Affirmation

It's been a while since I've updated, but here I am again, still safe and sound up on the hill. Actually, right now I have a day off, so I'm at the Lee County Library using their high speed internet to attempt to upload photos onto facebook. We'll see how it works.

Just so y'all know--if you comment on my photos, please don't expect a speedy response because I will not be checking Facebook very often, it takes forever and a half to load at the center and I can't come to the library very often.

*** ***

Appalachia Service Project Vocab

(That's "Apple-at-cha" for all you midwest people who say "Apple-ashia" :)

• ASP: Appalachia Service Project (duh!), an emergency home repair ministry with which I am in love :)
• Building Manager: Ours is Kyth, and he's pretty awesome. The building manager is in charge of the facility we're using--we repair houses, but not our own :) And being a local, he is also invaluable for his knowlege of seemingly every single person in the county and how best to deal with public relations issues.
• CD: Center Director, a returning staff member hired with some extra responsibility
• Crisis Management Plan: a black folder that details what to do in case of emergencies, including but not limited to, the discovery of a meth lab or an infestation of bats at the center.
• Devos: Morning devotional, presented by the staff or a volunteer group
• Contact Home/Person: Each staff member is in charge of answering questions and being the construction expert for a certain number of homes per week. We rotate being the contact person for each home so that we all know something about every home in case there are questions.
• EG: Evening Gathering, an activity or presentation that the staff puts on for the volunteers every evening.
• FA: Finance Accelerator, the program made especially for ASP that I use to keep track of all of our money.
• FC: Field Coordinator, basically our boss. There is one FC for every couple of counties in charge of making sure that we're doing our jobs properly and whatnot.
• GL: Group Leader, the adult volunteers in charge of their teen groups. They can be both a blessing or a curse, depending on their levels of cooperation, independence, sexism, preconceived notions about ASP, etc.
• IHV: Initial Home Visit, when the staff visits the home of a new applicant to assess need and meet the family.
• Isotonic Solutions: Craig's favorite use of salt when discussing that "we are the salt of the earth”
• No Calls/No Letters: The most depressing things ever, this is how we notify a family that we will not be able to work on their home.
• OSB: I have no idea what that stands for, but it's the board we use for decking a roof or flooring :)
• Runs: Not to be confused with the unpleasant bodily function, "going on runs" is what ASP staff does for most of the day. Each house that is being worked on requires a daily visit.
• Sketch: Today's unofficial "word of the day." OMG that's so sketch...
• Staff Share: During an EG, staff memebers have the opportunity to share something personal about why they decided to be on staff.
• Summer Theme: This year, the theme is "You are the salt of the earth." We try to relate all of our programming back to this theme.
• The Three S's: Safety, Stewardship, and Sensitivity! They're a good way to teach the volunteers how best to act at the worksite and in the community.
• V's: Volunteers! They're pretty awesome.

*** ***

I love having volunteers here. Last Friday for EG, the day before our first group packed up to leave, we had a share circle with everyone, and listening to their experiences really reminded me why I'm here. Having volunteered in High School, I could relate to everything they were saying. They had an amazing time, and knowing that I had been a part of making that happen really made me feel good about being here.

My contact home for that first week, "The Proclaimers", was really great (I will be using our code names, see if you can guess the theme!). The mother has a lot of health problems and is deaf, but she can read lips very well, and after a few days I found that I could understand her pretty well when she spoke. She taught us some sign language--I don't always remember all of it, but I know the alphabet and a few random words (weird, beautiful, scared, I love you, smart, dumb, I understand). Her two sons are pretty fun to have around, always asking questions and showing us things like their chickens and playhouse and dogs. And her husband and brother who also lives there were eager to help and show us around.

Construction-wise, we are repairing the floor and roof in their trailer. Trailer floors are generally built out of particle board, which is probably the weakest material you could possibly use. Spill a drink on the carpet or over a tear in the linoleum and you get a hole right through to the ground underneath. We started in the bathroom and removed the entire floor, replacing it with OSB and fixing some plumbing issues on the side, and this week we're moving into the living room and kitchen.

A trailer roof is pretty difficult to repair because it's so weak and the walls cannot support very much added weight. We installed a metal patch, caulked the snot out of it, and added a layer of elastomeric, a rubbery roof coat that protects the metal underneath.

This week, I'm in charge of Los Del Rio and Piero Umiliani.

"Los Del Rio" is a roofing project that we originally thought would be pretty simple, but today the GL informed me that there is a structural issue with the rafters in the center being shallower than the ends. It seems that the rafters are sinking, creating a dip in the center of the roof, so that the new shingles we put on could hold puddles of water that would seriously undermine their strength. I didn't really know what to do beyond replacing the rafters entirely, but Craig had the idea to install bracing underneath, making a sort of A-shape with the rafters, to keep them from sinking further. It's a difficult project, but the GL on that house is very knowlegeable and experienced, so I feel comfortable putting him out there.

