Paradise, CA – Feb. 12-18, 2023

This was the final week for Dave and Patti Hughes as Project Director and Office Manager. They will be heading home to Ohio.  Leon Martin, our Construction Supervisor, and his wife, Marlene, assistant cook, will return to Pennsylvania at the end of this week.  Ivan and Anna Mary Martin from Pennsylvania were also cooks and Ivan assisted with transportation and with vehicle and tool repairs. Crew leaders Harlan Newswanger and Keith Sensenig, both from Ohio, were here for their second week. The couple from British Columbia remained from last week and we had six men and nine women from New York join the team.

At Robert Ream’s house on Bille Road, our volunteers completed the flooring, which came out beautifully. With the kitchen work caught up, Ivan and Anna Mary got to have some fun working on flooring together. It goes quickly at first, then the puzzle of fitting the edges in can be tricky. Maybe our jigsaw puzzle working in the evenings is of some practical application. Interior doors and trim were next.  Mr. Ream has been coming by to see the progress and is very pleased.

Most of the work at Randy Loomis’ house on Tahoe court involved hanging drywall this week.  After this is inspected the drywall finishing will commence. A team also went here to build the entrance steps.  This homeowner is getting excited about his house.  He has been living in a camper on the property and has not had a permanent home since the fire four years ago. He was without hope of having a home until the case managers came to him following a report of septic system violation.

With the electricians and HVAC installers busy at the house on Merrill Road, our volunteers mostly worked outside at this house.  The homeowners, Gloria and Jeremiah Reyes, have been by occasionally to see the progress.  The cement board siding was put up, painted and caulked.  Steps to enter the house were built, and some grading around the foundation done.

Construction moved along quickly at Bill Kellogg’s house on Scottwood Road since the walls had been pre-built. These went up, the trusses were set, and sheeting is completed. We hope to have this under roof next week.

Volunteers come from all walks of life: some young people just starting careers, some retired, and even newlyweds, as we had this week.  God has blessed us abundantly and we are pleased to give back by helping in this community. It can be hard to respond to the praise we receive for what we do, but we often say that it is for God’s glory that we give of ourselves.