The End of WorkFest

WorkFest has officially ended - which is actually pretty sad. I have really enjoyed the change of pace. I have been learning so many new skills and have been challenged to push myself in new ways. And now it's over.

The last week wrapped up well, even though I was not able to be there for all of it. I had to work in Adult Ed for Monday and Tuesday, but Wednesday I was back on site, ready to put up siding despite the rain. We had a good group of students this week, but I think it took them a while longer to bond together - but bond they did, so that is good. We got a lot of work done, but unfortunately, we were unable to finish the project. Partially because we didn't have all the materials we needed...

One of the biggest frustrations for me came on Thursday. Dana put me in charge of a crew to put siding up on a wall. The trick was that we weren't putting up siding, we were putting up soffett as siding. We didn't think it would be too big of a deal, it just meant we had to cut our own factory edges so the pieces would snap together. We put up our starter strips along with some J-channel (which can often be the most frustrating and time consuming parts, since they need to be level), then we started putting up the soffett-siding. Things were just moving very slowly - for some reason the joints were just not fitting together how they should have been; we had to fit and refit pieces, which is very tedious work. And then Dana came over, walked up to the joints and started pulling. The pieces came apart very easily. I was close to tears as I watched him. Here was my first time leading a crew and I failed! I think Dana sensed that I was upset, so he quickly reassured me that it wasn't our fault. The soffett just wasn't meant to be jointed like we needed it to be and we would have to get more siding. So my first crew and a few hours of tedious work was all in vain - sigh.

I may have mentioned this earlier, but the University of Oregon was out this week - which was awesome! I enjoyed working with fellow Oregonians (one of the girls on my crew was from Lebanon, OR) and loved the fact that I fit in wearing my Oregon sweatshirt.

I am truly going to miss WorkFest, but I know that I am taking the experience with me. WorkFest reminded me, in a more direct way, how important service toward others is. And how many blessings we can heap on people in our lives if we are willing to take the time to serve them. The blessings belong to more than just those being served - I have felt so incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to serve the people of Appalachia. They have allowed me to be a part of their lives, and some have even invited me in and called me family.

...

On a lighter note, I thought I would share one of the more amusing moments from week three of WorkFest. Dana planned this all out and got Katie, the girl from Lebanon, to play along.

Peace.

Three Guys, a Girl, and a Campsite

This past weekend I got a chance to go on my first camping trip of the season! Four of us headed down to western McCreary county on Saturday afternoon to enjoy a night of camping out.

Paul, Dana, Allen, and myself went hiking around Peter's Mountain first. It was a nice hike, but it involved a lot of stream crossings. For a while we were crossing the stream, and recrossing the stream, about every fifty feet. Thankfully, I did not fall in - although I was teased plenty (I fell in a creek on a hike in February). Sigh.

When we finished the part of the trail we had time for, we were looping back on the service road and came across a forest ranger who was stopping cars to let them know there was a prescribed burn ahead. If we had kept going on the trail we would have hiked straight into the burn. I guess it was a good thing we got a late start...

Camping was very fun, although a little odd being the only girl...There were lots of crazy ex-girlfriend stories told. Oh well. I got to take a turn chopping wood with our sad little camp axe, and apparently I was chopping it the wrong way at first, but I think I got better at it. I was working on one particular log for about thirty minutes; Dana kept telling me to quit, but I persevered and defeated it (with only one blister!). Then the boys laughed at me and told me I was a little beaver. I was very proud of that log - and then I burned it...

My lesson learned on the trip, however, was to always make sure I have an adequate sleeping bag. The sleeping bag I borrowed had a broken zipper. Needless to say it was a very cold night. But hey, sleep is overrated, right? And thankfully, yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day so I was able to soak up some sun and enjoy being overheated.

Next month I get to go camping again, which should be fun (don't worry, I'll have a better sleeping bag!). I think we're going to the Smokeys too, so I'll get to go to a new place.

Sigh...spring is going to be fun!

"Black Crew, Where You At?"

"Right here, right here!"

This is how we take roll call at WorkFest. There are eight different teams designated by eight different colors; at the beginning of a meeting the leader calls out each color and asks "Where you at?" In response, each crew calls back: "Right here, right here!" I have been on the black crew the last two weeks, hence, the title. Another WorkFest tradition is for the leader to call out, "Can I get a WorkFest?," to which all respond, "WorkFest!" (hence, my last post's title).

Week two of WorkFest was as good, if not even better, than the first week. We had a great group of students to work with, who were excited to be there and quickly became a close-knit group. We bonded over games of "Cow, I Win" and "Horse, You Lose" on our long car rides to the Berry's and worked hard once we arrived on site despite the weather.

Monday it poured - which was probably not the best day to be working on fascia and soffett - both of which required me to be working right under the edge of the roof. As one might guess, I was very soaked by the end of the day. The Berry's were kind enough to invite us into their home to serve us a nice hot lunch, which provided us all a much needed break from the cold and rain.

