“We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.”  Anne Frank

Today we continued work on the flood damaged house up in Hanover.  Great progress continues to be made each and every day.  Groups drywalled, mudded, sanded, painted, built steps and underpinned.  There still remains work to be done, but it is amazing to look back and see where the house was just two weeks ago.

We also asked a group to stay back at the school and begin to label all of our tools and equipment so we can keep better track of everything.  They were so speedy with that task, that they also were able to reorganize and refill the first aid kits.

Tonight for dinner we are having ham and macaroni and cheese.  Yummy!!!

“We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same.”  Anne Frank

Today we continued work on the flood damaged house up in Hanover.  Great progress continues to be made each and every day.  Groups drywalled, mudded, sanded, painted, built steps and underpinned.  There still remains work to be done, but it is amazing to look back and see where the house was just two weeks ago.

We also asked a group to stay back at the school and begin to label all of our tools and equipment so we can keep better track of everything.  They were so speedy with that task, that they also were able to reorganize and refill the first aid kits.

Tonight for dinner we are having ham and macaroni and cheese.  Yummy!!!

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!!

This weekend was a big change over weekend with 20 people leaving and 23 people arriving.  We are sad to see those go that have been with us the first two weeks and at the same time excited for the new arrivals.  It always amazes us how seamlessly the community transitions from week to week.  A key part of this is our wonderful summer longs who provided a consistent presence for us throughout these transitions.

Even though it was the 4th, it was still community day for the PVs.  After going to Mass in Pineville, we gathered for community day activities.  We began with pairing off and interviewing each other and then presenting our fellow volunteer to the rest of the group.  It was surprising how much we learned about each other, even people we have known for a long time.  After the interviews we moved to the gym for a game of kickball.

After orientation and reorientation, we were treated to our now traditional meal of hamburgers and veggie burgers. Yum yum…. After a quick clean up we moved into the commissioning service to anoint the newly arrived volunteers for their service. Commissioning is always a nice way to connect every volunteer that serves during the summer and to prepare each person for the next day.

We wrapped up the day with a community trip to the Oceana Fireworks. (see pictures below)  It was a beautiful and quite impressive display.  We were joined in Oceana by one of our friends from Lillydale.  After a bit of a traffic jam leaving Oceana we returned to the school and devoured a yummy “flag cake” made with blueberries and strawberries.  It was a great day!

“The purpose of life is not to be happy, but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all.”  Leo Rosten

The theme for last night’s reflection was focused on the effect of coal on the region and particular the women in the region.  We were asked to share with the group women whom we thought exemplified the strong, resilient woman of the area.

Being Friday, today volunteers spent the day doing “non home repair” activities.  The tutoring continues to be a successful program with the children enjoying themselves immensely.  We also sent a group to help with UGWA (Upper Guyandotte Watershed Association) and their water monitoring project.  After finishing up there, the group went to Twin Falls for a late lunch and a hike to the falls.  We also had our second installment of the home repair class at St. Vincent DePaul.  Today the students were taught how to drywall and to fix small holes. Volunteers also took the time to go out and visit people they have met previous summers.  By the sounds of it everyone had a great day.

Tonight for dinner we will be treated with fish and chips, and curry.  Yummy, yummy in the tummy.
 

“The purpose of life is not to be happy, but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all.”  Leo Rosten

The theme for last night’s reflection was focused on the effect of coal on the region and particular the women in the region.  We were asked to share with the group women whom we thought exemplified the strong, resilient woman of the area.

Being Friday, today volunteers spent the day doing “non home repair” activities.  The tutoring continues to be a successful program with the children enjoying themselves immensely.  We also sent a group to help with UGWA (Upper Guyandotte Watershed Association) and their water monitoring project.  After finishing up there, the group went to Twin Falls for a late lunch and a hike to the falls.  We also had our second installment of the home repair class at St. Vincent DePaul.  Today the students were taught how to drywall and to fix small holes. Volunteers also took the time to go out and visit people they have met previous summers.  By the sounds of it everyone had a great day.

Tonight for dinner we will be treated with fish and chips, and curry.  Yummy, yummy in the tummy.