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.

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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.

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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.

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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.