Luckily, we survived, and lived to see a bright and sunshiny Tuesday. Ironically, however, instead of working outside in the beautiful weather - most of the crew was working inside. Thankfully, I was still working on fascia and soffett, with a little siding and demolition work in on the side - so I was able to actually enjoy the weather. The demolition work came on the scene because we needed to take down a wall made of concrete blocks with cement poured in. So Dana grabbed a sledge hammer and gave everyone a turn; it was quite fun.

Wednesday was doughnut day. I don't think I mentioned this in my last post, but on Wednesdays, a few staff/volunteers go out to all eight sites and take pictures of each crew working while also delivering doughnuts as a snack during a work break. Now these doughnuts are not just any doughnuts; these are Mennonite bakery doughnuts. Basically they are about as organic and homemade as you can get - and they taste amazing (so amazing, that when Dana gave up sweets for Lent, he wrote in a clause saying that he could have Mennonite doughnuts, because cutting them out would have been going too far). Anyway, I have been on the doughnut crew the last two weeks which has been fun. I've enjoyed the opportunity to go out and see all of the different work sites, to interact with a variety of students, and to meet the majority of the families.

Dana wants his doughnut!

On Thursday we moved to a new site in Jackson County. At this house we are helping a single mom who is raising three children finish an addition to the house, re-roofing, and building two porches. I was again on fascia and soffett duty, although this time I started by tearing down the old soffett and fascia boards (which were rotten); this job gave me the only injuries I have received from WorkFest - I got a huge blood blister and cut open my right thumb - thankfully, they are both pretty easy to get over. It was crazy though, because while I was working on that stuff, the two porch crews pretty much built their porches. Granted, they weren't finished, but all that was left was the railings, spindles, and stairs. And, did I mention that these porches look awesome? Because they do. I was thoroughly impressed.

With all the camaraderie built through the week, family appreciation dinner was quite an amusing experience. I think Black Crew was the rowdiest group there. It didn't help that Paul was dared to put two and a half individual sized container's worth of butter on one small dinner roll and then eat the aforementioned roll. It was gross. As Katherine said, "I can hear your arteries clogging from here." Shiver.

All of the participant families truly are awesome. They have welcomed each crew into their homes and lives. One volunteer related the following story: after finishing up a little early on the last day, their crew leader went to visit a family whose home he had worked on five years earlier as a WorkFest project. When they arrived, the crew leader was welcomed with a warm embrace - even after five years - and the rest of the crew (whom this woman had never met before) were welcomed and told that they were family. It is amazing to realize how much we are changing lives by working on these homes. I'm not just swinging a hammer, bending metal, or drilling - I am helping someone make their home a home. I am reminded just what a privilege it is to serve others.

There is one week left of WorkFest, and, unfortunately, I will be unable to be there for all of it. I am headed back to Adult Ed for Monday and Tuesday of this week, but then I'll head out to Jackson again Tuesday night to finish the week. It is supposed to rain on Wednesday and Thursday, so any prayers for clear skies or the endurance and patience to face whatever weather comes our way would be appreciated. Prayers for all of the college students, volunteers, staff members, and participants would also be lovely.

Peace.

"Can I get a WorkFest?"

I cannot even tell you how awesome WorkFest has been. I have had such a blast!!!

I started the first week off as a gopher - I ran errands, went to the grocery store, helped make sandwiches for the next day, etc - but Kiara ended up having less for me to do than she thought, so I got to join a crew.

I ended up joining the Black crew; my friend Dana was one of the crew leaders and since they were doing roofing (and I wanted to learn to roof) I went with them. The family we were working with was truly amazing. Leroy and Olivie took us in and allowed us to all be a part of their family. They cooked several meals for us, Leroy played and sang for us on his guitar, and they even worked alongside of our crew. Leroy is a Mennonite preacher who loves farming and woodworking. They have an extensive garden that is very unique - it is a tire garden. They have built up their fields in large old tires, rather than planting directly in the ground; this allows them to not have as far to bend over when they work outside. Leroy also has a sawmill behind his house. He cuts down trees and planes his own wood - in fact when we ran out of the boards we needed, he went out back and planed boards for us to use (something I didn't realize just anyone could do).

Their home, made of cement blocks, had been built by Leroy many years earlier. The cement blocks did a poor job of insulating their home. Their roof was leaking and needed to be replaced. There were old windows in the walls letting draughts in. So we replaced their roof, we replaced their windows, and we put siding on all of the house.

It was such a privilege to work on this home. Our crew the first week worked really hard and had a great time despite the fact that our last day on the site was below freezing. At the family appreciation dinner, where we gathered with the other seven crews and their participant families, we convinced Leroy to play a song for everyone and surprised him and Olivie with a "song" of our own that one of the crew leaders wrote.

Last Thursday morning, a few of the crew members arrived a little early at the site and Leroy and Olivie invited them in to wait. While inside, Leroy pulled out some pictures. He told them that while he appreciated all that we were doing, we were actually doing some harm too. In the past he had always grown his beans in front of his house - and not just little beans, but giant beanstalks that essentially kept his house from being seen from the road. He had done this because he was ashamed of the way his house looked, but now he wanted everyone to see his beautiful home, so he needed to find a new place to plant all of his beans.

