Everything Beautiful

Hello friends!

After a brief hiatus, I am back at it again! I had a phenomenal time working with Habitat for Humanity in Monmouth County, NJ and I've been itching to start another project ever since I left. I've been so busy with graduate school and work that it's been hard to find a project that would work with my schedule, but I finally found a great fit with Habitat's chapter in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 

Today was the first of two scheduled days thus far for me, although I am hoping to continue working with this build site much longer than other projects since it is only an hour away from West Chester, where I'm attending school. This particular site is in Elizabethtown, which is a little more than an hour northwest of here. This marks my second  state in my 50 state journey, woohoo! It's only fitting that I begin my second leg of the adventure in America's second state, don't you think?

Unlike the House That Youth Built in New Jersey, the Elizabethtown site is very new-they broke ground in mid September. I am so excited about this because I will be swapping perspectives-instead of working on a nearly completed build site, I'm starting at the very beginning. The site currently has the basement walls braced up, and that's about it. In a few days they will be pouring concrete for the basement, but until then, this is what the site looks like currently: 

Inside of structure. Walls are braced,
pipes for radon piping in the middle.

I arrived on the site and met with Jim, the project manager. I was introduced to other workers as well, some who are staff and one who is my age and is an AmeriCorps worker for Habitat. Everyone was incredibly friendly and easy to talk to, which made for a great day and an easy transition into this next project. I was relieved to find that everyone was very willing to teach me new things and also allow me to really immerse myself in the projects, even though I was completely new to the work we were doing. I was paired with a man named Tom, who has been recently added to Lancaster Habitat's staff. He was a fun partner to work with and made me feel like a competent part of the team. 

The first challenge of the day was simply getting into the structure. I walked over to the structure and noticed the only way in was to cross a 2x4 across a deep moat, climb over the wall, step onto another 2x4 along the upper perimeter of the structure, and then climb down an extension ladder. For someone who has chronic balance issues, this was a nightmare. I was really wishing I hadn't turned in that liability waiver two seconds before. Tom was a great help though; he gave me tips on how to walk across the plank safely, and had me practice a few times to get comfortable. I'm still not completely at ease, but I was able to make it in and out of the structure all day without incident (uffda!). 

After that mini crisis, the real work began. Tom and I were tasked with measuring, cutting, gluing, and covering radon piping in the basement. There is radon gas that is present in the ground, and when a house is built on it the gas can build up and become very toxic. In order to prevent that from occurring, piping with small holes in it is laid on the very foundation of the home. More piping is then connected vertically at one spot so it gets routed to the top of the structure, which is then routed out of the home so it safely escapes without doing any damage. 

Using the saw to cut pipes. 

Tom and I spent most of the day laying this pipe down. It sounds like a simple job, but there is a lot of precise measurements that must be done to ensure that the pipes fit exactly right, and are the correct lengths away from the walls of the home. The most fun part of the job was being able to use the saw to cut the pipe to the correct length (I know, I'm shocked too that they let me near power tools haha). 

Hanging out on the wall
after walking "the plank".

After lunch we hopped back into the structure and began putting wooden braces along portions of the walls. If the walls are not braced properly, the hydrolic pressure of the concrete we'll pour in will cause the walls to push outward, break and/or collapse. Obviously that is something we wish to avoid, so off to work we went! Tom taught me how to use the electric drill (I know, I know, two power tools in one day, geez) and showed me how to find the portions of the wall we needed to reinforce. Thankfully we started with the ones on the ground level so I could practice easily. After that we had to stand on 2x4 boards that were placed around the upper perimeter of the walls in order to brace the top portion of the walls. Again, balance is not my strong point so this seemed like a precarious situation. After awhile I got used to it though and went about my merry way. My one piece of advice when moving along these types of unstable conditions: move slowly, watch your step, and always have at least one hand on the wall for support. ALWAYS. 

Later in the day the volunteer coordinator Leigh came by to check on our progress. The people at the site were really interested in my goal to work at Habitats across the United States, and she asked to interview me! It was really just a brief video of me explaining my goal and why I'm choosing to work with Habitat, but it was fun and it was so nice that they thought it was worth filming. Leigh told me, "when you're famous I'll tell you where to find the video" so I'll be sure to post a link to whatever story or segment they put the video in! For now here is the raw video they took: 

Everything beautiful
begins with God.

Overall it was a beautiful day working with wonderful people. One thing that struck me as I initially walked onto the site today was a sign the neighbor had in their lawn next to the adjoining fence to our lot. It said, "Everything beautiful begins with God". I was awed by this; clearly God is watching over this site and the work Habitat volunteers are doing for others. I couldn't think of a better message to govern my day, and every day for that matter. As I conquered some fears and learned new things on the work site, felt the breeze and the sun, and saw the colors on the trees around me changing today I remembered the words on this sign. God has the power to do wonders through all of us, and I truly feel like this is his calling for me right now. I am anxious to see what the next few months hold, and where God will lead me next. I ask him each day to lead my heart and to let me be a light to someone in the world. Maybe my light is through Habitat. 

Ta Ta For Now, 

 Lisa