Point Au Chien, LA – Jan. 18-24, 2026

The Village Chapel of New Holland, PA, sent a group of 8 volunteers this year. They are very consistent to send a group each year.  Joining them, from the Mifflinburg, PA, area, was a group of 8 young men.

This was a week of celebration as the pylons of the first house were completed on Wednesday.  The group continued with small jobs of repair and painting around the neighborhood until they could move to the house site.  They soon had the scaffolding up and finished getting the floor joists in by Friday.  Due to the impending storm in their hometowns, they finished up a bit early on Friday and headed north. We were thankful to hear when they made it safely home with minimal travel issues.

The week was such a good one. The highlight was definitely being cleared to start building Roger’s house. Roger has been a joy.  With his heavy accent, we struggle sometimes to understand him, but his smile and patience have won the love of each of us.

We will plan to start with the floor decking on Monday and move up from there.  Some window and door frames are pre-built, along with some inside partial walls.  Things should look different quickly. We are eager to see the look on Roger’s face as he watches the progress from his camper.

One of our Village Chapel volunteers’ name is Kay.  When Project Director, Bob, tends to say “K” instead of “OK,” and Kay says, “What?”…. and, later, when Bob addresses Kay, and she ignores him, well, there were lots of giggles.