West Asheville, NC – Nov. 23-29, 2025

This was a transition week at West Asheville, with Jeff, Josie and Joetta being replaced by Peter Goertzen, Betty Simensen and Erwin (Erv) Willms.

Sunday evening, November 23, we welcomed a group of three men from Alberta, a couple from Pennsylvania, a group of three men and two women from Michigan, and a man from Kansas to work on housing repairs.

A team worked with crew leader Doug tearing off shingles, installing ice and water shield, shingling part of Linda’s roof, and priming the metal part of the roof. On Tuesday it rained, so they continued work on the RSAA building. The house was completed and the Job Card was signed off on Wednesday.

The group at Judy’s house, under Nathaniel’s direction, worked all week on building the raised floor support structure, except for Tuesday when rain sent them to work at the RSAA building. For the rest of the week, they installed pilings, leveled and squared the base, and installed bracing and beams. This is a Construx house that must be assembled with puzzle-like pieces, which we expect to begin working on next week. Inspection is scheduled for Monday, and the Construx company is sending a technician that same day to provide guidance.

Daryl’s crew finished insulating Ron’s very tight crawlspace and insulated inside the house. They also primed and painted in Susan’s house and primed in Joi and Morgan’s house.

Two volunteers started the week by organizing the tool trailer and weatherizing the lines to the bunk trailers.

Simon’s crew worked on replacing the roof on Christi’s house. This was a challenging site since it is a two-story building backing into a ravine. We were thankful that God provided a volunteer who services wind turbines for a living. His knowledge of safety and comfort working at heights were exactly what was needed at Christi’s house.

On Thanksgiving and Black Friday, Erv’s crew began framing Tarin’s house, who was referred to us by Phil Troyer. We were able to teach David, the homeowner’s husband, how to frame through the guidance of an 18-year-old weekly volunteer who does framing for a living.

Our rain day on Tuesday was spent working through a long to-do list at the RSAA building.

On Wednesday evening, Adonis, Director of Strategy and Impact at the Reparations Stakeholder Authority Asheville (RSAA), joined us for dinner and spoke with us about the organization’s history and goals.

We are glad to be part of a partnership with this organization.