Gained more than I gave, so much more



Yes we there were some work days that went from 8:30 in the morning until 6:00 at night but these were so overshadowed by the smiles on Justin's face and his anticipation each day when he came home from school to see the progress in his new room.  And overshadowed by the joy and gratitude Debbie - Justin's mother - showed throughout each work day as we took over much of her house with our spackle dust and muddy feet and saw dust.  And overshadowed by the celebration and dedication the final day - with hugs and pizza and cake from Debbie and Joe (Justin's father).  I will miss them all - including Neil and his workers (Chuck, Dennis, Lee), and, of course, Summer (Justin's sister). 

We (11 of us) worked in harmony in two small rooms for 5 days, working around daily wet paint and floors covered with tools and supplies and 4 ladders.  We looked forward to our daily devotion (thank you Paul - you knew what we needed to hear and read each day), we laughed together, we shared meals and snacks together, we found some great restaurants, we had terrific mentors and willing learners.  And we had wonderful fellowship amongst all the Hancock folks.

Yes, I gained much more than I gave and I treasure the time together, the relationships rekindled and new ones developing, and the opportunity to be a part of such a worthwhile experience.  Thank you everyone (Hancock, The Fuller Center, Debbie & Joe & Justin)!!!!

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More pictures to share ---

Doug and Tom tiling

Mike tile cutting

Cheryl & Janet - bedroom floor installation

Favorite pit stop & caffeine fix

New found friends

Janet & Summer - Justin's sister

And the Faith that was a source of strength and determination and support, always.

The runner for tile pieces --

All finished!

Amazingly enough, we finished. The bathroom and bedroom, minus just a couple of punch list items, and a final inspection, are ready for Justin to move in.

Friday had the now usual assortment of all kinds of tasks: connecting the sink faucet and drain, installing the toilet, completing the shower hookup, assembling the ceiling fan (nice breeze!), laying the bedroom floor, running baseboard, running the extra molding on the baseboard we realized we needed after running the baseboard, actually turning on the water (with no small amount of trepidation), mounting the grab rails, and of course, lots of painting and touch ups.

At the end of the day, we had a formal dedication ceremony. Lots of the local Fuller folks and Justin's extended family came. The church's minister said a few words, and Merle (Neil's wife - the President of the NJ Pines Fuller affiliate) presented the (symbolic) keys and a Bible, and led us in the Fuller Center traditional "Oyez!".

Everyone gathered for the dedication

The finished product

From the kitchen, looking into the bedroom - you can see the bathroom door on the left

The  bedroom from the kitchen door

The wall-mounted sink with the wall tile

The shower

Photos from Jim

Summer and Debbie

Justin with Joan

Praise for the showerhead

Well, we closed out the week with a moving ceremony to dedicate the 99 & 99/100% completed bedroom and bath for Justin. We did it!

Afterward there was a pizza (by Justin's mother Debbie) and beer (by our "boss" Neil) party.

I've been so tired and it's been so late when we've gotten back to the Motel that I haven't input the last two days. But I'll share one of the secrets that's helped keep me going -- A Waterpik Massage showerhead! The pusating jets of hot water do wonders for sore neck & shoulders.

But now the long drive home after a most gratifying and definitely fun week where we worked hard, enjoyed each others' camaraderie achieved so many things. We really felt that our MISSION - for Justin, the Fuller Center, HUCC, and God was accomplished.

The case of the missing pencil

Yesterday I learned two things. One of our supervisors, Dennis, taught us how to install Prego interlocking laminate flooring in Justin's bedroom. It wasn't quite as easy as the commercials on television, but it was so satisfying to see the room transform before your eyes.

The only tools required are a pencil for marking the length of the piece at the end of each row, a chop saw to cut the end pieces, and a block of wood and a hammer to"persuade" the pieces to interlock securely. We were a little slow at the beginning, and a little uncoordinated, trying to keep our tools close by so that we didn't have to get up and down too often since my knees don't like that very much. We kept losing our pencils, but there was always someone working nearby to offer another.

We were so pleased to see it coming together and we almost done when our foreman arrived on the scene. As he walked into the room, he got a very strange look on his face. Suddenly he started jumping around on the floor. To our surprise there was a lump under the flooring. Now what were we going to do?

