed her gratitude for not only the beautiful quilt, but also for the willing efforts of helping her dream of home ownership come closer to reality.Habitat for Humanity is greatful for the time, work and commraderie of the group, said Summers.

The current house under construction is on Pond Park Road near Lancaster Primary School. Habitat is looking for volunteers for construction. Volunteers do not need to know anything about construction to help.Volunteers also are needed for various committees and activities. To volunteer, visit lnhabitat.org, or call 435-3461.

Back...Safe and sound

2008-03-15T23:24:00.003-04:00

Got off to an early start Saturday morning. The sun continued to shine most of the way but we did hit some light showers and fog on our way north. Snow didn't really start to show up until we were north of Syracuse. We all commented on the size of the snowbanks as we drove into Kanata and couldn't see down March Road since the large snowbank was in our way.

Folks were waiting for us when we pulled into the church parking lot. The vans hardly stopped before the young people were out telling their parents about the weeks activities. Everyone grabbed their stuff and with hugs to all, we all made our separate ways.

It is now our responsibility to carry on the mission of Habitat by sharing our stories and also encouraging others to get involved.

This is not the end of our blog. I will continue to add pictures and progress of the house as the construction continues. Kanata United Church will always be a part of this house. We thank you all for your continued support and prayers.

Ends bring new beginnings

2008-03-14T22:50:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that this was our last day on the jobsite. There were three main tasks on our to do list today: finish the front deck, the rear deck and the youth were going to finish getting the roof sheeting on the shed they had built. Together, as teams, we worked and completed these tasks. How satisfying it is to look at what we had accomplished throughout the three & a half days that we were on the site.

Before leaving, we gathered with John & Herb and prayed in a popcorn circle sharing the many blessings of our time in Virginia. Goodbye's were said as we sent Robert & Elise south to visit with family and friends in North Carolina, and to Peggy who was continuing on to Florida. How strange it is to see that in a blink of an eye, the community that you have built and lived in for the past 7 days all of a sudden gets back to "real-life". Everyone goes their own way and all you can do is hope that they will carry on the impact of the week as they return to friends and family, their co-workers and their community. We have all changed lives this week. Not only Lavonda & her son Jerome, but also the community of Kilmarnock and the Lancaster HFH Affiliate. John has been energized with our weeks work and hopes that when the newpaper runs a story on our trip that the local community at large will be motivated by our trip and want to get involved in their own backyards....the possibilities are endless.

We have bunked down in Harrisburg, PA tonight and will journey the rest of the way tomorrow. The weather has started to change, a little cooler and the rain is falling. The reality of the snow is becoming that much harder to put to the back of our minds. Thank you Bob for your wonderful letter and to Lisa...I hope it was okay to share your words with everyone.

We too are looking forward to being able to share our journey with our family at Kanata United when we get home.

This trip wasn't just about building a house! It was about helping others, sharing our faith and making a difference in our world.....I think we have done all of that and more! This is just a begininng for us. Everyone is wondering where we are going next year....God will guide us. Let us put our trust in him.

"Go Make a Difference in YOUR world!"

I am too tired to transfer the pics from the camera so I will put up some more once we return home.

Sheds & Decks

2008-03-14T00:04:00.003-04:00

Today was another beautiful day, the sun shining, the birds singing and the work continued. The youth started with the shed by digging the holes for the cinder block corners. There was endless removing of blocks, leveling them and then realizing that they missed the measure therefore needing to remove and dig some more. The floor was built, the walls erected and the roof trusses were made. Tomorrow the youth will put the trusses up and put the black sheeting on the roof.

The adults spent the day getting the front & rear decks attached to the house, post holes dug which are now waiting for cement to be poured. Tom & Peggy spent the day reinforcing the interior walls where there will be cupboards hanging on the wall. Elise & Eileen moved the leftover wood to the adjacent site where they will be building the next house... starting next March.

Once again, we were hosted by the affiliate for a wonderful pork dinner. Lavonda, the homeowner, joined us for dinner and we had another chance to talk to her and find out more about she and her son Jerome. We presented her with the quilt and she was overwhelmed. Lavonda expressed her sincere thanks for us coming to help build her house. She has asked us to keep in touch with her and contact her to see pictures of the house once it's finished. Truly blessed!

As we expressed our thanks to the host affiliate, we presented Herb & John with some tools that they had put on a wish list. They too were overwhelmed as the youth approached them to give them the various tools: screwdrivers, stud finders, level, measuring tapes and a Pasalode Nail Gun with a box of nails and the propane cylinders that make it work. Our outreach continues as these are tools that will be used by many volunteers that will follow in our footsteps.

Words used to describe today include: shed, gratifying, giving, inspirational, 72 x 93 (the number of 2x4's that Elise & Eileen moved), sunshine, learning, proud. There were many more but I have forgotten my book in the room and I don't want to disturb Ruth.

We have been truly blessed to have been called to this build. The youth have been amazing, working and learning so many new skills. They would make you proud! They have certainly made me proud to be working with them.

