Red Lake, MN – August 20-26, 2023

On Sunday evening, we welcomed 17 volunteers from several locations in Kansas.  It is exciting to have full teams to send out with anticipation of getting homes restored.  On Wednesday, the new Project Director and Office Manager arrived from Kansas.  The Project Coordinator from Minneapolis also visited for two days.  Amid all the new arrivals, we welcomed two more year-long volunteers – their homes are in Kenya and Zimbabwe.  We are eager to learn more about their experiences.  The eight current long-term staff will be leaving on Saturday after serving a month term.

Many willing volunteers get a lot of work done!  We were able to finish four homes and make great progress on the other homes.  Houses #12, #13, #18, and #20 were finished this week; final work included replacing windows and trim, painting trim and siding, and doing final clean up at the sites.  Work was resumed at House #10 after receiving pre-ordered windows which were installed.  A large group of volunteers worked at House #19, where they continued to remove siding, install house wrap, install new siding and paint.

Wednesday evening, our guest speakers were Jerry Loud, Director of the Red Lake Nation, and Bob Neadeau, Case Manager.  They shared with us about the history of the Red Lake Nation, and the many programs that are offered to the citizens of Red Lake.

Ruth for the Red Lake Volunteers