Dawson Springs, KY – March 19-25, 2023

It was good to see familiar faces as two groups arrived this afternoon – eight from the home congregation of Char and Ron in Ohio, and eight from a church in Illinois.  We were later joined by two additional volunteers from IL who spent a couple of days with us.  The two groups enjoyed getting to know one another and there was lots of good fellowship.

The temps were in the low 20’s Monday morning so it was a cold start for the two crews working outside!  But that didn’t bother our volunteers – they were ready to go!  The work continued on the new build at Anndrew’s – putting up siding, trim, exterior doors and putting on door latches, and on Wednesday, the siding continued and porch railings were done.  At Ava’s, outlets and fans were installed, doors put in and base kitchen cabinets installed.  Tuesday and Wednesday the work of cleaning and touch up painting continued at James’ and Stephanie’s.  Siding and porch railings were put up at Anndrew’s.  At Ava’s, fans were installed, casing, doors, and baseboard installed and countertop put in, and this work continued on Wednesday.

We’re wrapping up several homes and waiting for HVAC and inspections.  We are hoping that happens soon as we are anxious to have these clients move into their new homes. They will be so excited and grateful to move out of FEMA trailers and containers!  One of those clients is James, who needs to be out of his pod by April.  He shared our meal and spent the evening on Wednesday, along with Josh and Stacy from Catholic Charities.  The volunteers all enjoyed the conversation and interaction.

On Thursday, more finish up was done at Ava’s and exterior paint put on at Andy’s.  The work of putting up siding, soffet and facia continued at Anndrew’s.  On Friday we had rain all day, but for the most part, found indoor work to do.  Upper cabinets were installed at Ava’s, and bath fixtures put up, along with unpacking appliances.  On Thursday and Friday, volunteers worked on a repair job for Joe, who lives just outside of Dawson Springs.  He needed to have a deck redone, along with putting up railings on that and a porch.  The volunteers did a great job and it looks very nice.

Thursday was a special day as we handed over the keys to Michael and his family!  Some of the IL group sang “The Blessing” and it was a beautiful part of the dedication.  This family is very excited to move into their new home and the children were excited to show us around!

Dawson Springs Team, Ron and Char, Lavern, Ella and Simon, Michael, Mike and Linda

We are called to follow Jesus so closely that we get dusty from His feet!