We prepare for our last day and find it hard to believe that our week is coming to an end. Many are looking foward to coming home to family but we are certainly not looking forward to the white stuff.

Thank you to all of you who have sent comments and have kept us in your prayers

God Bless.

Missed some....

2008-03-13T00:02:00.002-04:00

Just as I posted the blog, I realized I forgot to include the words used to describe today. These included...pizza, blue skies, shopping, history, educational, home-made blueberry muffins, yummy crab cakes, community, sunshine, new shoes, eagle's wings...Thank you for your letter Kathi.

The letters I keep refering to have been written by members of our congregation and one is ready each evening as part of our nightly community time. They are letters of encouragement that help us remember that we are not in Virginia alone but that we are also here serving God for each an every one of you. Although you are not here in the physical sense, we know you are praying for us, and we are thinking of all of you in our prayers and in our daily actions.

Thank you for your support.
God Bless

A day of rest and history...for some

2008-03-12T23:36:00.005-04:00

Today marks the midway of the "building portion" of our trip. This was Tourist Day for some while some eager beavers decided they would head back to the worksite instead.

The 3 Amigos that went to the build site were able to finish putting up the interior walls, capped the walls and now the house is ready for the trusses. Herb is really upset that he delayed the delivery of the trusses since it would have been a great task for such a large group. Oh well, not much we can do about that. 2 decks and a garden shed will be on the building schedule tomorrow. Peggy, Tom, Robert were treated to a lunch of Oyster burgers and hush puppies with Herb & John.

Elise decided she was going to spend the day exlporing the village of Kilmarnock. Travelling up and down side roads, she did some shopping and some investigating.

The rest of the group hopped in the two vans and headed into Williamsburg to shop and exlpore the historical area. We started with a 2 hour power shopping spree at a 90 store outlet mall. Everyone seemed pleased with their purchases and I don't think anyone spent too much...there were some pretty good deals to be had! The youth have been very good with their shopping. You will have to ask them about their 7 minute power Walmart shopping trip.

After lunching at IHOP, we headed to the Jamestown Settlement where we explored the history of the area, boarded the ships in the bay and watched 2 Bald Eagles and 3 Osprey circle overhead. The adults enjoyed our visit...I think the youth would have rather been shopping. Oh well it is all about compromises. We finished our Tourist Day with a wonderful meal at a local seafood place where many of us enjoyed crab cakes and seafood pasta. The young people when to Pizza Hut.

It will be a busy day tomorrow. Hard to believe we are getting to the end of our journey. There have been some wonderful memories made, plenty of pictures taken and bonds that will last a lifetime. Our youth have been amazing and would make you all proud.

Here are some pictures of our day at the Jamestown Settlement and some other random photos from the worksite.

It's beginning to look like a house

2008-03-11T22:44:00.004-04:00

The Youth Blog!

For some of us, this is the third Habitat Trip with the church. For others, it’s a whole new experience. The early mornings, the late nights and the hard work certainly tire us out. But we keep working! This year was an interesting twist as instead of going to Tennessee we went east to Virginia. For all of us, it was a great surprise when there was in fact no snow, and t-shirt weather. Maybe now it’s more of a vacation. We started off with just a solid foundation, now two days in we have four walls up and some actual rooms starting to take shape. I think we all agreed that it was quite the accomplishment and we sure are all proud of this.

For a lot of us we are leaving friends and family behind. Lots of people have come up to ask me, “Why are you building a house instead of having a March Break?” I always answer with a solid, “Because there’s no better feeling in the world then knowing that through your own actions, you’ve changed some ones life for the better. Oh and there’s no snow.” This usually stops the questions. Hopefully because they’re proud, but it could be the no snow thing though. Along with leaving friends behind, we have all made new friends. Spending a good 15 hours in a car together can certainly speed up the bonding. We manage to entertain ourselves though, through sleep, teasing and other forms of entertainment.

Its only been three days so far, but already we have seen big accomplishments, new friendships and an awesome time. We hope everyone at the church and throughout Kanata is well! Best wishes from the youth!

*****

Today we had another wonderful, sunny day. God has been very good to us, providing us with beautiful weather and the vast quantity of good food. Did we tell you that yesterday’s lunch was southern fried chicken? Tonight we feasted on southern BBQ which was a tasty treat.

Team work was everywhere today! As you can see in the pictures we are really coming along. Exterior and some of the interior walls are standing now. If the roof trusses were ready, we would have been installing them but alas they won’t be here until next week. Herb, the site foreman, had cancelled their delivery not realizing how much we would get done. Now he is kicking himself but he will keep us busy with the building of a small shed, and a front and rear deck..

Some of the words used to describe today: walls!, red tape of the good kind, learning, beautiful sunshine, heat, working in short sleeves, yummy homemade meals. Today we had some wildlife onsite; a bald eagle landed in the neighbour’s tree and then the women found a mouse family that was taking up residence in the insulation that they were going to use. Thank you for your letter Sally.

