Putting A House Back Together

For nearly the whole two weeks we were in Nashville, I worked in a single home. When our group got to the home, Samaritan's Purse (SP) had only spent about 4 days in the house. The drywall was done as was the priming.

The first thing we did when we got there was paint the entire house. Priming was done already, so we just had the ceilings to do (once) and the walls (twice)

Next, we had to prepare the floors for the flooring, so we scrapped all the drywall, mud, and paint off the floors. It was a very dusty process

Once that was done, the flooring was going in. We laid a floating laminate floor throughout all the bedrooms, the living room, and the hallways.

We even got to use the saw...I avoided it though

Once the laminate was laid, we moved onto the ceramic tile in both bathrooms, the kitchen, the hearth, and the foyer. We learned how to make the thin set (mud under the tile), laid the tile, cut the tile, and put down the grout (I even helped pick out the colour)

After painting, and finishing all the floors, the last thing we got to do was put up cabinets.

So in two weeks we painted, completed all the flooring, and put up cabinets. By the time we were done the house was really coming together.

The Bedrooms:

The Bathroom:

The Living Room:

And the Kitchen/Dining Room:

We accomplished a lot in the house and we were told soon the homeowner would be able to return!

Rebuilding Music City

I have now been in Nashville for a week, and it has been quite the experience. During the week us Tabor girls did a lot of work on the house we are working on and I learned a lot. We started small - painting the house. We painted the whole house twice in two days. It was a lot of paints (some of it on me) and by the time we were done we were glad. We then began flooring. We started with laminate wood flooring, which went in three bedrooms, the hallway, and a living room area. It was very difficult at first. It was a snap lock flooring and it takes a lot of strength to put together, which was lacking at some points. But as our site manager says, "It's not a  baby's bottom, you just have to get mean with it". And so we did. I got the hang of it, and soon we were flying through the house. We finished the lower floor and the upstairs in two and a half days. The Tabor girls became known as the "Mennonite Thoroughbreds" because we did everything so quickly and surpassed others expectations of us. It felt good to get a lot done and to be recognized for it. Once the laminate was done, we began the ceramic tile in the kitchen in bathrooms. I was in charge of laying tile with some others, while someone else cut the tile and mudded the floor. We got a lot done and in a day and a half had completed the kitchen and moved onto the bathrooms. That is where we are at today. Tomorrow we will finish the tile. Wednesday we should be grouting it. Thursday we may put up cabinets, and Friday we will be done! What a two weeks!
On Friday we also had the opportunity to watch a dedication ceremony during which six houses were completed and the homeowners given keys to the house. We had a large block party as all the houses were on the same block with some good food and good company. Each homeowner was given a bible, and notebook with notes from everyone who had worked on their house in it, and a picture frame of the total costs spent on their house with a "paid in full" stamp on it. It was very rewarding to see people be given back their houses and to take in their excitement. We also had the opportunity to talk to some homeowners and listen to their stories. The destruction of the flood is clear when you hear their stories, despite the lack of obvious outside damage.
Hearing the stories and seeing the joy of people being returned to their homes is the greatest reward for me. It reminds me why I am here - to serve God and to serve these people who lost everything and to give them a little something back. Now one week has passed and the second is beginning. More work is ahead. But I have no doubt that it will be worth the early mornings and the sore muscles in the end.

P.S. Here is a link to a news clip about the dedication ceremony (the clip is called "Flood Victims Get Keys to Rebuilt Homes"):  http://www.wsmv.com/local-video/index.html

Nashville, Tennessee

Six months ago, Nashville flooded and nobody noticed. Tennessee is known as the volunteer state, so they took care of themselves and rebuilt. But there is still a need here in this city.
It is interesting being here. You drive around the city and see nothing wrong. Nothing looks like it is damaged. The river looks so low it is hard to imagine it flooding anything. And yet it did. And the damage still exists. Many homes here still have damage, some never rebuilt. One of the houses Samaritan's Purse is working on is a large house of a family that has 6 children. 4 of the kids were adopted and the other two have special needs that require the house be wheelchair accessible. The family was supposed to be on extreme makeover, and so they did not rebuild right away, but then the show dropped them. They were close to being homeless before Samaritan's Purse heard of them and stepped in. The house is just now getting dry wall up - over six months after the flood that destroyed it. I think that exemplifies the need that still exists in this city.
Today, me, along with the nine females on the trip from Tabor, worked on a house that had just two feet of water damage. They were on the low end of the street, the upper ones escaped with likely little to no damage. The lower level of this house has been completely redone. And today we were in charge of painting it. We got a lot done, and a lot on ourselves. It was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. It feels good to be part of something like this, which I have never done before. The work so far has been fairly easy (it has only been a day) but soon floors will need to be put in as well as other appliances. To see tangible progress is nice...we painted nearly half the house in one day. And by the time we leave this house should be nearly done. It will feel good to give some one back their home, their life. Things we take for granted, these people no longer have. It makes me remember the extent to which we have things, we live in a material world and then a flood can come and take it all away. Many people here have been left with nothing and forced to start over. It is nice to help them do that. To give them back a little piece of what they have lost.

Welcome to Kansas

Welcome to my new life. In December I packed my life into boxes and suitcases, surprisingly just 2 boxes and 2 suitcases. Four days ago, I got on a plane in Seattle and now here I am. Kansas. Tabor College. So far it has been good. I moved into a temporary dorm room until the people who live in my actual dorm room move out at the end of January. I am looking forward to that day. My current dorm room is small and old looking. I haven't decorated because I'm not going to be here for long. So it's a temporary home. But it is working well.
I have also started classes. Well one class. I am in interterm - a one month semester in January where you take a single class. So I have class every day from 9-12, but we always get out really early which is nice. I am in a service trip class - a trip is required at Tabor - and we are going to Nashville where there was a flood in May, 2010. We will be helping rebuild and fix up some houses there, I don't know too many details until we get there. But I am excited. The flood in Nashville is not well known. Though it did extensive damage to the city, it did not receive much media coverage and thus did not get many volunteers or much funding. The residents of Nashville did much of their rebuilding themselves, banding together to help each other. There are some inspiring stories about it. Though these people lost nearly everything they had, they have given more to help others since losing everything. So I'm really looking forward to this trip, to have a chance to help some people who lost everything, and to have a new experience as I have never done something like this before. We leave on Saturday at 4AM and it will take about 12 hours to get there. We will then be spending 2 weeks there, working all day with some free nights and weekends to do some touring. It should be good.
It has been very cold here...last night was apparently the first time it dropped below zero degrees (Fahrenheit) since 2005. We had snow a couple of days ago, which was nice at the time, now it is turning to ice and it is too cold to go outside and enjoy it. Not that I like the snow that much anyways, but it is better than ice. Nearly everyone says to me "you are used to this kind of weather aren't you?" when they see me and mention the cold. Upon which I inform them that no, where I come from it is not this cold and it does not snow very much (though apparently there is some snow there now). It is quite amusing. So though Americans may not think we Canadians live in igloos, they do seem to think it is the great white, cold, North.
Well, that is my first couple days in my new adventure. It has been easy and laid back, and enjoyable. More to come later!