Category Archives: Uncategorized

Jun 27

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Posted on by
“People almost always do great things without knowing how to do them, and are quite surprised to have done them.”  Bernard DeFontenelle
Today was one of those days when it seemed like it could rain at any moment, or have abundant sunshine. As we left the school to go to sites it was sunny and raining…there must have been a rainbow somewhere. We continued at the same two sites from yesterday. At the ramp site, the whole ramp frame has been built and a large majority of the deck boards have been attached. It is exciting to the progress each day. Before you know it, it will be fully functional.
The other site was able to finish scraping and paint most of the porch. The floor still needs to be done. Progress was also made with the underpinning. We are working with existing vinyl underpinning, trying to get it back into the tracks, as well as trying to replace damaged or missing pieces. Needless to say it is like a big puzzle and takes a lot of patience, but luckily we had the perfect group of PVs to do the job.
We were very excited for dinner tonight, not only for the food, but also because we were having several visitors join us. It is always special to share a meal with friends, and this was quite the meal to do this with. There was meatloaf, baked potatoes, 3 bean salad, soda bread and to top it off a scrumptious fruit salad. Needless to say we ate well.
Reflection tonight centered on the idea of community, what it means to be part of a community such as the PVs. We shared examples of when we saw community. As a community we are invincible.
Jun 27

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Posted on by
“People almost always do great things without knowing how to do them, and are quite surprised to have done them.”  Bernard DeFontenelle
Today was one of those days when it seemed like it could rain at any moment, or have abundant sunshine. As we left the school to go to sites it was sunny and raining…there must have been a rainbow somewhere. We continued at the same two sites from yesterday. At the ramp site, the whole ramp frame has been built and a large majority of the deck boards have been attached. It is exciting to the progress each day. Before you know it, it will be fully functional.
The other site was able to finish scraping and paint most of the porch. The floor still needs to be done. Progress was also made with the underpinning. We are working with existing vinyl underpinning, trying to get it back into the tracks, as well as trying to replace damaged or missing pieces. Needless to say it is like a big puzzle and takes a lot of patience, but luckily we had the perfect group of PVs to do the job.
We were very excited for dinner tonight, not only for the food, but also because we were having several visitors join us. It is always special to share a meal with friends, and this was quite the meal to do this with. There was meatloaf, baked potatoes, 3 bean salad, soda bread and to top it off a scrumptious fruit salad. Needless to say we ate well.
Reflection tonight centered on the idea of community, what it means to be part of a community such as the PVs. We shared examples of when we saw community. As a community we are invincible.
Jun 27

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Posted on by
“The great end of life is not knowledge but action.”  Thomas Henry Huxley
The PVs spent their day at two different sites in the Oceana area. One group continued working on the ramp that was started yesterday. While the project is a big one, they made quite a bit of progress today. The other site in the area was working for a couple. There are several projects to be done at their trailer, but today the crew focused on fixing a leaky porch roof and scraping said porch roof in preparation for painting it tomorrow. Both sites had to endure hot temperatures with little breeze and lots of gnats.
Dinner this evening was a Mexican feast. There was a taco bar with meat, beans and all the fixings as well as Spanish rice on the side. For desert we has a special treat utilizing the home made biscuits that our cook made us, serving berries and whip cream on top. It was absolutely fabulous and refreshing!
Reflection tonight focused on work and how our work is sacred. Several readings were shared around this idea and many reflections were shared.
Jun 27

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Posted on by
“The great end of life is not knowledge but action.”  Thomas Henry Huxley
The PVs spent their day at two different sites in the Oceana area. One group continued working on the ramp that was started yesterday. While the project is a big one, they made quite a bit of progress today. The other site in the area was working for a couple. There are several projects to be done at their trailer, but today the crew focused on fixing a leaky porch roof and scraping said porch roof in preparation for painting it tomorrow. Both sites had to endure hot temperatures with little breeze and lots of gnats.
Dinner this evening was a Mexican feast. There was a taco bar with meat, beans and all the fixings as well as Spanish rice on the side. For desert we has a special treat utilizing the home made biscuits that our cook made us, serving berries and whip cream on top. It was absolutely fabulous and refreshing!
Reflection tonight focused on work and how our work is sacred. Several readings were shared around this idea and many reflections were shared.
Jun 27

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Posted on by
“The great end of life is not knowledge but action.”  Thomas Henry Huxley
The PVs spent their day at two different sites in the Oceana area. One group continued working on the ramp that was started yesterday. While the project is a big one, they made quite a bit of progress today. The other site in the area was working for a couple. There are several projects to be done at their trailer, but today the crew focused on fixing a leaky porch roof and scraping said porch roof in preparation for painting it tomorrow. Both sites had to endure hot temperatures with little breeze and lots of gnats.
Dinner this evening was a Mexican feast. There was a taco bar with meat, beans and all the fixings as well as Spanish rice on the side. For desert we has a special treat utilizing the home made biscuits that our cook made us, serving berries and whip cream on top. It was absolutely fabulous and refreshing!
Reflection tonight focused on work and how our work is sacred. Several readings were shared around this idea and many reflections were shared.
Jun 25

Monday, June 24, 2013

Posted on by

“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his or her own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.”
Marie Curie

A new group of volunteers and new sites to start off the week. The group split into two went two totally different directions in the county today.  We had one group go to meet a Second Harvest food delivery truck to help transport items to the Itmann Food Bank. Each month the food bank is able to get food from the Mountineer Food Bank at a reduced cost for distribution to the people who come into the Itmann Food Bank each month. Not only did volunteers help transport the food from the drop off location, but they also helped unload the trucks and cars at the other end.