Tomorrow we are off to Williamsburg and Jamestown for a little bit of history and some shopping. Some folks are going to work but just a shortened day. I think we have been tiring Herb out! He is a paid staff member who usually works about 10 hours a week on the Habitat jobsite……this week he already has 16 in and has had many volunteers to deal with. Herb & John have been wonderful. They are gracious for our help and are always willing to “teach” the skills that are required.

We are following the news on your snowfall at home and have been showing the folks down here pictures from the various news websites. Do you think it will be all gone before we get home? I am sure our new skills would help in the construction of an ark.

God Bless, Keep Safe...Happy Shoveling

Some pictures of Day one

2008-03-11T07:25:00.003-04:00

I was having some trouble last night trying to get the pictures up so here are some progress shots and the end of day one success

WOW! What a day

2008-03-10T23:24:00.002-04:00

Early wake up call this morning. We were met at the hotel at 7:45am to be escorted to the build site for an 8:00am start.

Clad in our steel toed boots, our hard hats, tool belts and safety goggles we started to work after a quick safety talk with Herb & John, our two site foremen. The house was just a cement block foundation when we arrived. The group worked diligently together, everyone with their tasks: cutting wood to length, laying vapour barrier and insulating the crawl space, building the cross beam, putting in the floor joists…that was all before lunch. The afternoon was spent putting on the sub floor. By the end of the day we had a wonderful looking dance floor!

The new homeowner dropped by in the late afternoon and was flabbergasted at how far we had come during the day. The smile on her face as she walked up to the build site from her car was incredible. She was beaming! Eileen pointed out the various things we had done on the underside just as the last bits of the sub floor was being installed. We put in a great day’s work leaving the work site at 4pm.

This evening we were hosted by the Lancaster HFH Board for a potluck dinner at a community centre adjacent to the local golf course which was open for business. We also passed the local baseball diamond which was full of people refining their skills. Through the cool night air, the sweet sounds of the Spring peepers. We are surrounded by sure signs of spring.

Some words to describe today: Team work, inspiring, educational, satisfaction, productive, hammers, glue all over, wonder, ouch. I think some of us will find that we have muscles we didn’t know we had. Thank you for your letter Nadine.

Exhausted and well worked. It was a wonderful first build day.

Everything is coming up...daffodils

2008-03-10T00:11:00.003-04:00

This morning we woke up to glorious blue skies. Jim opened his curtains to be greeted by a blossoming tree, and in front of the hotel was a beautiful garden full of daffodils…In Bloom. God is truly wonderful. We understand that you are all up to your thighs in snow….we are thinking of you and thanking God that we are here!

We attended church at White Stone Baptist Church in the town of White Stone, about 4 miles south of Kilmarnock. The small town church welcomed us and we shared a meal with them after the service.

In the afternoon, we went to the BEACH!...water as far as we could see. It’s where the Rappahonnock River and Chesapeake Bay come together Although a little windy (which still had a chill to it) some did take a walk along the public shoreline and I even dipped my feet in the water. The young people were also able to spend a couple of hours touring the Wal-Mart Superstore which is across the street from the hotel.

Our evening was dinner and a movie at Irvington Baptist Church where we shared a wonderful chili supper (the cilantro on top was a wonderful addition) and then watched Amazing Grace, a movie about Wilberforce and his crusade to abolish slavery. The southern hospitality was very generous.

We returned to hotel to gather for our community time which included getting out the hardhats and preparing them for work on the build site tomorrow. Thank your for your letter Ann & Murray Gordon.

Some of the words used to describe today: relaxing, adventurous, generous hospitality, signs of spring, Amazing Grace.

We talked about our construction goal of the week….we know that all there is on site is the cinderblock foundation which has been capped. We would love to be able to frame the walls, put up the trusses and maybe even get to putting on the roof. Wouldn’t that be amazing!

God is with us…we have been blessed.

2008-03-09T00:50:00.001-05:00

The Gang with all the Wonderful snow! Off to greener pastures.

We Have Arrived!

2008-03-09T00:46:00.003-05:00

Although Mother Nature tried to throw a wrench in our travel plans, we were able to take advantage of a small window of no snow and left at our planned time of 7am.and headed south.

Slow and steady, we made our way to the border. Hwy 401 was strewn with “car”nage of the previous night’s weather with overturned cars and a couple of Semi’s in the ditch. Once the snow stopped, around Syracuse, we were met with rain (heavy at times), dense fog, dark clouds and even some sunshine! A little bit of everything really. The sunset was beautiful..filled with the bright promise of tomorrow.

We arrived in Kilmarnock at 10:45pm and met up with the others. We got into our rooms and then got together for our nightly gathering. Thanks for your letter Ryan

Looks like there will be plenty to explore tomorrow ….

“..Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called…” 1 Timothy 6

10 Days and Counting....

2008-02-27T13:11:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our 2008 Mission Trip Blog.

Keep an eye on this page as we recount our daily events and share this incredible journey with those at home and around the globe.

I will start with a thank you to all those who have made this trip possible! Our friends and family who have supported us financially and spiritually. We are grateful.