Last but Not Least

For the very last blog, I asked everyone on the trip this question: What was one of your favorite parts of this trip? Here are our answers...

"This picture of Chris." -Steve

"I really liked just getting to know students who I had not met before." -Brian

"Destroying a shed. I also liked being nominated the best DJ-er in the car rides." -Jennafer

"Knocking the garage down." -Anna

"Getting that first bush out, honestly... that bush took a part of me." -Chris

"Finally using a nail gun for a Habitat build." -Alfred

"Making the stairway to heaven (front porch steps)." -Rachel

"Probably ripping those metal shingles off the shed with Catie!" -Keisha

"Tearing down the shed and meeting new poeple." -Syd

"Meeting cool new people. And tearing down the garage!" -Catie

"Taking pictures. And seeing the front door go in on the Habitat house." -Summer

"Getting to know Steve." -Michael

"I really enjoyed walking down State Street in Bristol, because it was cool to have lunch in Virginia and then coffee in Tennessee! I also loved working alongside the Habitat homeowner at the build site." -Rhonna

And personally, one of my favorite parts of this trip was the learning. I learned a lot about building a home and I learned about the good that Habitat for Humanity does. I even learned more about some of the people around me; but most of all, I learned that people really can change things with a good amount of work.

Thanks for following our trip and the blog! We'll be home soon to share more stories.

-Hannah

The Wind Reminds Me of Erie, but the Compassion Reminds Me of Virginia

Today was a cold cold day in Abingdon, VA, and the 14 of us worked on many different projects.  The boys worked again the the underneath of the roof, can't tell you what they did but it was great!

 A group of the girls worked on the deconstruction of a shed. They showed great determination and perseverance in the difficult and dirty task.

Personally I worked on the building of the front steps.  At the start of the day there were no steps, by the end there was a full set of steps.  The children will now have steps to walk into their house with, and a place to sit waiting for the bus, and a place to place flower boxes.

A small days task will do tremendous things for this family.  Just a thought to remember that every big or small project done on this house or any house is meaningful to amounts we will never understand.

-Rachel

Practice Makes Progress

Nobody's perfect, and a bunch of mildly experienced volunteers giving their best at a construction job  is certainly something which yields imperfections! That didn't stop us today at the build site, though (and neither did the rain). Slowly but surely, and with many teachable moments along the way, we continued to make progress on the house and yard.

Personally, one of the most exciting things for me about our day was briefly meeting the single mom whose house we're currently building. Although she was only at the site for a small moment, I was instantly reminded of our purpose, and building this house for this woman and her children became so much more important to me. Even though we're all feeling the strain by day three (and let me tell you, my shoulders kill!) I would still rather be working even after the workday has ended.

-Hannah

Making Progress, One Tree at a Time!

Today, five of us girls took it upon ourselves to show the trees in the backyard who's boss, and let me tell ya, we did.

We got down at least five trees today. Looking up at the yard at the end of the day and seeing the clearing we did was a big accomplishment for us, seeing as that's not a usual day's work.

It was nice to see then progress we made today in the yard, and we look forward to seeing our hard work pay off at the end of the week!

-Keisha

Day One: Landscaping 👍👍👍

Finally! Today was the day that we really got to work. Our "build site" is a house located in Glade Spring, a little bit outside of Abingdon, and is being built for a local single mother. Since the house is mostly framework at the moment, there's a lot to be done, but we gladly jumped into the project this morning!

We were told at the beginning of our trip that we would leave Abingdon with stories to tell, and it's already clear this is true! For example...

Rhonna found an "ancient artifact" while we were leveling the backyard, and Summer and Rachel won the battle against a stubborn tree trunk!

It was great to see was Catie use a pickaxe which is almost her size. But she used it well in bringing out tree stubs. She made us accept that size does not determine skill but helps our skill.

I was so pleased to use the small electric saw to cut trees, for while I did it my hand vibrated and looking at it reminded me of 'The Flash'. When the flash want to pass through a material (wall, block, etc) he vibrates himself so it was so good and filled me with joy and that made me excited to do more work.

After a day's work, we came back home after working on the landscaping and roofing of this house and went over to the church that is lodging us for dinner, then took a tour of the facility which is accommodating to many.  We concluded our day with hanging out with each other and building a community.

-Michael Anubondem Awungnkeng Muanya

Exploring Southwest Virginia

On our first full day in Abingdon, we went to mass and then explored the city and surrounding areas. We walked Main Street in Bristol, which was the subject of a Geico commercial. The eastern side of the street is Virginia, while the western side is Tennessee. 

Then, we visited the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, and learned about the role that the town of Bristol, Virginia played in developing country music in the 1920s. 

After that, we came back to The Foundry, where Steve made us some amazing tacos. 

We had a lot of fun today, and we're super excited to start the work week out at the build site tomorrow. 

-Sydney

From Erie to Abingdon

Around 7:15 this morning in Erie, PA, our lively group of 14 piled into two vehicles (and out of the rain) on our way to Abingdon, Virginia.

8 tiring hours later, we finally made it to sunny Abingdon, VA. We then met with our energetic coordinator, Jeremy Blackwell, and learned a few things about our projects for the week. Additionally, we explored our beautiful volunteer house, met our friendly and welcoming housemates, and even got into a spirited game of cards.

Overall, I can safely say that we're all thrilled for the adventure ahead! Although we were all thoroughly warned about how sore we would be by the end of the week, the thought of demolition and construction is far more exciting than the challenge. More importantly, by the end of the day it was clear within our whole group that the change we're making here in Abingdon is extremely important to us. The work we have ahead of us is worth it because of the good that will come of it.

Wish us luck, and be sure to stay updated as we continue our adventure throughout the week!

-Hannah