WHEN YOU'RE HOT, YOU'RE HOT!

Well, we started work at our new build this week and have logged 4 days now. I would have posted sooner but the Public Libraries here were closed both Monday and Tuesday so this is our first chance to get back on line.

First comment, “boy it’s hot”. Our co-workers who live here all year round say this is just nice and cool to them. We have been in the high 70’s or low 80’s all week with a high of 89 today. With lots and lots of sun we are using lots and lots of sunscreen and drinking lots and lots of water on the job. Every now and then we just have to find some shade while at work too.

And speaking of work, we are having the unique opportunity at this build to start a standard size Habitat house from the ground up. Monday, we stepped on to a finished concrete pad and for the last four days we have been building and raising walls and adding plywood sheathing to the outside.



Things get a little toasty on the concrete but the ice water helps. We work with a different group of local volunteers each day. They come out each week on the same day to offer some help. We are meeting people of all ages, all skill levels and all walks of life. Today I was able to work with a man from Haiti, along with a fellow from Michigan who comes down here with his trailer to work for about 5 to 6 months during the winter. He has a dog, cat, trailer, van and a big Harley which he rides to work most days.

We have had several changes in our work schedule this week. We left one job to set up another home for the pending sheet rocking crew. On another day we left the house raising build to move to another house to add insulation. Just this morning we started our day at yet another location where we poured a concrete driveway and sidewalk. After that job was accomplished the whole crew headed back to the house we are raising and worked the reminder of the day.

As with our last build the local Habitat affiliate, Highlands County Habitat for Humanity, also has a Home Store where they sell used furniture, dishes, books, fixtures, construction items, etc.. The funds which are raised provide income for operating expenses plus money to put toward more homes. I was told by one Habitat member that these stores can generate enough income over a two month period to provide funds for another house. These affiliates work through local donations and fund raisers as well as grant money to provide these homes. As a matter of fact, I was told Tuesday by the Construction Director that he was contacted just an hour or two before with a donation of a complete restaurant’s fixtures. Plans are underway for our whole Monday crew to load up the trucks and head to Okachobee, FL where we will strip out the restaurant’s equipment including kitchen equipment as well as booths, tables ,cabinets, etc.. All of these will be brought back to the home store to be sold. It’s amazing how these different “fund streams” grow together to create the necessary funds for building yet another home.

I am mindful of a scripture verse. In Proverbs 29:18 it says: “Where there is no vision the people perish.” I am reminded that Habitat, and those who serve in this ministry, have a vision of what can be done when people get an idea, dream large and then get busy. Two of the homes this affiliate has recently worked on were older homes which were donated. The one Frannie and I got to walk through Monday morning was actually moved off the lot where it was built and relocated to another part of the town. As you can imagine there was, and still is, lots of remodeling to be done. But someone who is looking for a home can purchase one of these at a much lower cost and still have a solid, nice, comfortable home in which to raise their families. We continue to learn more about this ministry with each new experience. We will continue to share what we learn with you so that you may get a better picture of what Habitat is all about. Who knows, it may inspire you to become involved with a local Habitat affiliate or, like Frannie and me, maybe you, too may want to go “on the road” to learn more as you offer yourselves in a similar way. Hey, who knows, maybe someday soon we will literally meet each other “on the road”. Next time I'll write more about the acres and acres of orange groves we drive by every day. We have tasted some of the local fruit and it is delicious. Until next time, God bless .

THINGS I LEARNED ON THIS TRIP! by Fran

Periodically I will share new information(to me, at least)that I will be sharing with you. Today's subject is GATORS: Gators don't just chomp away at you. They grab you in their jaws, drag you underwater and hold you there till you drown.(pretty picture, isn't it?)Then they carry you to their dining room for an undisturbed feast. Snowbirds (read Bob & Fran) will be glad to know that gators are summertime eaters. They give up eating in winter months and just coast along on stored up fat. This info came from the brochure "A guide to living with alligators" (living with?)