Neil got a long straight edge and started fishing under the floor. Was it the foam under layer that got wrinkled or could it be the sub flooring that was lumpy? No. it was the pencil we had lost! Boy was I glad that we found it before he'd nailed down the threshold!

So today I learned that like you count sponges in the OR, you have to count pencils when you lay flooring. :-)
Cheryl

Planting

One of the projects that we undertook on Wednesday, courtesy of Janet, was to plant bulbs in Justin's front yard for a spring surprise.  Janet brought 36 daffodils, jonquils and tulips along with bone meal and a bulb digger.  She was so well prepared!  We sprinkled the daffodils and jonquils in a naturalized pattern and planted the tulips in bunches.  While we were at it, we raked the yard and picked up all of the construction materials.  It was wonderful to have an outdoor project since having 11 people in two small, hot rooms is sometimes a little uncomfortable!

Faith Fenske

Learning the wet saw

We got a lot done on Thursday. The sink is mounted, then we could set the wall tile in the bathroom. Meanwhile the laminate flooring was laid in the bedroom. The ceiling fan was assembled and mounted, and the electrical service was turned on. Door trim was cut and fit, including some tricky finagling around some of the ...uh... inconsistencies in the existing walls. And the painters of course had all kinds of work. Somehow we managed to avoid completely getting into each others' way in the small room.

Janet and Faith continued cleaning up the yard and planted bunches of bulbs.

The flooring saga was not without excitement. After about half the floor was laid, Neil came in and said "something doesn't feel right". The floor seemed a little too bouncy. Turns out there was a stray pencil that somehow found its way under the flooring. Oops. Some fishing with a long wallboard T-square managed to retrieve the errant troublemaker and the floor was stable again. Whew!

My fun task was learning how to use the wet saw - what we use to cut tile. Scott showed me the tricks and I spent the afternoon cutting a zillion pieces of tile into all the many sizes and shapes that Doug and Tom needed. It's pretty messy, but a very cool tool. Certainly kept me busy!

Today's pictures:

Cheryl gets to use her favorite tool: the chop saw

Doug finishing up the wall tile in the bathroom

Joan and Daryl finishing up the tricky painting around the shower stall

We are carpenters, tilers, painters, gardeners, plumbers,electricians and so much more!

We are carpenters, tilers, painters, gardeners, plumbers,electricians and so much more!

And great fellowship!

Neil tiling

Cheryl and Faith and Joan and Janet the painters

Jim the carpenter

 Janet and Faith the gardeners

Doug the plumber & electrician

Floor tile is done!

The flooring crew (sub-floor, underlayment, ultimately tile) got off to a rather slow start this morning as we couldn't seal up the floor until Neil had finished the last few key water connections. And of course we kept having the wrong fittings. ;-(

But at last we got the right ones, he hooked everything up, we held out breath, and he turned on the water. Oops, the shower valve was still open! Fortunately, we could get it turned off reasonably quickly and the water damage was not critical.

We could then cut and fit the remaining pieces of sub-floor. Then we started to cut, fit and nail down the underlayment boards (for under the tile). Lots of tricky cuts to make in a cement-like composition board. Each cut demanded getting all fitted out with mask, goggle, ear protectors, and gloves. Oh and did I mention is was HOT today (humid too).

Then ensued lots of banging to get the nails to really be flush. Finally about 3pm, we were ready to start laying tile. Doug was our master tile layer - along with Neil. They worked like crazy men, trying to get it all done. And there were lots of pieces that needed cutting: Dave did a land-office business in running the wet saw.

In the meantime, another crew installed the two doors. The usual finagling to get everything lined up, and we were getting tired. The tile layers were determined to get all the tile down today, so they could dry tonight, we could work in there tomorrow, then grout at the end of the day. We ran very late, but we finally got it all done!

Oh, there was also a lot of painting going on too. The walls are a nice shade of blue - very pretty. But I'll let those of the painting persuasion tell you about that side of things.

Our two rooms were so crowded, it was hard to take a picture of all the things going on at once

Doug looking for the next piece

The tile floor is almost done

Dave and Chuck (one of our hosts) working at the tile saw

Justin would spend each afternoon after he got back from school sitting in the yard, watching us and helping where he could. He was so happy to see his picture being taken!

