As we give of our time, talents and resources to tend the needs of the sick, offer food to the hungry and teach the dependent to stand on their own, we enrich ourselves spiritually beyond our ability to comprehend. Joseph B. Wirthlin
Today was a day of tying up loose ends at jobsites and wrapping up the week. The crews were able to finish up the work at the addition site outside of Saulesville, wrap up the painting and kitchen site in Mullens, and complete the porch and doors at the site in Mullens. That only leaves one site that will carry over into next week and that is the tiling site in Mullens. A lot of progress was made there today, but the room is pretty big and still has some furniture in it, so doing it half at a time made the most sense.
Besides the home repair sites today, we had Basketball Camp, Glen Rogers Manor, visiting and cleaning at The Way. Needless to say it was a busy day with PVs spread all over the county doing great things.
For dinner tonight we were told we were going to have Macaroni Surprise but weren't told what the surprise was until dinner. Needless to say that peaked our interest and we aren't telling what the surprise is : ) Along with the surprise we had green beans, bread and salad. All was very tasty and scrumptious.
Tonight being Friday, the reflection was a chance to look back at the week and reflect on our experiences and begin to integrate them into our lives back home. Tonight we focused on who touched our hearts while we served. It was a wonderful sharing of our experiences.
Another great week has come to a close. A lot of great projects were done, but it is the conversations that we will take with us when we leave.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Thursday, July 10, 2014
A pessimist, they say, sees a glass of water as being half empty...
A pessimist, they say, sees a glass of water as being half empty; an optimist sees the same glass as half full. But a giving person sees a glass of water and starts looking for someone who might be thirsty. G. Donald Gale
A lot of water water was drunk today as the temperatures outside soared, PVs got thirsty! Today we continued at two home repair sites that we had previously started. The site outside of Saulesville is now complete except for the EPDM roofing that will be applied tomorrow. It really is amazing how much has been done up there is 4 short days.
We also continued at the site in Mullens where we have been all week. The painting is done and the kitchen is very close. Part of the day tomorrow and we can call it a day as well.
Two new sites were started in Mullens, literally down the street from the other site. One site was patching a hole in the floor and putting down underlayment and soon tile. The other site was building a small back porch so the home owner could have another way out of his house, as well as replacing two doors. We will be back at both of these sites tomorrow.
To cap off the day, we also had Basketball Camp in the afternoon. Each day the camp has grown in numbers. While it hasn't been one of our biggest camps, the kids are really learning a lot and enjoying their time with the volunteers.
There was a little bit of a catastrophe on the way home from the painting site as the car carrying the leftover paint descended the hills of Mullens and tipped over. The PV community rallied together to help get as much paint out of the car as possible. You could hardly tell anything happened : )
After the clean-up we were treated to a nice dinner of leftovers as well as a few new items to freshen everything up. Needless to say we never run out of food here, we are always well fed.
The evening concluded with a nice reflection done by some of our younger PVs with a focus on who or where we saw Christ today. After a nice sharing we were encouraged to write a nice note to the person sitting on our left as another means of building community.
The evening concluded with benefit showing of a movie made by some of our PV kids. Not only do we have a talented group of youngsters, but they raised money for the PVs in the process!
A lot of water water was drunk today as the temperatures outside soared, PVs got thirsty! Today we continued at two home repair sites that we had previously started. The site outside of Saulesville is now complete except for the EPDM roofing that will be applied tomorrow. It really is amazing how much has been done up there is 4 short days.
We also continued at the site in Mullens where we have been all week. The painting is done and the kitchen is very close. Part of the day tomorrow and we can call it a day as well.
Two new sites were started in Mullens, literally down the street from the other site. One site was patching a hole in the floor and putting down underlayment and soon tile. The other site was building a small back porch so the home owner could have another way out of his house, as well as replacing two doors. We will be back at both of these sites tomorrow.
To cap off the day, we also had Basketball Camp in the afternoon. Each day the camp has grown in numbers. While it hasn't been one of our biggest camps, the kids are really learning a lot and enjoying their time with the volunteers.
There was a little bit of a catastrophe on the way home from the painting site as the car carrying the leftover paint descended the hills of Mullens and tipped over. The PV community rallied together to help get as much paint out of the car as possible. You could hardly tell anything happened : )
After the clean-up we were treated to a nice dinner of leftovers as well as a few new items to freshen everything up. Needless to say we never run out of food here, we are always well fed.
