Paradise, CA – June 12-18

Once again, we were blessed by a wonderful group of volunteers! We had a group of 10 women from Iowa and their driver from Kentucky. They were joined by a man from southern California and our construction supervisor’s spouse. They all tried new jobs and discovered that they could learn new skills which they took home with them. With an accordion and a guitar, they made great music as we sang together. Singing was a regular part of our devotions, and from that time a phrase developed: Food, Friends, and Faith.

While many of them learned to hang drywall and to learn other skills, others laid flooring and did exterior work. Great progress was made this week, perhaps aided by the excellent weather.

This week we returned to Jewell Road and finished the flooring and interior trim. They finished the caulking and painting and cleaned the windows and floor. Now we wait for the final plumbing and other work and look ahead to completion.

At the Newland Road house, they finished the drywall. The inspector came, and we passed the drywall screw inspection. Another step completed in the process!

The Scottwood house is now fully covered with foamboard and wrapped. All the soffit preparation and installations were completed and painted. We are now ready for rough installation of electrical, plumbing, and HVAC.

The Stone Mountain and Cirby Creek houses passed their final inspection! This marks an epic ending on our work in the east canyon. The owners are happy and MDS is happy with this milestone.

At the end of the week we said goodbye to Vera and Aaron Martin, from Ephrata, PA. It seemed as if they had just arrived; that is the pattern with MDS volunteers. We come, and go, and trust the work and good grace to others. God brings the work to completion.

We again attended the weekly “Party In The Park”. Mayor Crowder again met our volunteers and expressed his appreciation to the group for their work and for coming to Paradise. Thank you, Mayor Crowder.

We again did a picnic in the park, with grilled hamburgers, under the cool shade of the oak trees in Bille Park. It was a wonderful way to relax after a hard day’s work.

Next week we plan to put a roof and siding on Scottwood. Because of the successful drywall inspection at Newland Rd, mudding can begin there and perhaps be completed.

Thank you for your interest in this project.

Wayne Hochstetler, Office Manager, on behalf of the whole Paradise team