We, We, We All the Way Home

Faith, sorry. I just had to post this!

What's all this "we" stuff?  Yes, it's "we" down here with spackled hair, painted elbows, clothes that can stand on their own at the end of the day,  BUT without the support of those we left tending the home fires, walking the dogs, picking up the slack at work, this would not be possible; this would NEVER be possible.  We can feel all the support and prayer from those we left behind with every nail driven, the stroke of every paint brush, in the aches and pains of our bodies, and then some.
Paul, you are sorely missed.  You more than anyone is the angel on our shoulders guiding us to do good.  And Dana, how did you know?  Your dessert comment came just at the right time  (with help from Mike)!
So thanks again.  We'll be home soon!

Janet

'Of Course We Can Finish Tiling Tonight!'

4:00 PM - Shall we start tiling now?
 
It should only take us 1 1/2 hr get it done.. plenty of time!

We had cutters, haulers, runners, mixers and tile layers.   More then enough help, but it did take us more than 1 1/2 hr.  But by 6:15 or so we were cleaning up, and quite pleased with the progress for the day.   The addition is really starting to look like a bedroom and bathroom, with doors even.

Wall tiles, install the sink, ceiling fan, flooring in the bed room, and grout tomorrow....

Plenty of time!

Oh Licorice (sung to the tune of O Tannenbaum)

Oh Licorice, oh Licorice;

Why do you keep on barking?

Oh Licorice, oh Licorice;

Why do you keep on barking?

The people come, the people go;

You always bark at them, and so

What point is it to yip and yap

When nothing ever changes?

Day Two: Ah spackle dust ...

Another productive day - our hair, faces, and clothes covered with spackle dust and then paint!  Rain in the afternoon did not hamper the superb plumbing and carpentry work. And next a delicious dinner at a local Italian restaurant.  Much thanks to Doug for great restaurant choices.  Wonderful stories and sharing with a great group of people.  New adventures and challenges tomorrow. 



Scott staying dry & framing windows










Faith drying the spackle -- too much humidity!








Tom and Dave - windows and outlets

Day One:Tired body, tired feet, energized spirit!

Awesome day of fellowship and work. Much accomplished at Justin's house - spackleing his accessible bedroom and bath (we wore some spackle home ....) and putting up gutters and chimney work and much more. And we met Justin and his family.  Justin was thrilled to see the work done enthusiastically helped load the trailer and cars at the end of the day.  And then a fun dinner with our team! Beautiful sunshine today - rain will offer some challenges tomorrow.


Joan & Janet - sanding (and more sanding)











Faith prepared for the spackle dust









Snack time!

Plumbing, wiring, and framing

Today if there was any need to compensate for mistakes - the mistakes were ours!

The guys who did roofing, gutters, and flashing yesterday did plumbing, wiring, and framing of windows today. We plumbed the sewer connections for the fixtures in the new bathroom, wired, outlets and switches and framed three of the windows.

I know the gals worked equally hard, but I couldn't see what they were doing from the basement.  I do know, however, that as many of them complained about being tired as did the guys!

We go at it again tomorrow

Jim Fenske

A note from David

Dear Hancock family back home,

We sorely miss Paul and know he would love to be with us. His outstanding devotional program constantly reminds us of his presence - in words.

I feel that the members of this particular church mission trip have bonded together better than ones I have been on before. It's been like a family outing. The work - though long and tedious - has been a real treasure seeing our efforts helping to bring a better home to folks who really deserve help

David Hathaway

Adventures in plumbing

Today's fun task was routing 60 feet of drain pipe around the basement walls to get from the new bathroom to the existing sewer stack. It involved drilling through a couple of cinder block walls with a hefty hammer drill. Doug excelled at fabricating three rather complicated intersections of existing and new pipe. It took all day, but we managed to get it all put together in a way we think/hope the plumbing inspector will like. And, at least so far, there are no leaks...

Jim cutting through the first wall

Doug proudly demonstrating his first connection masterpiece

Doug and Jim are ready to make the final connection

When all else fails, use a bigger .... wrench. Fortunately, Neil had an absolutely enormous pipe wrench, which was just what we needed to tighten down the connection into the existing plumbing.