The evening concluded with a nice reflection done by some of our younger PVs with a focus on who or where we saw Christ today. After a nice sharing we were encouraged to write a nice note to the person sitting on our left as another means of building community.
The evening concluded with benefit showing of a movie made by some of our PV kids. Not only do we have a talented group of youngsters, but they raised money for the PVs in the process!
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
...I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference after another.
I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people convinced that they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference after another.
Ellen Goodman
One small difference after another, sounds like each and every PV day, and today was no different. Volunteers young and not so young, continued working on the kitchen and the painting at the site in Mullens. The house is really starting to come together, everyone who has worked their should be proud of their work.
Work also continued on the addition just outside of Saulesville. It is really amazing how fast it is going up. The floor, walls and some rafters are already up. Before you know it, it will be ready to inhabit.
Volunteers started and finished a new site up on Bud Mountain. An older couple had asked us to repair their back porch roof and small ramp. Not only is the couple very nice to work with, but the setting is absolutely gorgeous, with their house sitting right on top of a mountain.
Non-home repair sites also continued today, with a group going to help out at St. Vincent DePaul in Pineville, as well as the afternoon basketball camp in Mullens.
Our dinner tonight was a wonderful cookout with burgers and hotdogs, potato salad, beans and all the fixings. It was very tasty and filled our bellies.
Another wonderful reflection tonight. It is always our hope to bring the spirit of WV home at the end of our time here and tonight's reflection focused on how we would like to do that. Many great ideas were shared. The reflection wrapped up with another get to know you game as we went around the circle and shared something about us in relation to a corresponding letter. Always fun to learn more about each other!
Ellen Goodman
One small difference after another, sounds like each and every PV day, and today was no different. Volunteers young and not so young, continued working on the kitchen and the painting at the site in Mullens. The house is really starting to come together, everyone who has worked their should be proud of their work.
Work also continued on the addition just outside of Saulesville. It is really amazing how fast it is going up. The floor, walls and some rafters are already up. Before you know it, it will be ready to inhabit.
Volunteers started and finished a new site up on Bud Mountain. An older couple had asked us to repair their back porch roof and small ramp. Not only is the couple very nice to work with, but the setting is absolutely gorgeous, with their house sitting right on top of a mountain.
Non-home repair sites also continued today, with a group going to help out at St. Vincent DePaul in Pineville, as well as the afternoon basketball camp in Mullens.
Our dinner tonight was a wonderful cookout with burgers and hotdogs, potato salad, beans and all the fixings. It was very tasty and filled our bellies.
Another wonderful reflection tonight. It is always our hope to bring the spirit of WV home at the end of our time here and tonight's reflection focused on how we would like to do that. Many great ideas were shared. The reflection wrapped up with another get to know you game as we went around the circle and shared something about us in relation to a corresponding letter. Always fun to learn more about each other!
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
The place to improve the world...
The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands. Robert M Pirsig
What started out as a warm and humid day ended in a heavy, heavy downpour this evening. The rains should clear everything out for a beautiful day tomorrow. But before we talk about tomorrow, lets look back on today.
Today we continued on the paining and flooring site in Mullens, as well as the addition in the Saulesville area. The big news of the day though is we finished up three sites!!! The flooring site near Welch looks great and the home owner is VERY happy with the result and all the hard work over the last few days. We also finished up on the site in Maben that we started awhile back but where the owner took a fall and was in the hospital. She greeted the volunteers in a wheelchair/walker with her leg in a cast all the way up to the hip. Despite her difficulties she was always warm and welcoming self. Finally, we finished up a site that we had begun back in March with the Northern Illinois group that we had promised to come back to do a little follow up.
Besides all the home repair going on, we also had our basketball camp in the afternoon. We picked up two more kids for the afternoon camp and by all reports a fun time was had by all. We did find out that there is another free camp in Mullens this week, explaining why our numbers are not as good as we had anticipated.
After the long day we were treated to a comforting meal of meatloaf, (lentil loaf for the veggies), mashed potatoes, peas and veggies. To top off the wonderful meal we were spoiled with banana pudding for dessert. Yum, yum, yum.
