"Preach the gospel everyday; if necessary, use words."
St. Francis of Assisi
Another scorcher today with a high of 97. I am looking forward to not talking about the weather being so hot. Today being Friday, it our day to focus on all things non home repair. Fridays are a chance to assist local agencies and visit with friends.
Today we had three different activities. One group went to St. Vincent DePaul to continue the task of organizing and sorting clothes. A second group headed back to Itmann to continue work on the school house. Today's big accomplishment there was putting a back door in where a window once was. The place is getting closer and closer to UGWA and Groundworks getting to move into the space.
Later in the afternoon a group of volunteers went to Mullens Manor to play banana bingo and give manicures. The crowd started out small, but by the end of the time it was hopping and all the banana's were given away.
For dinner we had a combo of yummy never been seen before food and a smorgasbord of leftovers. The "new" food included rice and beans, as well as pork. For dessert there were many options: banana bread, ice cream cake and a fresh dump cake. Who says we don't eat well here????
The final reflection for the week focused on on family. Using the idea how strong and important families seem to the people in West Virginia, we were asked to reflect on our own families and what we were grateful for in our families.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Friday, July 6, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
"The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy."
Kalu Kalu
We had another crazy day of weather. It was hot and humid right from the morning, peaking around noon with temperatures in the low to mid 90's. But then tremendous stormed rolled in with 60 mph winds, thunder, lightening and sheets of rain. It took a little over an hour for the storm to roll through and after it passed the temperatures were in the 70's. There were once again some power outages, luckily for us the school power only went out momentarily, it did however take our the internet for most of the day.
Today we had groups at three different sites throughout the county. A small two person crew went to finish up at the site right up the street from the school. Many PVs worked at the this site both this summer and with our college groups. It has been wonderful working with the family. The two girls are already planning on coming down for the camps at the school.
A group returned to the Itmann school house to continue with renovations to the building. On today's plans was the installations of a door and a window, framing for a new wall and digging outside to uncover the drainage pipe.
The final group went to St. Vincent DePaul to help with sorting and organizing in the warehouse. It probably sounds like we do this often, but daily there are bags of stuff left on the steps that needs to be gone through. It is an ongoing project....
We were treated to homemade pizza for dinner tonight for dinner, alongside salad and homemade ice cream cake. Yummy, yummy!!
Tonight for reflection were asked to reflect on the idea of service and how it can bring us happiness while we are doing it. Volunteers shared what it is that draws them back to West Virginia each summer and why they return. I was a nice way to reflect on the idea of service.
Kalu Kalu
We had another crazy day of weather. It was hot and humid right from the morning, peaking around noon with temperatures in the low to mid 90's. But then tremendous stormed rolled in with 60 mph winds, thunder, lightening and sheets of rain. It took a little over an hour for the storm to roll through and after it passed the temperatures were in the 70's. There were once again some power outages, luckily for us the school power only went out momentarily, it did however take our the internet for most of the day.
Today we had groups at three different sites throughout the county. A small two person crew went to finish up at the site right up the street from the school. Many PVs worked at the this site both this summer and with our college groups. It has been wonderful working with the family. The two girls are already planning on coming down for the camps at the school.
A group returned to the Itmann school house to continue with renovations to the building. On today's plans was the installations of a door and a window, framing for a new wall and digging outside to uncover the drainage pipe.
The final group went to St. Vincent DePaul to help with sorting and organizing in the warehouse. It probably sounds like we do this often, but daily there are bags of stuff left on the steps that needs to be gone through. It is an ongoing project....
We were treated to homemade pizza for dinner tonight for dinner, alongside salad and homemade ice cream cake. Yummy, yummy!!
Tonight for reflection were asked to reflect on the idea of service and how it can bring us happiness while we are doing it. Volunteers shared what it is that draws them back to West Virginia each summer and why they return. I was a nice way to reflect on the idea of service.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
"Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action."
Peter Drucker
Happy 4th of July! To celebrate the 4th we have gave the day off to the volunteers. Many went to the New River Gorge area for a hike, while others decided to take in a movie.
We hope everyone enjoys their Fourth of July!
Peter Drucker
Happy 4th of July! To celebrate the 4th we have gave the day off to the volunteers. Many went to the New River Gorge area for a hike, while others decided to take in a movie.
We hope everyone enjoys their Fourth of July!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
"In separateness lies the world's great misery, in compassion lies the world's true strength."
Buddha
The temperatures continue to hover in the low to mid-90's, but today was extra humid making work today all that much harder. We had two crews out today. One group returned to the site in Hanover to finish up the tiling, painting and plumbing. They made great progress, but there is still a little left to do.
