Work Day 1

Our Day 1 bloggers are Colin Morgan, Emma Gargiulo & Conner Methany:

HELLO FROM NAWLINS!  The big Easy! For those of you waist deep in snow, sit back.  Take a quick read of our blog.  And let us warm your souls. 

We all woke up and proceeded to head to our designated mean of transportation. The three vans all assumed names and identities.  All three named after famous generals, one called the General Cornwallis, the second the general Custer, and the third, the all mighty General Lee.  As we arrived at the first work site, we all gathered around the site manager, and were given the safety lecture.  

Now though we all don’t like to sit through lectures about safety, it is vital to stay safe on the worksite.  Carelessness and power tools mix together like mayonnaise and molasses.  In order for us all to familiarize ourselves with the conjoining RHINO group from Sarasota, FL, we had to play a fun game in which we all introduced ourselves by saying our name, where we were from, and one celebrity we would punch in the face.  Peyton Manning came up a few times.  Strange.

After we all familiarized ourselves with the group and whom we would be working with for the next week, we proceeded to learn about the jobs we would be doing. The Sarasota group was given the task of working indoors.  So, that left our group the work that needed to be done outside.  There were three jobs that we partook in. We were to choose from painting,

 caulking,

and nailing siding to the house.  

We split up into three groups based on the jobs we were doing and were given instructions by our Habitat site manager, Ben, on how to perform our tasks.  Although we were working in close proximity to each other, there was somewhat of a rivalry between each task group.  And there was the occasional traitor who would switch groups in the middle of the day.  After our early lunch, we packed up and headed to a new worksite for a concrete pour.

The new worksite had a house that was almost completely finished; it was just missing a driveway.  So, we waited for the concrete to arrive so we could get it poured so it would set.  

Unfortunately, the concrete never showed up.  So, after a long two hours of waiting, Ben fired the concrete company and hired a new one who is going to arrive on the site at 7:30 tomorrow morning, which means we’ll need to leave the hotel even earlier.  So we packed up again, and headed back to our original worksite; where we spent the rest of the day.

Following the workday we went back to the hotel to wash all of the hard work off. Once clean and dressed we proceeded to our vehicles and went on our way to the St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church for a good ole red beans and rice dinner.  Just a foot in the door was all it took to be able to feel the overwhelming love and hospitality the people had for one another.  Well, having eaten our lunch at 10:15 am you could just imagine the amount of hunger we all had.  There was no time to waste.  We all dug in and filled our stomachs with a buffet of food.  By the time we were finished there was barely enough food left to feed a family of five.

Its interesting the environment in which we are writing this blog at this very moment.  At the end of the hallway we share a parlor in which we commune, and conclude the day.  It’s a curious time, in which we can all sit back, after the innumerable amount of sights, sounds, tastes, and experiences we took in, and just express our true feelings about the day.  Many of us enjoyed the hospitality that was definitely noticeable down here in the Big Easy. As the week progresses we can only imagine what we will experience, come across, accomplish, and feel.  Or can we?  Do we really know what God has in store for us?  The truth is that we don’t always know.  We can only hope.

This is Emma, the new RHINO Program Director.

And Avery, the previous Director who now works with Habitat stopped by - and that Ben our Habitat Site Supervisor.

And Beaker made the trip, too!

Until tomorrow . . . Please keep up with they praying!!