Almost Heaven

 Hi everyone, or should I say, yee yee!

This summer I’m getting back to doing the things I love, and you all know Habitat had to be at the top of the list. I’ve felt a prompting on my heart for a while to visit West Virginia, and I’m so glad I made the trip out to the land that’s “Wild and Wonderful”.

12 states down!

The trip began with some unexpected excitement, that I am simply lucky to be able to say I avoided safely. While driving down the interstate, I came across a SUV parked in the middle of the freeway with all of its doors wide open. As I looked just beyond the vehicle, I noticed the police drawing long guns on the vehicle, and another officer waving at the stopped traffic behind them in an effort to make them back away to a safer distance. Later, I discovered the driver of the SUV had been attempting to shoot at those in traffic, and was specifically targeting officers. Thankfully, I was in the opposite lane and was able to drive away from the situation; an officer was shot by the gunman, and the suspect was eventually killed by police, ending the standoff. This isn’t one of the happier ways my trips have begun, but hey, you can’t make this stuff up. It just goes to show you never know what can happen on a given day, and I thank God for His protection in that moment. For those interested, a link to an article about that incident is here.

Thankfully, I made it to Charleston, West Virginia early in the afternoon without any other issues. It was a sweltering hot day, with temperatures reaching near 100°F. To beat the heat, I stopped at the Sweeter Side of the Feud Distillery to taste some genuine West Virginia moonshine. When in Rome, right? I met the owners, Mark and Brenda, and they told me all about the history of their family and their business while I sipped samples of their moonshine. All of it was delicious! Mark is the great great grandson of Devil Anse; their family was part of a famous American feud between the Hatfield and McCoy families during the Civil War era. After checking out the distillery, I moseyed to downtown Charleston and had a bite to eat at Pies and Pints along the main drag in town. They had an Italian sandwich that was perfect after a long day’s drive, and the Blue Moon I had to wash it down wasn’t half bad either. Once I finished dinner, I headed to my Airbnb and turned in early so I would be fresh and energized for my first build day.

Look at that foundation

In the morning, I woke up early to don my building clothes and slather myself in sunscreen. It was expected to be around 95° again, and I was trying to prepare for it as best as I could. Once done, I made my way to the build site. As I drove, I began to see signs of the need this particular community has for organizations like Habitat for Humanity. West Virginia is an old state, and for those used to big cities it may not seem like much as you pass through. As the lyrics go in “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, “Life is old there, older than the trees/Younger than the mountains, growin’ like a breeze”. The buildings in the area were small, and many I passed by were in significant stages of disrepair. In the area I was building in many of the homes and storefronts were boarded up, signage was faded, and it felt vacant. The few people I observed walking along the road appeared to be suffering from drug addiction; they drifted aimlessly along the sidewalks. The capitol city is a mere hour away from what 60 Minutes has called, the “overdose capital of America”, where people have been devastated by the effects of prescription pills, heroin, fentanyl, etc. This scene was a stark contrast to the beautiful winding Kanawha River that the rest of the city is built around, and the lush mountains that rose up around us. It saddened me to witness the reality of what some people in this particular area were living through, and it reassured me that this was precisely where Habitat needed to be, and where I wanted to give my time to help in the small way I could.

Selfie with Tiny, in his
signature red Habitat gear

When I arrived at the site, I was met by construction supervisor “Tiny”, whose kindness and heart for service made you forget all about the hardships the community was facing just minutes down the road. Habitat’s instructions for serving mentioned Tiny would be in a red hardhat, red shirt, and overalls to stand out, and he didn’t disappoint. I met up with him and another volunteer named Darby, and I knew right away this was going to be a build day to remember. Darby was engaging, energetic, and wore her heart on her sleeve. This was her first time building with Habitat; it was a cool experience to be a part of her first memories with the organization while I was chipping away on my twelfth state’s worth of experience. We all seemed to hit it off right away, and Tiny proceeded to show us what our task would be for the day: painting a second coat of black paint over the foundations of two homes. Tiny led the way to the large work trailer, where Darby and I donned our hard hats and safety glasses and gathered our painting materials. By that point we already told Tiny we were his dream team for the day, and we set off to begin painting a wall on a shaded portion of the home. At 8am the temperature had already climbed past 80°, and it didn’t take long for us to sweat through our clothes. But we had a grand time listening to 90’s throwbacks and channeling our inner Bob Ross as we methodically painted the foundation brick by brick. I took to taping the siding to protect it, and painted the higher bricks while Darby helped a tall sister out and painted the lower bricks.