Tonight's reflection was done by a long time PV, but first time reflection leader. I'd have to say, it was an impressive first time out! We first reflected on what West Virginia means to us. A common thread was the community, so the final activity of creating a web among the volunteers was very apropos. We were each a part of the web of connections and answered a random question about ourselves to learn more about each other. After the web was formed the younger PVs enjoyed running underneath the web.
What started out as a warm and humid day ended in a heavy, heavy downpour this evening. The rains should clear everything out for a beautiful day tomorrow. But before we talk about tomorrow, lets look back on today.
Today we continued on the paining and flooring site in Mullens, as well as the addition in the Saulesville area. The big news of the day though is we finished up three sites!!! The flooring site near Welch looks great and the home owner is VERY happy with the result and all the hard work over the last few days. We also finished up on the site in Maben that we started awhile back but where the owner took a fall and was in the hospital. She greeted the volunteers in a wheelchair/walker with her leg in a cast all the way up to the hip. Despite her difficulties she was always warm and welcoming self. Finally, we finished up a site that we had begun back in March with the Northern Illinois group that we had promised to come back to do a little follow up.
Besides all the home repair going on, we also had our basketball camp in the afternoon. We picked up two more kids for the afternoon camp and by all reports a fun time was had by all. We did find out that there is another free camp in Mullens this week, explaining why our numbers are not as good as we had anticipated.
After the long day we were treated to a comforting meal of meatloaf, (lentil loaf for the veggies), mashed potatoes, peas and veggies. To top off the wonderful meal we were spoiled with banana pudding for dessert. Yum, yum, yum.
Tonight's reflection was done by a long time PV, but first time reflection leader. I'd have to say, it was an impressive first time out! We first reflected on what West Virginia means to us. A common thread was the community, so the final activity of creating a web among the volunteers was very apropos. We were each a part of the web of connections and answered a random question about ourselves to learn more about each other. After the web was formed the younger PVs enjoyed running underneath the web.
Monday, July 7, 2014
As we give of our time...
As we give of our time, talents and resources to tend the needs of the sick, offer food to the hungry and teach the dependent to stand on their own, we enrich ourselves spiritually beyond our ability to comprehend. Joseph B Wirthlin
Everyday is a new adventure and today was no exception. We our biggest group of the summer we were spread out over five home repair sites and three camps. We had several continuations of home repair from last week. We were able to finish up at the site in Allyn Junction where we dry walled the ceiling, painted and today put the finishing touches on the trim with the help of the home owner's grandson. The same crew that worked at that site went on to finish another site, the flooring site in Pineville from last week. Again, another great site and another woman that we will continue to be in touch with.
We also returned to the flooring site on the road between Pineville and Welch that began last week. A lot of progress was done today, so much so that it is almost finished. Tomorrow, only finishing touches and a dump run are needed.
Two new sites were started as well. In Mullens we began work at a house where we will be doing some painting as well as some work in the kitchen, and near Saulesville we continued to work on a project that a youth group from Pennsylvania started a few weeks ago. We will be helping a family by adding more space to their living quarters so that they can bring the wife/mother home. This is a fairly big project for the PVs, but we are happy to help the family in any way we can.
Today also marked the beginning of our camps for this summer, two basketball camps (am and pm) and a craft camp. Unfortunately numbers were not what we are wishing, but we are hoping for better tomorrow. If you are in the Wyoming County area, please come on down and join us!
After our busy day we treated to Taco night. Lots of good food and good conversation. To add a twist to lining up for dinner, we were asked to line up in reverse age order. Guess we all had to come clean : ) After reflection, we got another treat we fresh baked cookies.
Speaking of reflection, tonight's reflection focused on where our shoes had tread today. We were asked to talk about where our shoes had been and to remove our shoes and place them in the center of the room. Then we were asked to put ourselves in someone else's shoes and share a burden that we may have encountered. (You all will be happy to know that at the end of the night we all got our own shoes back : ) )
Everyday is a new adventure and today was no exception. We our biggest group of the summer we were spread out over five home repair sites and three camps. We had several continuations of home repair from last week. We were able to finish up at the site in Allyn Junction where we dry walled the ceiling, painted and today put the finishing touches on the trim with the help of the home owner's grandson. The same crew that worked at that site went on to finish another site, the flooring site in Pineville from last week. Again, another great site and another woman that we will continue to be in touch with.