"Piero Umiliani" is my favorite family, I think. They have so much energy, so much warmth, so much love just pouring out of their home, it's overwhelming at first, and always unreal. I've only been there a couple of times, and already I can say I love being there. The first-year volunteers on the house seem to agree with me--the GL was telling me how much he loved the way the kids interacted with the family and how willing they were to climb under a house covered in spider webs. In short, they seem to be having the absolute ideal ASP experience. That's one more thing going well that makes me feel like I belong here.

Their positive attitude is made even more perfect by the nature of the project--by the end of the summer, we will have installed 4 60-foot long girder beams on 6x6" posts underneath this house. That's a lot of digging, a lot of concrete pouring. And the girder itself is a sandwhich of 3 2x8's nailed together--that's heavy! It's also difficult to assemble, because the seams need to be staggered by 2 feet. So far this group has dug 12 or so holes and cleaned out a lot of the stuff they found underneath the house--even though there are a lot more holes to go (the posts must be placed every 6 feet, so for all 4 beams, that's something like 40 holes), we're going to try to get an inspector out there tomorrow so that they can start pouring the concrete instead of just digging all week long.

** ** **

Now then. Something that I was just rereading that I would like to share because it makes me smile whenever I see it:

The willow is deceptively strong. It bends, but it does not break. Its roots are
deep and can withstand the worst storm. It promises rest, and shade, and cool
breezes to those who would find a haven beneath it. You have become my willow
and I have always found shelter in your kindness.

Thank you :) Even though I've met so many awesome people, it is difficult to be here far from home. I love getting emails from people, especially the one who sent me that beautiful quote :)

I promise I read them every chance I get.

Signing Houses

After several days of initial home visits (IHV's), we're finally starting to sign houses! It is going to be sad to have to tell people no, we cannot work on your house, but at least we get to tell some people yes, we are going to fix that leak/porch/rotten floor. For Week 1, we only have 6 work crews coming, so that's only 6 houses to start off with (later on, we'll have up to 16 between the 5 of us... the max is supposed to be only 15, but somebody messed up, I think.) We're awesome, we can handle it. Hopefully :)

The families we're working for are great. We're doing foundation work and a wheelchair ramp for a family who's son is in a wheelchair, he was so excited about being in a 4th of July parade next month, it was cute. There's an adorable older woman with the prettiest Siamese cat I've ever seen. And I'm really excited about starting one house in particular--the family is pretty much insane, but in a good way. They're so outgoing and friendly, the mom wanted to feed Craig and I lasagna and give away some of her (numerous) garage sale purchases when we were there for the IHV. One side of their foundation is slipped outward, and the ASP group that fixed it years ago cut the 2x10 rafters 2 feet short of the band joist and scabbed on 2x6s instead (that's bad!).

Somehow, no matter what I do, I seem to get injured. On the first day here, I was trying to unplug the calculator so we could move the desk--it was stuck so I was pulling and pulling and when it finally gave, my hand flew back and hit the desk, leaving a nice purple bump right below my thumb. Then yesterday, Kristina, Stephen and I took a break to play horseshoes here at the center--I wasn't paying attention and Stephen nailed me right in the shin. And this morning at one house we visited, this neighborhood kid ran up to me and hit me in the arm with a stick. It turned all red and stung for a bit. Little punk. This afternoon, we drove a bunch of crappy windows from the barn (2 van loads!) down to the dumpster. It was oddly satisfying to chuck them in there and hear the glass break. Of course, I cut my finger on a hinge that was sticking out. Oye.

Fun fact: the mascot for the St. Charles Elementary school is pretty much the most fantastic mascot ever. Sing it, y'all: We are the Midgets, the Mighty Mighty Midgets! We'll kick you in the gonads, we'll kick you in the shins! We'll bite off your kneecaps and tie your shoes together......

Yup. I love this town.

What I've Been Doing

“You’re going to go home and find you can’t tell people what you’ve been doing…
Your friends are going to say to you, You did what?... Are you
crazy?”
--Norma Dean, ASP Volunteer from 1969-2000

That being said, I’m still going to try. First let me say, I miss you all, and I’m sorry I can’t keep in closer contact. My cell phone has no signal at all—if you left me a message, I won’t get it until the end of the summer. I have some access to email, if you want to contact me that way. I probably will not be checking Facebook very often—we have dial-up, and with all the pictures, it takes forever and a half to load a page. But my mailing address is on there, if you want to send me letters or anything!

