Venice, FL – July 14-20, 2024

This week we welcomed 9 fun-loving youth and sponsors from Swamp Mennonite Church in Bally, Pennsylvania. After a long van ride here, they were ready to get settled in and serve the people in need in Venice.

We were happy to welcome back Duane Cookson to serve as crew leader for the remaining two weeks of July.

Much was accomplished out on the job sites this week. Eight different homes were worked on – with four of those home repairs now complete. The homeowners have expressed their appreciation for the work done by many volunteers.

The variety of work done was lots of drywall, mudding, sanding and painting, as well as tile work being finished in a bathroom. A kitchen was installed in another home; kitchen counter and a dishwasher were installed in another. Flooring was installed in several homes as well. One home was totally repainted on the outside. Another client requested that their back yard be cleared of years of accumulation, so our crews picked up and discarded multiple pickup loads of debris.

After working hard all day in the heat, in the evenings favorite things that the youth enjoyed doing were going to the beach, going out for ice cream and playing competitive rounds of Codenames!

The volunteers were happy to meet many of the homeowners as they would periodically stop in to observe the progress being made on their home. One story we enjoyed hearing was a homeowner who pulled aside a crew leader at the end of the workday Friday and said he needed to talk to him. After being asked how he could help, the homeowner said, “I see your joy and I need more of that. I’m wondering where it comes from, so I looked up MDS on my computer and wonder if it comes from you serving in this way.” The crew leader was able to share with him that serving is part of it, and knowing Jesus is another part. A promise was made to continue the conversation next week…

As the week ended, we had to bid farewell to Janis, a year-long volunteer from Germany. It was a bittersweet day for all, as we have come to appreciate his gentle leadership and kind spirit. He was a friend to all!

The Venice LTV team,

Verne, Janis, Duane, Laverne, Rick, Joy and Bev