The other group of PVs went to work on the Itmann school house to continue renovations. Today the group did an amazing job clearing the brush from back of the building, as well as clearing all the limbs that were touching the roof. It was a lot of hard work, but it looks fabulous. The group also was able to open up the shutters on three of the back windows and remove the plywood that was covering the window. Just those simple things really made a huge difference and let a lot of light into the building.
This evening their were many tired and sore PVs who were grateful for the meal that was prepared for them. Tonight we had macaroni and cheese, ham, green beans, salad and homemade rolls from Daphne. The whole meal absolutely wonderful. The meal was topped of with homemade chocolate chip cookies, with a special large cookie with candles to celebrate Jenny's birthday. Of course a very out of tune rendition of "Happy Birthday" followed.
Reflection tonight was simple, yet powerful as we reflected on our "new and good" from the day.
Buddha
The temperatures continue to hover in the low to mid-90's, but today was extra humid making work today all that much harder. We had two crews out today. One group returned to the site in Hanover to finish up the tiling, painting and plumbing. They made great progress, but there is still a little left to do.
The other group of PVs went to work on the Itmann school house to continue renovations. Today the group did an amazing job clearing the brush from back of the building, as well as clearing all the limbs that were touching the roof. It was a lot of hard work, but it looks fabulous. The group also was able to open up the shutters on three of the back windows and remove the plywood that was covering the window. Just those simple things really made a huge difference and let a lot of light into the building.
This evening their were many tired and sore PVs who were grateful for the meal that was prepared for them. Tonight we had macaroni and cheese, ham, green beans, salad and homemade rolls from Daphne. The whole meal absolutely wonderful. The meal was topped of with homemade chocolate chip cookies, with a special large cookie with candles to celebrate Jenny's birthday. Of course a very out of tune rendition of "Happy Birthday" followed.
Reflection tonight was simple, yet powerful as we reflected on our "new and good" from the day.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
"If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results."
Jack Dixon
We kicked off the third week of the program with a bang. This week we have a smaller group, especially today as we are waiting on a few more arrivals, so we decided to send everyone to one site and really try to knock it out. The volunteers went up the road to the site right near that we underpinned and painted at last week. Today they worked on finishing up the painting, as well as starting the tiling in three rooms and fixing a plumbing problem in the bathroom. With all the volunteers together a lot was accomplished. We should be done at that site in another day.
For dinner we were treated to some very comforting food; tuna noodle casserole and/or chicken primavera. It really hit that spot after a days work. To top off the meal we had some scrumptious brownies.
Reflection tonight was a combo of reflection and commissioning, as we had not commissioned our new arrived PVs. After they were commissioned, the volunteers shared a "new and a good" from their day.
Jack Dixon
We kicked off the third week of the program with a bang. This week we have a smaller group, especially today as we are waiting on a few more arrivals, so we decided to send everyone to one site and really try to knock it out. The volunteers went up the road to the site right near that we underpinned and painted at last week. Today they worked on finishing up the painting, as well as starting the tiling in three rooms and fixing a plumbing problem in the bathroom. With all the volunteers together a lot was accomplished. We should be done at that site in another day.
For dinner we were treated to some very comforting food; tuna noodle casserole and/or chicken primavera. It really hit that spot after a days work. To top off the meal we had some scrumptious brownies.
Reflection tonight was a combo of reflection and commissioning, as we had not commissioned our new arrived PVs. After they were commissioned, the volunteers shared a "new and a good" from their day.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Our Power is Back!
This afternoon the power was restored to the school so we moved back in. Volunteers that had delayed their arrival are now on their way down and sites are being planned for tomorrow. Everything is back to normal, well as normal as things could be. There are still large parts of the county and the state without electricity and with this heat we are having it will make for some dangerous situations. Please keep everyone in your thoughts and prayers.
We have to thank the wonderful and flexible group of PVs that are here right now. They rolled with the punches, pitched in where they could and slept in close quarters. We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of the rest of the community.
If you are wondering where pictures from the second week are, there will be a bit of a delay with those. Due to the power outage we could not download anyone's pictures and are waiting for them to be emailed to use. Keep checking back, they will be posted asap.
We have to thank the wonderful and flexible group of PVs that are here right now. They rolled with the punches, pitched in where they could and slept in close quarters. We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of the rest of the community.
If you are wondering where pictures from the second week are, there will be a bit of a delay with those. Due to the power outage we could not download anyone's pictures and are waiting for them to be emailed to use. Keep checking back, they will be posted asap.
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