Day two and the house on Berenwood is virtually empty, save for the studs and the odd nail. Chad and Andrew tag-teamed tearing down the ceilings in each room while Cory and Asla wrecked the attic space.





Our newest addition, Liz (from Michigan) took out the kitchen cabinets like it was nobody's business. Imagine Thor in real life, but with a longer hammer/pick axe. Beautiful. By the way, she beat her court case. Also, today we were able to work with a two living legends. First, was Guy Patrick, who actually helped to start Habitat for Humanity in the counties of Clark and Madison, Kentucky. The other living legend's name was José Cabrera, who volunteers with Habitat for three days a week and travels the country in his RV.

Some of the group members listening intently to The Mr. Guy Patrick.
Note well- that Chad has failed fashion 101, he wore all white after Labor Day. I just can't...

The Tyvek suit modeled by Asla, and José's RV in the background.

It is astonishing the rate at which we've cleaned out the single-level house. We'll be getting more rain the next two days, but hopefully by Friday we will be able to take the siding off the house.

We found a passionate love letter stashed in the attic;
the writer clearly didn't understand the concept of a "Dear John" letter.

Ms. Willis and her two children came to visit us today, a little more excited at the prospect of having their own home. Seeing their faces is a good reminder of what we are working for.

We are all about saving energy around here...so...

Today was our first day on the job! We met with our Habitat for Humanity partners for breakfast and a briefing on our project. And OMG they had Chick-Fil-Ahhhh. Here's a tip for you northerners reading this blog, step outside your comfort zone and slap some strawberry jam on a chicken biscuit, you will not regret it.

Madison and Clark counties are in need of some special love and attention. Our partner family is a single mother trying to build a better life for herself and two kids. All in all, we felt that words alone cannot describe the deep sense of gratitude expressed for us simply being here.

Ms. Rebecca Willis in the center and our new friend Liz in front of Asla. You people viewing our blogs know the rest of the pictured homeskillets.

The home we are working on is a 'recycled' home. It was built by Habitat 20 years earlier, but has since fallen into abandon. Our main focus today was to gut the interior walls of drywall and insulation.

A little amputation never hurt anybody. (Olivia and Cory)

Cory showing the tools and Morgan showing the "guns" in the background.

Our project manager expected us to gut the back two bedrooms and part of the hallway. By the end of our second shift, we'd made it into the living room and kitchen, attacking the walls and cabinets with all we had!

Originally, we were divided by helmet color (White Caps SUX EGGS and the Green Knights) to see who could gut their back bedroom first. As the competition died with the last few pieces of crumbling drywall, the teams merged to finish the rest of the house. The seamless sense of teamwork struck a cord in all of us as both natural and miraculous.





Also, shout-out to Liz our pick axe wielding habitat friend who straight up murdered some drywall. She will be arraigned on Tuesday, but really... she is visiting friends here in Richmond and decided to volunteer for a few days.

The work may have been tough, but it was fun kicking through walls and knocking over things together.

Asla using the boot!!!

In case you need help going to sleep...

We started off the morning with French toast and jam, then got dressed for an afternoon outdoors. With our hiking boots laced, we drove the half hour out to Raven Run nature sanctuary.

From Left to Right (Front): Morgan Earley, Olivia Collins, Crista Gray, Andrew Hamilton, Chad Indorf
Left to Right (Back): Hitham Hatatah, Cory Pius, Asla Alkhafaji

Last night we experienced some heavy rains and winds, which made the trails a soggy, muddy mess. For the most part, we made it through without any major wipe-outs.







It was the perfect day to explore the hills and valleys of Kentucky. We lost count of the numerous waterfalls and switchbacks, sometimes feeling as though the trail went on forever.


Periodically, we encountered some enthusiastic trail runners crazy enough to run through all of the muck--one man looked as though he was wearing leggings made of pure mud! Three hours later,  we broke through the tree line at the end of the trail at last!

First day of work tomorrow so everyone is getting to bed early...

First Day of Habitat Domestic: Richmond, Kentucky

Today we left the great state of Pennsylvania for Kentucky with a Suburban packed to the ceiling and high hopes for the adventure to come!

We arrived at our new home for the week and began to settle in to our humble abode. However, not to humble, because our house will be on the upcoming MTV Cribs Habitat for Humanity Edition.

After a restful afternoon, the group went to an evening Spanish Mass at a local parish. Supper then needed to be prepared so Cory and Olivia graciously slaved over a hot stove to fix a simple yet delicious meal. The group sat down to a family meal: picnic style.

A little post-meal discussion with some laughs and the group is ready for some much needed shut-eye. Seeya in the A.M.

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