I didn't get a picture, but you should have seen Justin's smile when Neil showed him the wrench ;-)

Dust, more dust, spackle and Barney

The inside crew had great fun sanding the spackled joints inside Justin's newly drywalled bedroom and bathroom.  Five furious sanders means there was A LOT of dust. We looked like snow people when we emerged from the house for snack.  The afternoon was spent applying a second coat of spackle whilst being serenaded by the endearing songs from "Barney".  Justin's two year old sister had great fun singing along to " I love you, you love me".  Talk about a blast from the past!

Follow-on work

It seems that when you're doing "follow-on" work after someone has done the "start-up" work, you spend a lot of time fixing or compensating for mistakes they've left. Of course, we make mistakes too (but seldom ;-), but it seems that a good bit of our efforts today went into making up for prior problems.

We did, however, end up with a gratifying amount of fascia flashing, gutters, downspout and roofing work. And, out tired bodies can affirm that it was HARD work. But the accomplishments were worth it.

More tomorrow, of course

Jim Fenske

What's a "Legacy Build"?

It's my first mission trip with Hancock Church (or any Church for that matter), so when the dinner conversations turned reminiscing about earlier trips, and something called a "Legacy Build", I was lost.  It sounded important, and everyone one was quite excited about the prospect of joining one in the future, and clearly those of our group who had been on one before, have been touched and strengthened by the experience.

Mike Kraley patiently explained about the founding of the Fuller Center, and it's birth out of Habitat For Humanity, by their founder Millard Fuller.  In honor of Millard's extraordinary contributions to humanity, as noted by Bill Clinton:

"I don’t think it's an exaggeration to say that Millard Fuller has literally revolutionized the concept of philanthropy." - Former President Bill Clinton

the foundation which he founded after leaving Habitat for Humanity (which he also founded) conducts a yearly housing build dedicated to his memory.  You can read about the 'Legacy Build' here:

  http://fullercenter.org/blogs/legacybuild

Our host covenant partner (Fuller Center for Housing - New Jersey Pines) will host next years legacy build, and the plans sound AMAZING.   I know that many of us will try to return and participate in what promises to be a great adventure.

Build Day One In Tabernacle

It must have been a successful day.   No injuries! No tools escaped, though David precious (and one of a kind) pry bar did go missing for some hrs.  And, most of our projects for the day were completed! Neil seemed pleased, and so were we!

A short run-in with the neighborhood chickens reveled a new talent of Scott's.  He corralled the chickens to the back yard, and return them to their pen, fearing that it has been our carlesness to let them escape; only to find out that indeed they were the neighbors chickens and not Justin's family's.  No harm done, and the chickens came back around in the afternoon to check on our progress. 

Tomorrow promises to be a much more challenging day as we tackle the plumbing hook up from the addition into the main drain.  No problem, you say?... Did we mention the 3ft thick cinder block support structure for the fire place hearths that blocks the way?  Not to mention the nearly 40ft of drain pipe (remember it needs to drop a minimum of 1/8in per foot).   Then electrical feeds, water supply hookups, etc.  A good way to spend what promises to be a rainy day in good company!

Chicken encounter

Our crew was working outside all day in beautiful sunshine. Our task was to put aluminum fascia and gable end flashing.

At break time, one white and one black chicken wandered into the front yard. I had seen the family's chickens earlier and figured they'd escaped. I carefully herded them back into the fenced in back yard.

Ten minutes later Justin's mom came out to tell us that the chickens were the neighbors'. Oops. Back up to the roof.

Scott Martin

First Day on the site

We started the day with our daily devotionals, joined by Neal, our host.

Then we unloaded tools. 

Scott drives the first nail

Dave tries not to get electrocuted

Our new favorite tool - the sheet metal brake. Great for cutting sheet metal to size and bending it into all kinds of shapes useful for flashing.

Break time!

What happens when several households each decide they need to feed everyone?

Faith works to clean up the yard.

Jim and Tom working on gutters and downspouts

Scott and Dave work on an incredibly complicated piece of flashing for the chimney.