Dawson Springs, KY – June 4-10, 2023

The Dawson Springs project started up again after being closed the end of March.  The long-term volunteers arrived Wednesday thru Saturday 5/31-6/5.  They worked at getting the base camp at 5758 Nortonville Rd, St Charles KY ready for volunteers on Sunday June 4.

There was a total of 13 weekly volunteers here from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. The group from Illinois comprised a family of 3 generations.  4 young people were with the group from Pennsylvania.  2 skilled volunteers were from Ohio and Indiana.

The primary focus of this month is to get 4 houses, started last winter and early spring to the point where Summer Youth volunteers can finish them in July.  The survivors that eventually be occupying these houses are Lacy Duke, Brittany Randolph, Andy Heid, and Andrew Masden.  There was work done on all houses, but the emphasis was put on Lacy’s house so that it will be ready for the cabinet installers the week of June 19.  So, insulation, drywall, and some siding were the primary tasks of the week with a porch or two thrown in.

A highlight of the week was Wednesday evening when Brittany and her 3 children joined us for dinner.  Josh Hipp and Stacy with Catholic Charities were with us as well.  Also Tanisha who is in line for a MDS house came too.

Among the many “God” moments this week was when Josh Hipp found and hired a drywall hanger and finisher to work on 2 of the houses.  As Bob Martin, the project director, looked ahead to the work that needed to be done by the end of the month and the number of scheduled weekly volunteers, it looked unlikely that all 4 houses would be ready.  Now they do.

Next week will be a slower week because there is only 1 weekly volunteer with us.

Respectfully submitted by Roland Stutzman for Bob and Sandy Martin, Jonas Schmidt, Rita Friesen, and Linda Stutzman