Wednesday's Work

Kevin, who had been working in the Center adding amperage and new plates to the outlets used for meals and coffee and made other electrical modifications in the kitchen, finished his work.

This was a most beautiful day! If one had to be up on a roof, this was the day to do it, and we were up on three, with the Shingle-Belles working right through three-quarters of supper to finish their project. On Thursday, the Shingle-Belles divided up to assist others: Rose Ann to Jacob's Well living room; JoEllen to the residence roof; Debbie to Jacob's Well roof.

In the kitchen for the entire week were George and Joanne. They turned out wonderful, tasty and filling meals and desserts to keep us going through our long days.

On Tuesday

It rained on and off on Monday and Monday evening, but work went on. Besides the window-work, we began to tackle three roofs – a porch at the rear of the residence, the residence’s main roof and a lodge. The porch roof had suffered a puncture from a falling branch. Debbie, JoEllen and Rose Ann went to work on it. They removed a square of the roof so that they could insert a plywood patch and re-shingle the entire area. Things were complicated by there being two layers of existing shingles – running at 90-degrees to one another and a nearby skylight.

On the main roof of the residence there was a large dormer which had been leaking. Part of the problem was a smallish, ineffective cricket intended to deflect rainwater. The work which began on Monday to remedy this, however, led to even more rain water penetrating the roof when the wind blew the plastic cover aside. By Tuesday this was taken care of and further work on the roof proceeded – removing old shingles, adding a new drip edge, etc. Don, Lloyd, Ron, Tom, Roland and Margaret (one of the caretakers of the property) took the lead with this effort.

Monday, March 22nd

By late Sunday afternoon all 21 of us had arrived at Wellspring. First we toured the various work sites, then we sat down for a meal prepared by Ingrid, the staff cook. Following supper we divided ourselves up to deal with the various challenges and briefly planned how to deal with them -- at least initially.

The weather was good. Energy abounded. We were ready. And so on Monday morning we began. Two of the large double-pane windows in the Center had insect damage on their lower supports. Very carefully the weakened materials were removed from the bottom and both glass panes released from the frames. Then, the lower supports were rebuilt, new caulk put in place and the glass returned. Total time: two days. Seth, Edd and Keith handled this job.

March Mission Trip

We will be going to the Wellspring Conference Center, in Germantown, MD, the week of March 21st to 27th in order to assist them with repairs and improvements. As part of The Church of the Saviour, Wellspring is a Christian conference center which helps the church be the church by leading events that foster spiritual growth -- (1) an inward journey, (2) an outward journey of service, and (3) a commitment to building community. Also, they provide a place for rest and renewal for people already engaged in Christ's service.

Our work will include repairing water damage to various lodges and the Center, adding insulation and new ceilings within the lodges, installing new electrical lines and outlets and reversing various other problems created by recent storms and the aging of their 37-year-old buildings.

Established over 50 years ago, Wellspring sponsors and hosts retreats. It is part of over 200 acres of land set aside for renewal purposes. Another part of the property is used for silent retreats of the members of the various congregations within The Church of the Saviour which sponsor over 40 ministries to those in need within the city of Washington, D.C., and to others beyond beyond the goegraphical bounds of the Capitol.

Late Fall Gathering

Twenty members of our building/rebuilding team met in Clifton Park, NY, on Saturday, December 12th, to begin planning work for the new year. As usual we had a great time together and somehow, amid all the cheerful banter and food consumption , we actually got a few things done. We hope to be able to move in several different directions as 2010 rolls out: repairs at Wellspring, the conference center of Church of the Saviour in Germantown, MD; construction with a Habitat or Habitat-like project someplace in Virginia (or with a days+ drive); the addition of a room for a family in Corinth, NY. Obviously many details remain to be worked out, but, if the way be clear, these are the directions we plan to take. (George took our photo.)

NOLA: Week Two, Day Three

This is Eagle Street, Miss Thelma's house. Some three generations live here, but we are only working on the "new addition" on the left, where we are trying to correct a problem with the floor joists and supporting girders. Tomorrow we will pour cement into four new pads which will support the new piers. These in turn will bring everything into a level plane -- we hope. Also, we have wrapped the exterior walls with Tyvek to create a vapor barrier, so that new siding can later be installed.

Gordon Street was finished today at three o'clock! A local TV affiliate showed up to talk with the owner and some of our NYS-fits+ thought they may have been pictured in the background. This is the second home that we have been able to see to completion, which gives a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. We realize that it takes the efforts of many, many groups to do all the work, but it is a wonderful high when you see that everything, literally everything, is finished!

Sadly, tomorrow Jim leaves. Another of us will go on Friday and then the rest on Saturday. The days have flown past us. We give thanks to God for the safety we have known and the spirit of cooperation and joy that has infused our team.

NOLA: Week Two

Time has been flying. It's already Tuesday of week two!

Good progress continues to be made on Gordon. Today some 25 bags of cement were mixed and poured into the reinforced forms for the bases of the two stairs. Inside, caulking, painting, hot water heater connections and other "punch-list" items were completed. Wesley again worked side-by-side with our intrepid volunteers.

On Eagle Street, Seth and Ted worked once more with Dan to level the joists in the middle room. Each of the lines in the photo are levels against which they are attempting to move the joists, so that the new floor will be level. A larger jack, capable of lifting 30 tons, is coming tomorrow to raise the center joist. Following that the news pads will be poured for the piers. Outside, the sheathing was wrapped around 3/4 of the house and set in place with staples and felt nails. When the sheathing is completed and the floor leveled, the windows will be re-installed.