"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.