The last day--

After the dedication ceremony, Louise posed with Tim, Charlie and all of Team Hancock.

Our Well-Oiled Machine

For a great article about Team Hancock on the Fuller Center for Housing site, see HANCOCK UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST TEAM: A WELL-OILED MACHINE READY TO WORK

Tool time

On the first day, some people got to use the power tools right away. They cut and hoisted. They pounded, ripped and drilled things.

This is my first trip and my first real building project so on my first day they handed me a putty knife.

It was, truly, an important putty knife. Paired up with another first-timer, we wielded our putty knives to fix the walls of a small back room that was riddled with nail holes and cracks caused by Hurricane Sandy. We mixed up joint compound dust with water until it was the consistency of a buttercream cake frosting and then filled the holes and cracks with it while listening to power tools working in a space nearby.  We tried over and over to make our swooshes of this "mud" smoothly fill gouges and feather across rough patches. 

Later the first day we watched the team of professional tapers who came by and mudded several rooms with blinding speed and breathtaking skill.

On Tuesday it finally happened. "You ready to hang some sheetrock?" they asked. I grabbed for an electric drill and didn't let it go. Scott demonstrated how the panels of sheetrock fit into place and how the hanging pipes and existing outlets fit into the slots and cutouts our team had carefully measured and trimmed from the panels. He handed me some screws and showed how to drill them through the sheetrock into the wooden support studs.

(note: It can be helpful to remember to mark where the studs are on the sheetrock panels so that electric power tools can do the job you're asking them to do.)

On Wednesday, I again grabbed the power drill (and a pencil) and again bored holes in panels and hung sheetrock. Once that was finished, my tool of the day was a broom. We swept and re-swept the concrete floors with brooms to prep them for the soupy floor leveling compound that the rooms needed before new vinyl flooring could go on.

On Thursday and Friday I again manned the power drill, this time to power mix more floor leveler and more joint compound mud. And the final tool for the week  was my old friend the putty knife. I brandished it the last afternoon to sling mud into some of the holes we drilled earlier in the week. Other power tools hummed nearby, but the urgency to use them had ebbed; instead I concentrated on filling and smoothing, now with a hint of speed and skill.

Her smile says so much !

Gratitude (saying thank you over and over all week) wonderful sense of humor, so personable, humility, truly a gem - awesome house owner Louise and our incredible job site captains Tim and Charlie at the end of our work week and home dedication. What an incredible week!

What a Week!

I just returned from the closing ceremony of The Fuller Legacy Build here in Atlantic City where I had time to reflect on all that has happened this week. This was a truly inspiring experience. The fellowship amongst our team was something to treasure. Working with our house captains, Tim and Charlie, two genuine, caring, and funny guys, was one of the major highlights of the week. When you learn that these two have traveled the world as volunteers to build decent housing for those in need, life takes on a new perspective.

The most moving part of the week came at this afternoon's dedication ceremony when we passed on a bible and quilt to our homeowner, Louise. Her gratitude for what we had done to begin the restoration process on her family home that goes back three generations had me and the rest of the team in tears. I've been in human services for a long time but seldom has anyone ever told me with such heartfelt affection that we had made them "the happiest homeowner in Atlantic City".

This week has taught me the importance of doing for others simply because that's the right thing to do. None of us were here because we had to be; we were here because we wanted to help those experiencing such terrible losses after a devastating natural disaster. I'm so glad I had the ability and opportunity to make a difference in the life of someone we all became very fond of in a short period of time.

We are here for others, not ourselves

The home owner Louise visits with us, shares lunch with us, tells wonderful stories about growing up in Atlantic City and thanks us over and over again along with hugs. Getting to know her has enriched our lives -

Meeting Louise makes it real

Louise is a hoot! The homeowner comes almost daily to visit with us, shoot the breeze and express her gratitude.  Often this is at lunch where she will grab one of the bag lunches and eat with us on her front steps. We often laugh along with her as she tells stories.  Her parents bought the house in 1938 and she and her sister were raised here.   Except for 4 years, she has spent her entire life at 20 Sovereign, raising her son, Johnny there.. They now share an apartment on the third floor.

Growing up this was a different neighborhood...everyone knew everyone and looked after each other.  If her mother wasn't home when she and her sister came home from school, they would go down the block to a neighbor lady who kept cookies on hand specially for them.  Nowadays many of the houses on her block are owned by absentee landlords.  Tenants come and go.  Not so many people hang out on the front steps and if you overhear conversations, it is just as likely to be Spanish you hear, as English.  But where Louise is wrong is that some of her neighbors really do know her.  The other day Daryl explained to a curious neighbor across the street who we were and what we are doing.  His response in accented English was that "it was good since Louise didn't have anyone."