GOODBYE NORTH CAROLINA - FLORIDA, HERE WE COME!

Our first Habitat build is now “in the books”. We had a great experience working with all the folks at the Chatham Habitat for Humanity. Daily we had the opportunity to work with the other members of our ‘Care-A-Vanners’ team as well as local volunteers, a great trio of Americorps youth, and Habitat staff.

Though the make up of the crew was different daily, two faces who were almost always there together leading us were the construction supervisors, Gabriela and Jack.



These two leaders worked daily with all of us, guiding us in not only what needed to be done but how to do it. They demonstrated skill and great knowledge of their craft while, at the same time showing patience and a positive attitude as they encouraged the volunteers all day long. You would often hear Jack saying “great job, guys”, “awesome work”, “way to go” and other uplifting words to make the day’s activities better. He would begin the workday with, “There’s three things we want to do today: work safely, have fun together, and get some things accomplished.” These two professionals were, in large part, responsible for our having such a positive and enjoyable experience. Our sincere thanks go out to both of them.

We had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of local volunteers. There were old bikers, a father & daughter team, a group of local men, a ladies group, individuals and groups who travelled on a once a week basis from up to 40 miles away to help build affordable housing for families who need it.



We met, and worked with, some of the families who will be buying the very homes we were helping to build. We learned that Habitat does so much more for these families than just build houses. They provide training and classes in areas such as job skills, credit counseling and personal finance, community relationships and community building. We worked in a section of housing where people were living in, and maintaining, very nice, modest homes where you could see small gardens, flower beds, well kept yards with children playing in safety. We are beginning to get a better picture of the larger mission of Habitat…building a sense of community, of home, one house at a time.



If any of our newfound friends at the Chatham Habitat for Humanity read this blog we want to offer you our personal thanks for your warm welcome and encouragement. And also to our new friends, Nancy and Richard Peter, who hosted our Care-A-Vanner team at their horse farm…thank you so much.



We want to send a special southern greeting to our nephew Ben Wypij who, along with his family, follows our blog. “Hey Ben, how y'all doin’? Aunt Fran and Uncle Bob send a big "HEY" out to y'all."

Now we head south to warmer temps (we hope) and new experiences at our next Habitat build. Please keep checking in on our progress and please pray for safe travel as we head out on Monday morning. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you “on the road”.