West Asheville, NC – Mar. 15-21, 2026

It was a beautiful sunny Sunday and this evening we welcomed six men from Illinois and 8 men from PA.  Two of the men from PA will be helping us out this week in various ways – Rob will be leading one of our crews as crew leader, and Ron will be helping out as our assistant cook.  We’re grateful for their willingness to serve in these ways.

One crew began the week at the Culler house installing extension jambs and putting up window trim and bifold doors.  Throughout the week they continued installing doors, and putting up trim, casing and baseboard.

At the Walls house, the crew worked on window boxes and began installing flooring.  By Wednesday, the flooring was finished, trim was being installed, and some soffit work was done on the porch.  By Friday, five doors were painted and some repairs to the porch were done.

Finally, on Monday, the sanding was finished up on the McAnally house.  On Thursday and Friday, the crew was busy applying the primer and then began painting all the ceilings and walls of this two story home.

At the Flynn house, the crew braved the cold on Tuesday to begin the work of building a porch.  By Wednesday, the posts were up, the LVL beam was set and the decking was begun.  On Thursday the decking was finished and most of the rafters were up.  Rafters were finished on Friday, the roof was tar papered and sheeted and the air conditioner stand was built.

Our group travelled to Bat Cave again on Tuesday evening to tour the hurricane damage there and then enjoy another evening meal with the volunteers from the bridge project. This is always a highlight of the week for both groups of volunteers and this evening was no exception.  Emma Churchman and her husband Jeff joined us for the meal and then Emma shared experiences of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.  Emma is the author of the book “The Deep End of Hope”, which she had available afterwards and graciously signed each one that was purchased.  Several evenings we enjoyed some wonderful bluegrass music played and sung by some of our talented volunteers!

The long term team:  Mike & Linda, Ron & Char, Hank, and Beth Ann