Barre, VT – June 23-29, 2024

Two words describe the week.  Community and diversity.  Or are the words diversity and community?  We had two groups of volunteers from the Lancaster, PA, area.  One group consisted of five plain women, and the other group was made up of a church youth group and their two adult sponsors.  On the surface, one wondered how is this going to work?   But work it did—beyond our wildest expectations.  Friendships between members of the groups quickly developed—and blossomed.  Sounds of laughter rang out at the job sites and in the common area where we met for meals and social interactions.   

Volunteers worked on a wide variety of jobs and ministered to those they worked with.  One group spent two days cleaning up junk from a yard.  Many trailer loads and pickup loads of junk were brought to the dumpster at our base.  It definitely was dirty work, the (mostly) youth could see the benefits of their efforts, the yard looked totally different when they left.  The homeowner’s son came out and cut some of the weeds that had grown up in the debris.  He took pride in his yard after the change! 

It seems the youth got the “dirty” jobs.  Another job consisted of mucking out a basement and then spreading stone on the “floor.”  A rather challenging job for those over 5’6” feet tall!    

An on-going project was the continuation of work in a basement that had flood damage.  There was demolition work, framing and drywall installation, taping and mudding.  Many learned new skills and Jack proved to be an excellent instructor.  A new staircase was nearly completed at that house as well. 

Some of the “older” ladies lent their gifts to filling a space where the house and steps had separated.  They were quite creative in their efforts.  Hopefully that “wall” will keep the critters out from under the house.  They also installed a laundry sink (plumbing skills learned) and installed the stair rail at the front steps.  Painting a closet and hanging the doors were done as well.  At another job site they stained the beadboard (wainscoting) and meticulously sanded it between coats.  Preparations were made for a bathtub/shower combination to be installed.   

It’s always rewarding to see a job come to completion.  Several job cards were signed including one for a lady who had the insulation supports added and foundation blocks painted.  Two “angels” from Hope Coalition assisted in raking the soil—it was harder than it looked—and grass seed was put down and covered with hay. 

On Friday the youth group participated in a unique project which brought a variety of groups from the community together for sandbag mission.  The Vermont Air National Guard provided an automatic sandbagger and three workers to assist with the mission.  This was done as readiness training.  Bags were filled and loaded onto pallets and then shrink wrapped.  It gave the youth a broader view of community and a chance to help prepare should flood waters again inundate Barre. 

It was a week of transitions as long term volunteers left and others came.  There was a change in the project director position and we added a construction supervisor.  We also had an addition and subtraction in the cooks’ positions and crew leaders’ positions. 

New skills, new friendships, and good memories were what tied the group together in diversity and community.  Hugs were abundant as they parted ways and headed home—not so very far apart geographically or relationally.