Paradise, CA – Oct 3-9, 2021

The new long-term volunteers arrived on September 29 and October 2.  Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of that week were spent in orientation and getting familiar with the area and the various job sites.  We were sad to see Don and Rachel (previous PD and OM) leave on Saturday, but very grateful for the excellent introduction they gave us.  We were happy to have the cooks arrive late Saturday night and with a short amount of prep time, we began eating meals in the dining hall on Monday morning.  Our long-term group includes: Don, from Pennsylvania, Project Director; Ryan, from Indiana, Construction Supervisor; Ed and Ruth, from Kansas, Crew Leader and Office Manager; and, Dave and Brenda, from Virginia, cooks.  We look forward to the Saturday, Oct. 9, arrival of Paul, from Pennsylvania, as second Crew Leader.  Currently, we have no weekly volunteers.

The Rubiolo and Harrell roofs were finished, as was the rough electrical work on Harrell’s home.  Don, Ryan and Ed spent a good amount of time this week ordering supplies (doors, siding and roofing lumber), picking up supplies, unloading supplies in our storage areas, or unloading supplies at the work sites.   They also installed anchor bolts, built the attic access chase and exterior doors at the Harrell site.  Various times throughout the week, trips to the work sites were required to meet with the foundation subcontractor and then a follow-up meeting with the inspector.  Due to the distance to the various worksites, much time is spent in the trucks.

Most of the long-term volunteers have worked together at previous MDS sites, so it was fun to catch up and get reacquainted.  Dave and Brenda have restocked the kitchen and have done an excellent job in food prep – we all like homemade bread and pie!

Submitted by Ruth Basinger, Office Manager, on behalf of the Paradise Team