Jennings, LA – Oct. 22-28, 2023

Sunday evening, Josh Carson, long-term volunteer supervisor from the Lititz office, met crew leaders, Dave Mininger and Tom Mosier at the Lafayette airport. They arrived in Jennings late Sunday afternoon in time for a quick tour of the project building sites, prior to our 6:00 orientation. We also welcomed Ben and Angela Snyder and their son, Anthony from Goshen, Indiana. Anthony had encouraged his parents to participate in this week of service. Monday noon, a group of eight Amish young people from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania arrived to round out our volunteers for the week.

We appreciated Josh’s willingness to participate on the work crew, in spite of the hot weather. We transported extra Gatorade to the job site, for his sake! Josh interacted with the year-long volunteers and gave valuable input to the long-term team.

Several volunteers worked at the center Monday to sort and organize tools and other items that had been in storage the past six months. One volunteer mentioned how helpful it was later in the week, when certain tools were requested. Because she had sorted the items on Monday, she recognized those tools throughout the week. Since we had completed the foundation work at the Nixon house last week, the team jumped into framing. They laid the floor system, installed floor joists and decking. They framed interior and exterior walls, braced with Simpson straps and added the top plate, all according to fortified requirements. They set the trusses on Friday, culminating a week of hard work. Everyone experienced a sense of fulfillment as they watched the house progress from foundation to roof trusses by the end of the week.

Some of the volunteers worked at the David Stelly property. They set blocks for piers, poured concrete into the piers and poured the ramp pad. Others built a ramp at the home of Karen Bordeaux. Rollie and one of the volunteers planted the temporary electric pole at the Wilford Miller property. It was a very productive week, prompting one volunteer to remark that of all the MDS projects he had participated in, this was one of the best! The weekly volunteers commented they appreciated learning new skills and working with the diversity of the year-long volunteers. At the same time, one of our year-long volunteers mentioned what a blessing it was to work with this crew. He commented we could never have accomplished so much without them.