Now then. A quick description of Appalachia Service Project might be a nice start. ASP is an emergency home-repair ministry, focusing not just on providing quality home repair, but on developing lasting relationships between families, volunteers, and staff members. As staff, our responsibilities are incredible—they break down to: finding families to work for, ensuring we legally can build for them (permits, zoning, etc.), working with volunteers, providing food and quality programming for volunteers, and overseeing 8 weeks worth of construction projects, all the while working within a very limited budget. While most of the work is shared between 4-5 staffers per county, each staffer is assigned an additional specific job—this summer, I am Lee County’s Finance Coordinator (I like saying that… Finance Coordinator….). All receipts, bills, invoices, merchandise orders, volunteer fees, and payments come to me.

But backing up, training was quite possibly the busiest week I have ever experienced in my life thus far, although it was so structured most of the time that I could go from one hour-long session to the next without thinking too much. It was kind of like going to class, except we sat on rocking chairs on the porch or on couches in the lodge, or on the floor. Breakfast was usually at 7 am, and lights out was at 11—in between, the day was pretty packed. In sessions, we learned about everything construction, moving from foundations to floors to walls to doors and windows to the roof, and expanding on manufactured housing and drainage issues we might face in Appalachia. We even touched on electrical and plumbing. Basically, I could contract a house if I had to. We also had to discuss Appalachian economic issues, practice techniques for handling the spiritual/relational aspect of the ministry, learn basic large vehicle maintenance (I can change a spare tire now, and check all kinds of fluids!), and what to do if we discover domestic violence or abuse at one of our homes. There were sometimes up to 6 or so hours of sessions in one day.

Mixed into these sessions was the more active stuff. We had a hands-on day where we actually built wall panels and part of a roof for practice, a “Sunday Driving” day to practice maneuvering old, large vehicles on narrow gravel roads, and a team building day at a nearby park just to have fun with other staff members working through obstacle courses and whatnot. There were three “Culture Nights” as well: a bluegrass band, a square dance band/caller (TONS of fun!) and a fiddler. On “Sim Day,” we actually drove around to real ASP houses, where returning staff members acted out possible scenarios we might face in approaching a worksite, and we had to practice/ discuss how to deal with them. (Things like: a chauvinistic group leader is excluding female volunteers, the group decides to start projects not already agreed upon, the group is lazy, or the group isn’t at the work sight.) During the summer mornings and afternoons, most of my time will be spent driving from one house to the next, making sure everything is going well with the groups, the construction is completed to code, and the families’ needs are being met to the best of our ability, so that was good practice.

Overall, training wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t all amazing. At the beginning, I still had my final exam hanging over my head, so I kept running back to my room to study instead of bonding with the rest of the staff members and learning their names. I wish that hadn’t been the case—as I am, I am not an easy person to get to know; I do not open up to people very easily, so I should have put in the effort immediately instead of waiting until after my exam was taken. People all week were raving about the fantastic deep conversations they’d been having with new people they’d met—I can’t say I experienced the same until the last night of training when Tim and I caught each other up on our lives since High School.

And this has been a very awkward transition for me. I came here pretty much directly from school—it would have been nice to have a few days, or weeks even, at home with my family like everyone else, or some more time at school to finish everything at a normal pace and enjoy myself a bit more. I’ve been a little homesick and missing people—if I’m thinking about other people far away, I can nearly shut down socially. Even at school, I was close to my family, but Jonesville, VA is pretty darn far away from Chicago or Schaumburg, IL.

Speaking of Jonesville, aka my home for the summer, this is one of ASP’s year-round centers. That means it’s awesome. Lots of space, and less work for us because a lot is already set up (accounts at gas stations, and grocery and hardware stores in the area, are already taken care of). And since training happened here, the other staffers had to clean everything before they left for their own counties. And did I mention the 5 of us are sharing a 4 bedroom apartment with 2 bathrooms and a combination kitchen, dining room, and living room? I have my own room. *brushes shoulders off* This is the Hilton compared to the center in Hancock county that we helped out last weekend. That staff is working out of an abandoned hospital—it was a mess. Ceiling tiles falling in, water damage and black mold, three legged tables, expired medical supplies, a fridge full of rotten food, furniture and mattresses piled everywhere at random, dust and dirt and grime… by the end of this week, that hospital is going to be an awesome ASP center, I’m sure, but with all the clean up to do, the staff was grateful for our help.

Right now is set-up week. My amazing staff (Craig, Stephen, Britt and Kristina) and I have been hanging up signs, organizing everything for the volunteers, and most importantly, selecting homes for the summer. All day yesterday, I drove around with Craig doing IHVs (Initial Home Visits), talking to the family, taking notes. The phone here rings off the hook with people wanting help—we have over 100 applications, we have to say, as of right now we cannot say whether or not we’ll be able to work on your house, but we’re doing our best. It’s heartbreaking sometimes, and frustrating. But by the end of this week, we’ll have all the homes for week 1 signed. That’s when the real work starts.