The second group of volunteers begun work on a ramp at a house in Oceana. The ramp is being built for a gentleman who will soon be taking car of his wheelchair bound daughter. Right now there is no way in or out of the house for the wheel chair. The PVs made great progress today framing out the platform part of the ramp. Perhaps the hardest part of the day was moving a set of cement steps that were in place where the ramp is going to go. With the home owners help and ingenuity, the were moved to the side so the ramp work could begin.

Everyone worked up quite an appetite today, so we were very thankful when dinner time rolled around. Because we had so many leftovers from last week and we didn’t want to waste the delicious creations, we will be enjoying the dinners again! It is also a nice way to connect last weeks volunteers with this weeks. Thank you to all that had a hand in creating our meal tonight.

For reflection we reflected on John the Baptist going out into the desert and how we at times have to go into the desert to find God.

Jun 25

Monday, June 24, 2013

Posted on by

“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his or her own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.”
Marie Curie

A new group of volunteers and new sites to start off the week. The group split into two went two totally different directions in the county today.  We had one group go to meet a Second Harvest food delivery truck to help transport items to the Itmann Food Bank. Each month the food bank is able to get food from the Mountineer Food Bank at a reduced cost for distribution to the people who come into the Itmann Food Bank each month. Not only did volunteers help transport the food from the drop off location, but they also helped unload the trucks and cars at the other end.

The second group of volunteers begun work on a ramp at a house in Oceana. The ramp is being built for a gentleman who will soon be taking car of his wheelchair bound daughter. Right now there is no way in or out of the house for the wheel chair. The PVs made great progress today framing out the platform part of the ramp. Perhaps the hardest part of the day was moving a set of cement steps that were in place where the ramp is going to go. With the home owners help and ingenuity, the were moved to the side so the ramp work could begin.

Everyone worked up quite an appetite today, so we were very thankful when dinner time rolled around. Because we had so many leftovers from last week and we didn’t want to waste the delicious creations, we will be enjoying the dinners again! It is also a nice way to connect last weeks volunteers with this weeks. Thank you to all that had a hand in creating our meal tonight.

For reflection we reflected on John the Baptist going out into the desert and how we at times have to go into the desert to find God.

Jun 25

Monday, June 24, 2013

Posted on by

“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his or her own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.”
Marie Curie

A new group of volunteers and new sites to start off the week. The group split into two went two totally different directions in the county today.  We had one group go to meet a Second Harvest food delivery truck to help transport items to the Itmann Food Bank. Each month the food bank is able to get food from the Mountineer Food Bank at a reduced cost for distribution to the people who come into the Itmann Food Bank each month. Not only did volunteers help transport the food from the drop off location, but they also helped unload the trucks and cars at the other end.

The second group of volunteers begun work on a ramp at a house in Oceana. The ramp is being built for a gentleman who will soon be taking car of his wheelchair bound daughter. Right now there is no way in or out of the house for the wheel chair. The PVs made great progress today framing out the platform part of the ramp. Perhaps the hardest part of the day was moving a set of cement steps that were in place where the ramp is going to go. With the home owners help and ingenuity, the were moved to the side so the ramp work could begin.

Everyone worked up quite an appetite today, so we were very thankful when dinner time rolled around. Because we had so many leftovers from last week and we didn’t want to waste the delicious creations, we will be enjoying the dinners again! It is also a nice way to connect last weeks volunteers with this weeks. Thank you to all that had a hand in creating our meal tonight.

For reflection we reflected on John the Baptist going out into the desert and how we at times have to go into the desert to find God.

Jun 24

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Posted on by

Another beautiful sunny day in Wyoming County…Today after Mass and a wonderful lunch of leftovers, the community set off for community. We decided to go and visit the town of Matewan, which is about a 45 minute drive from the school. We had gone to Matewan about 12 years ago for community day and decided it was time for a return trip. The drive was absolutely gorgeous. A new road had been put in since the last time we visited that had spectacular views of the West Virginia mountains, as the road ran along the ridge line. Once we got to Matewan we spent quite a bit of time in the museum. Matewan is has a very interesting history as a railroad and coal town. There was an infamous shootout at the train station in 1920 between coal miners who were trying to unionize and the security guards hired by the coal company. This story was told in the John Sayles movie Matewan, which we highly recommend watching if you get a chance. While in Matewan we also walked along the flood wall which was built to keep the Tug River at bay.

After our day of sightseeing, we came back to the school for a cookout, reorientation and finally commissioning for all those came in this weekend. We look forward to another fruitful week ahead.

Jun 24

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Posted on by

Another beautiful sunny day in Wyoming County…Today after Mass and a wonderful lunch of leftovers, the community set off for community. We decided to go and visit the town of Matewan, which is about a 45 minute drive from the school. We had gone to Matewan about 12 years ago for community day and decided it was time for a return trip. The drive was absolutely gorgeous. A new road had been put in since the last time we visited that had spectacular views of the West Virginia mountains, as the road ran along the ridge line. Once we got to Matewan we spent quite a bit of time in the museum. Matewan is has a very interesting history as a railroad and coal town. There was an infamous shootout at the train station in 1920 between coal miners who were trying to unionize and the security guards hired by the coal company. This story was told in the John Sayles movie Matewan, which we highly recommend watching if you get a chance. While in Matewan we also walked along the flood wall which was built to keep the Tug River at bay.

After our day of sightseeing, we came back to the school for a cookout, reorientation and finally commissioning for all those came in this weekend. We look forward to another fruitful week ahead.