Crisfield, MD – March 26 – April 1, 2023

Six men from Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, three men and one woman from Waynesboro, Virginia area, two men from New Cumberland, Pennsylvania and one from Delta, Pennsylvania comprised the team of volunteers this week. With all that manpower, a huge amount of work was accomplished! Three of the men were brothers, Dave, Richard and Mark Mininger. They traveled from different areas and met here in Crisfield.

In less than two days, two men installed ten storm doors at five different houses. Two men worked at house  #8, finishing the countertop laminate and installing sinks and vanity. They put plastic in the crawl space and put in threshholds. They also created a laminate countertop in preparation for house #9. Mark worked at painting all week in some of the open repair jobs. He and Ranita enjoyed interacting with the homeowner who was a professional musician. He almost persuaded Ranita to sing a solo! Most of the crew worked at house #9. They finished all the housewrap, installed shingles on the front side of the roof and put on the ridge cap, installed doors and windows and completed rough-in plumbing. They built steps and created a cement landing at the bottom of the steps. They put on all the siding. Quite a different looking house from what it was at the beginning of the week. A couple guys did some landscaping at a few of the houses.

One person commented she enjoys learning and doing new things. She was happy to create the cement landing. One of the young men mentioned a highlight was getting up on the scaffolding. This was his first experience with Mennonite Disaster Service and he says it was satisfying work because he was doing it for people in need. “The people are fantastic!” he commented. Perhaps the biggest highlight for him was his opportunity to show someone something new about the Bible.

We cleaned up and closed camp since it will be a month before more volunteers arrive.