We also returned to the flooring site on the road between Pineville and Welch that began last week. A lot of progress was done today, so much so that it is almost finished. Tomorrow, only finishing touches and a dump run are needed.
Two new sites were started as well. In Mullens we began work at a house where we will be doing some painting as well as some work in the kitchen, and near Saulesville we continued to work on a project that a youth group from Pennsylvania started a few weeks ago. We will be helping a family by adding more space to their living quarters so that they can bring the wife/mother home. This is a fairly big project for the PVs, but we are happy to help the family in any way we can.
Today also marked the beginning of our camps for this summer, two basketball camps (am and pm) and a craft camp. Unfortunately numbers were not what we are wishing, but we are hoping for better tomorrow. If you are in the Wyoming County area, please come on down and join us!
After our busy day we treated to Taco night. Lots of good food and good conversation. To add a twist to lining up for dinner, we were asked to line up in reverse age order. Guess we all had to come clean : ) After reflection, we got another treat we fresh baked cookies.
Speaking of reflection, tonight's reflection focused on where our shoes had tread today. We were asked to talk about where our shoes had been and to remove our shoes and place them in the center of the room. Then we were asked to put ourselves in someone else's shoes and share a burden that we may have encountered. (You all will be happy to know that at the end of the night we all got our own shoes back : ) )
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Busy few days...
It has been a busy few days around PV land. Friday morning we said goodbye to the PVs who were finishing up their service week(s) and those remaining celebrated the 4th. Saturday was spent getting ready for the new group coming, the biggest of the summer. Just as the last World Cup quarterfinal was going to penalty kicks, we welcomed all the new volunteers.
As usual, Sunday is community day for the PVs, so we spent the day getting to know each other. We went to Twin Falls to do the Falls hike and unlike last week we had beautiful weather and the trails we trail. Many adventures were had. The evening wrapped up with our community meal, commissioning and job sites. Volunteers are now ready and anxious to begin their week of service!
As usual, Sunday is community day for the PVs, so we spent the day getting to know each other. We went to Twin Falls to do the Falls hike and unlike last week we had beautiful weather and the trails we trail. Many adventures were had. The evening wrapped up with our community meal, commissioning and job sites. Volunteers are now ready and anxious to begin their week of service!
Thursday, July 3, 2014
It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life...
It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Even though it is a Thursday it feels like a Friday, since the Fourth of July holiday is tomorrow, so we treated it partially like our non-home repair Fridays. We had one home repair site, the flooring site we started yesterday out past Pineville. Floors can be tricky so the beginnings are a bit slow, but now we should be ready for a lot of hammering.
The other sites for the day included St. Vincent DePaul, the Itmann Food Bank and some repairs and cleaning at The Way where we are staying. Each of these placements offered a change of pace from the busy, hot week. Great work was done at every one of them and the volunteers enjoyed their time together.
Celebrating the 4th a little early, we had a cookout for dinner tonight. Burgers, potato salad and all the fixings. It is also Jenny's birthday so we finished off the evening with an ice cream cake to celebrate.
With July 4th tomorrow, volunteers were given the option of leaving in the morning instead of leaving on Saturday morning since we won't be on sites tomorrow. That means tonight's reflection was a closing. The closing reflected on moments, looking back over the week or two weeks here and sharing a significant moment with the group. It is the culmination of all these small moments that create a lasting memory.
Even though it is a Thursday it feels like a Friday, since the Fourth of July holiday is tomorrow, so we treated it partially like our non-home repair Fridays. We had one home repair site, the flooring site we started yesterday out past Pineville. Floors can be tricky so the beginnings are a bit slow, but now we should be ready for a lot of hammering.
The other sites for the day included St. Vincent DePaul, the Itmann Food Bank and some repairs and cleaning at The Way where we are staying. Each of these placements offered a change of pace from the busy, hot week. Great work was done at every one of them and the volunteers enjoyed their time together.
Celebrating the 4th a little early, we had a cookout for dinner tonight. Burgers, potato salad and all the fixings. It is also Jenny's birthday so we finished off the evening with an ice cream cake to celebrate.
With July 4th tomorrow, volunteers were given the option of leaving in the morning instead of leaving on Saturday morning since we won't be on sites tomorrow. That means tonight's reflection was a closing. The closing reflected on moments, looking back over the week or two weeks here and sharing a significant moment with the group. It is the culmination of all these small moments that create a lasting memory.
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