Two-and-a-Half Groups Tuesday

Day 4


For today, our group of 14 was split into two groups of seven. This was to ensure that we help in multiple ways throughout our trip and to work as effectively as possible.

The first group went to the same site as yesterday to work on the bigger projects like the cabinets and the flooring. Julia, Grace, and Marie started painting the cabinets and are going back tomorrow to finish the last coat and hopefully put on the doors. Claire, David, and Alicia finished the flooring in two of the bedrooms while also touching up walls, doors, and trimming. After lunch, Josh came up to David and applauded the group on their hard work. He said that they were not expecting to get the flooring or the cabinets done this week and we are more than halfway done with each of those tasks! As a token of gratitude, he allowed David to write something on the plywood of the house that would be covered later with the flooring. We then signed our names under the beautiful words that David wrote so the house would always be a part of us and we would always be a part of the house.

The second group worked on a variety of tasks throughout the day. We started out by cutting out pamphlets for a movie-night fundraiser that Habitat is putting on for Friday, which will be explained more in a later blog. The group then made their way to downtown to distribute these pamphlets to the local establishments. To finish the morning, they stopped at a local coffee shop called Purdy's and then split into two groups.

Amanda, Stephen, and Tierney headed off to a vacant lot that was full of trash. For three hours they picked up all kinds of trash including five tires and a mattress. Amanda even had to get in a hole in the ground that was half filled with water to pull out the garbage. After completing the section, they traveled with our contact Amos to dispose of the all of the items. This included taking some to the trash compactor and having the satisfaction of watching it all get crushed. Once all of the deliveries were done, they met the other half of their group of seven.

Emily, Brynn, Tim, and Kaisa had headed directly to Habitat's Re-store and spent their whole day there. This is a second hand store that sells everything except for clothes. Items here run at a discounted price and are donated if no one purchases them. Here they met an awesome employee, Nicole, who guided us through the day. Our first task was to clean recently donated items and put them out on the show floor. We cleaned a variety of items such as cabinets, tables, chairs, and even an air hockey table. Once Amanda, Stephen, and Tierney arrived, the rest of the day consisted of a lot of painting. Last years Habitat ABST group painted a side of a door that the Re-Store has used as a divider ever since. Nicole then offered for us to paint the same door but the opposite side! Kaisa and Stephen worked on this the majority of the afternoon. Brynn, Tierney, Amanda, Emily, and Tim painted a wall a new shade of gray. We finished the day by taking pictures with Nicole and other employees.

 After a solid day of work, we all met back at the lodge and got ready to go to dinner. Dinner was provided at the Catholic Campus Ministry's Newman Center at Eastern Kentucky University. It was wonderful to see another college and hear about their experiences so far! Overall, today was another day filled with laughter and working to make a difference in so many lives, including our own.