At the end of the week, I asked Kiara if I could just go out with the Black crew again the next week instead of running errands. I guess I didn't expect to enjoy housing as much as I did. It was fun to learn how to put up a tin roof and how to put up siding. I enjoyed the challenge of learning new skills and trying something totally new. Dana was a great crew leader and I enjoyed getting to know the students in our group.

I'll have more stories and pictures soon. I just got back from the second week and I am pretty exhausted...once I rest up a bit more I'll have more to post.

Peace.

Heigh-Ho, it's off to WorkFest I go!

I feel a bit like I am about to head off on vacation for two weeks as I will be leaving for WorkFest in just a few hours. I am so excited for the weeks ahead; it will be nice to have a change of pace and to be around new people who are full of energy and excitement as they prepare to serve those less fortunate - hopefully their energy will rub off on me and recharge my own desire to serve.

The last few weeks in Adult Ed have been draining. What with planning graduation, packing everything up, moving down to our new temporary classroom, and still just processing what a transition this is, I am a little exhausted and ready for something new. I feel a little guilty leaving right now, just because the next few days will probably be stressful for everyone at Adult Ed as they finish packing - we're supposed to be done and out by Wednesday. But I suppose I will just have to keep them in my prayers for now.

Outside of the stress and exhaustion, this last week was pretty great, although odd. Monday we had wind chill temperatures in single digits and yesterday it was in the seventies. So my wardrobe definitely changed, moving from long underwear and wearing four layers to jeans and a tank top. It is warm again today which is just wonderful. Because of the warm weather a bunch of us were able to go hiking yesterday. We headed south to McCreary county and hiked out to Dogslaughter Falls, then wound back to the Cumberland River, and eventually ended back up at the Cumberland Falls. It was a beautiful day to be outside and only made me even more excited for spring to get here!

My week was also broken up by a fun cultural outing on Thursday night. Allen surprised me by planning a trip to go see the New York Philharmonic. They were playing in Danville (about forty minutes away) and it was an excellent concert. They did a piece by Berlioz, Schumann's fourth, and Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." It was definitely fun to dress up for a night and go to the symphony.

In about two hours I have to head up to camp to start off my first week of WorkFest. I still don't exactly know what I'll be doing this week...hopefully I'll find out more today. I have a feeling my schedule will change everyday, but I'm okay with that. I should get a good mix of running errands, helping with food, working on the job sites, and hanging out with the college students. I don't know if I will have cell reception out at camp, so if you try to call and I don't call back for a few days, that is why. I should be able to check my e-mail though, and maybe I'll even post while I'm out there, we'll see.

For now, I hope that the sun is shining wherever you are and that everyone is not too sleep deprived from the daylight savings time change.

Blessings.

Graduation!

Well, Friday was a very long and crazy day (for example, I had a banana for lunch, a cookie for dinner, and did not use the restroom for thirteen hours), but graduation came and went - fairly successfully, if I do say so myself. We ended up having seven graduates show up (one came literally minutes before we were about to have the graduates process in). It was great to have everyone there - they were so excited! Despite the stress of the day, I couldn't help but be excited with them.

One stressful, but good thing, was space. We held the ceremony in the room that was formerly our computer lab, and since we didn't think many graduates would show up we weren't too worried about space. Since we did have so many show up with their families, along with our staff and our friends and families, it was packed! It was actually standing room in the back!!! I was stressed about that fact at first, but then I just realized it meant that the event was a success since so many people gave up their Friday night to come to graduation.

The ceremony was pretty simple. Our speaker was a woman named Bobbie, who had been the manager at Adult Ed for several years before Jennifer (my manager). She was truly the perfect choice because she really understands our program and our students. More than just understanding our students, she also understands our staff and how hard it is to say goodbye.

The only part I had in the actual ceremony was reading a poem. The poem comes from Dr. Thorpe; it is his traditional poem that he gives to students at the end of each quarter. "In the evening we shall be examined on love" was written by Thomas Centolella and inspired by a quote from St. John of the Cross. This poem could look familiar to some, ever since I first received it from Dr. Thorpe I have passed it on to several people in my life. It has been an encouragement to me in this time of transition and I hope that it was an encouragement to our students as well.

"In the evening we shall be examined on love"

And it won't be multiple choice,

though some of us would prefer it that way.

Neither will it be essay, which tempts us to run on

when we should be sticking to the point, if not together.

In the evening there shall be implications

our fear will change to complications. No cheating,

we'll be told, and we'll try to figure the cost of being true

to ourselves. In the evening when the sky has turned

that certain blue, blue of exam books, blue of no more

daily evasions, we shall climb the hill as the light empties

and park our tired bodies on a bench above the city

and try to fill in the blanks. And we won't be tested

like defendants on trial, cross-examined on love like students

who don't even recall signing up for the course

and now much take their orals, forced to speak for once

from the heart and not off the top of their heads.

And when the evening is over and it's late,

the student body asleep, even the great teachers

retired for the night, we shall stay up

and run back over the questions, each in our own way:

what's true, what's false, what unknown quantity

will balance the equation, what it would mean years from now

to look back and know

we did not fail.

I am including pictures of graduation below. Thank you to everyone who was praying for graduation!!! It was a wonderful night and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to be a part of it!