Dream Team at work

At 10am, we took a break to get out of the heat. I downed several bottles of water and a snack while Tiny sat and talked with us about his 22 years of experience working for Habitat for Humanity. He was so passionate about his work, and explained that you really need to have the heart for serving, because working for a nonprofit will never be about the money for those who do it. He repeatedly mentioned that Habitat’s mission is to not treat people differently than anyone else, and it only provides an opportunity for people to become homeowners of stable, affordable housing. He told us that the whole neighborhood was made up of Habitat homes, and he has been the construction supervisor for them all. He talked about getting close with the homeowners, who work sweat equity hours for months and who he interacts with for months or even a year at a time. At this chapter, people on the list for homes must work 125 sweat equity hours before they are selected for a specific home, and then they will work an additional 125 afterwards. If they are a couple, the number of hours increases to 500. In addition, each homeowner must complete a comprehensive curriculum, including topics like home maintenance, electrical and plumbing basics, neighborhood relations, and financial literacy. It was inspiring to see how passionate he was about the work he does, and how much pride he takes in each home. In one conversation on my second day of serving, Tiny mentioned that he builds each house as if he would be the one living in it. This was evident in his attention to detail as he explained to us how to fill in the tiny pores within the bricks of the foundation, and showed us how to avoid getting paint on the siding.

Darby and I enjoying the view

Darby and I got back to work and were able to complete two sides of one of the homes just before noon. At that point, the Executive Director of Habitat of Kanawha and Putnam County, Andrew Blackwood, arrived onsite with Trevor Anderson, the volunteer coordinator. I had a chance to speak with them about my journey to serve in every state, and we had a great conversation about the work their chapter is doing and the direction they hope to take the program. I always love getting a chance to talk to people in different roles within chapters when they are able to come out, because it shows that they care about the volunteers and that they don’t hide away from the groundwork of the program. Much like Tiny, both of them were so genuine and it was evident that they care about the work they do and the impact they get to have on their community.

Waiting out the storm
at the ReStore

With afternoon storms looming, Trevor offered Darby and I a chance to work at their ReStore and see their main office. We took him up on that offer and wound up serving there for the rest of the afternoon. A gnarly storm came through, with a torrential downpour, high winds, green skies, and rotating cloud cover that made us feel lucky for having the shelter of the warehouse instead of being out at the build site. As the storm continued to soak the town, Darby and I were hard at work helping ReStore workers price items, place them on the sales floor, break down boxes, and roll and tag rugs which were going to be for sale. For those who are just beginning to follow this little Habitat blog of mine, a ReStore is like a home improvement Goodwill of sorts, with proceeds from the sales going to fund other home builds. It’s a great way for chapters to make additional income for their projects, and for people in the area to donate home goods, furniture, and home improvement materials to a good cause.

Looks like heaven to me!

Just as the storm was lightening up, Darby and I ended our time volunteering for the day. We had so much fun connecting and serving together that we decided to meet up later that night for dinner. She took me to a restaurant that overlooked the city of Charleston and the Kanawha River, and it was absolutely beautiful. The rain earlier in the day was nowhere to be found, and the temperature was much more comfortable. We laughed, we talked about our aspirations, and we both felt like we had become fast new friends. It was a perfect way to spend a night in an unfamiliar town. I learned quickly that sometimes the most unassuming places are home to the most genuine and kindhearted people, and that truly is something to celebrate. We finished our night watching the sun set over Charleston, and in that moment I understood what people see when they say West Virginia is almost heaven.

Stick around for a rundown of day 2 of building with Habitat of Kanawha and Putnam County in my next post!

Until Next Time,

Lisa