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