Year 1: Mission Complete!

Measuring plywood for filling
in the floor joists

Wow. That's all I can say. When I set out to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, I knew it'd be a challenge but I was excited. It has been a year since I first began my journey, and I can officially say I have met my year 1 goal of building in 5 states! My first year has been incredible: I've met so many inspring people and learned new things as I stepped way outside my comfort zone. My only regret is that I don't have a chance to spend more time on each site and see the houses to completion. I had a blast finishing my first year goal in the state of Delaware with a great group of people, here's what happened the two days I was there!

I drove south to Dover, Delaware to volunteer with the Central Delaware chapter of Habitat for Humanity. The build site is actually directly in downtown Dover; however unlike most capital cities, Dover wasn't commercialized. Instead it was a series of neighborhoods centered around one main drag through town. I arrived at the build site and met two AmeriCorps workers who were to be our crew managers the days I was building: Christian and Austin. These guys were really outgoing, funny, and did a great job managing the team. Later in the day I had the chance to walk down the street to lunch with them at a small sandwich shop and we had a great time getting to know each other and talking about their experiences in AmeriCorps. 

Finally mastering the saw!

As for the work site, both days we were preparing the structure for placing the second floor, and we mounted floor joists much as I had done with my build in Lancaster, PA. While some of the regular volunteers worked inside the structure, I was mostly outside measuring and sawing plywood which I then nailed into a few of the larger support joists with the help of another volunteer. I also helped to straighten some of the walls, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Volunteers stood on either side of the exterior walls and hit it depending on my instructions to ensure it was as straight as possible before we placed the floor joists and continued on with the build. While it doesn't seem that difficult, the devil is in the details. It's difficult at times to determine if the wall was truly straight, and additionally any movement could trigger a larger change than what we needed. Sometimes it was also difficult because, well, walls can't bend that far. If we had to make a drastic change in the wall alignment the boards can only move so far-needless to say after a good twenty minutes we finally got it right and were able to continue on with the day. 

Day 1 Crew!

As for the work site, both days we were preparing the structure for placing the second floor, and we mounted floor joists much as I had done with my build in Lancaster, PA. While some of the regular volunteers worked inside the structure, I was mostly outside measuring and sawing plywood which I then nailed into a few of the larger support joists with the help of another volunteer. I also helped to straighten some of the walls, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Volunteers stood on either side of the exterior walls and hit it depending on my instructions to ensure it was as straight as possible before we placed the floor joists and continued on with the build. While it doesn't seem that difficult, the devil is in the details. It's difficult at times to determine if the wall was truly straight, and additionally any movement could trigger a larger change than what we needed. Sometimes it was also difficult because, well, walls can't bend that far. If we had to make a drastic change in the wall alignment the boards can only move so far-needless to say after a good twenty minutes we finally got it right and were able to continue on with the day. 

Me and the ladies hanging out on the site!

My biggest accomplishment of the day was finally becoming more competent with the saw-I tried it once before on a build site but it didn't go well (we'll just leave it at that). But Austin was great at teaching me and had me cut a few boards, and in no time I looked like a pro! It's a prime example of why I love Habitat so much. The people on these sites never want you to do something you're uncomfortable with, but they will push your limits a bit and have you try new things. After all, that's part of the experience right? 

Working with the air force guys

The first work day was extremely hot-the temperature reached 104 degrees and I easily drank a half dozen water bottles before lunch. Unfortunately we wound up cutting our first build day short; the heat became too much for us within an hour of us returning to lunch and Christian and Austin called it to make sure we were all safe and healthy. Day two was hot as well, but thankfully it was gloomy and overcast so we didn't have to call the build due to the heat again.

The second day we had a much larger crew on site; a group of Air Force members from the nearby air force base came and helped out, and it was fun getting to know them. I clicked with a few of them and we hung out most of the day. Unfortunately there were so many people were a job that was only meant for a few people, so many of us had to stand around for most of the day. But it's never a loss; if anything it's a lesson that happens on every build site at some point. With these jobs you need to be patient and you need to do your part, even if your part is small. We had lunch catered from a nearby location that donated food to us, and packed up after that. The air force gang had to head back to base and study for a leadership class they must have just graduated from now! 

Me and the gang on day 2

Overall I had a blast building with everyone in Delaware, and it was only made sweeter by the fact that these days wrapped up my first year goal of building in five states in one year. 

Day 2 Air Force crew

So where am I going next you may ask? My year two goal is to hit up another five states! Funds are low but my faith in God is high, and I'm hoping that somehow I'll find a way to make it to a few new places. Fair warning, it may not be for awhile. But in the meantime I hope to showcase some other things on my blog related to Habitat, so be sure to visit from time to time! I'm planning to work through some of the New England states since I'm still out east, but we'll see where God takes me. 

If you are ever in Delaware and want to volunteer, hit up the Central Delaware Habitat chapter-here's a link to their Facebook page!

Central Delaware HFH 

Well, Until Next Time,

Lisa