Work Hard, Eat Hard

Thankfully I am able to type this, as my fingers have thawed out from this morning.  Yes, it was ice cold again.  The air temperature was in the low 40's, however, the wind chill made it feel just like Monday morning all over again; and the wind was relentless.  

The day started out with a few odd-jobs that needed attention, but the main task of the morning was the lifting and installation of the first truss on Mac and Tammy's home.  It was an awesome team effort, which included lifters, spotters, guiders, climbers, and nailers.  Basically, we had a group of people lift the truss up over the front of the house, meanwhile it was guided by others using y-shaped 2x4 pieces to guide it through the house into the hands of Drew, who was up on top of the house.  Drew then passed it through to the back corner, where I was stationed with Lauren spotting me (I only almost fell off the ladder once).  With a huge effort of pushing from the y-people and lifting from Drew, we were able to lift the truss up, slide it into place, and begin stabilizing it with nails.  It was a pretty neat experience to have so many people necessary for the completion of a critical construction phase.

Warming Up

On Tuesday morning we made our standard 7:30 departure and arrived at a much warmer work site.  The temperature was in the low 40's, but was a marked improvement from the high 20's that we had on Monday.  Bob mentioned that he had plenty for us to do throughout the day, and the energy was high, as I think everyone was just pumped to be feeling their fingers again.

Bob pointed out a couple of things to me that he wanted done on the house #2's interior, so I grabbed a team of Dana, Olivia, Sarah, Ian, Lauren, Kari, and Jen.  Olivia and Dana got to work on rearranging a door frame that was a little uneven, while the rest of us started on putting up the second layer of 2x4's on top of what I think was a closet.  Later in the day, I got to work with Sarah, Becca, and Lesleigh, as we were tying and pulling string around each wall of the house.  Now, while this was something that I barely understood while Bob was asking us to do it, I later realized that it essentially serves the same purpose as a level on a larger scale.  By pulling the string tight around the walls of the house, you are able to see if there is enough daylight between the string and the wall...insuring that the walls are all straight.

Settling In & Getting To Work

We got in yesterday (Sunday) at about 4pm and met Derek, who showed us around The Church of the Holy Comforter (HC), who is our host for the week.  The church is located right on the outskirts of Downtown Sumter, next to the library, and a block away from the police station.

As far as living arrangements, we are a step above last year's single meeting room, as we have 4 classrooms - one for myself, Johnathan, and Ian (the only two male students on the trip), and then we split the girls up into groups of 6, 6, and 5.  While we have a little more space to spread out, we gave the ladies the bonus of the classrooms that have couches.  We've got a really nice kitchen to use, along with a game room, dining area, and somewhat of a general meeting space...basically we've got plenty of area to occupy.

Shipping Off

Bags are packed, paperwork is in order, and departure time is set. I'll be meeting the students at 8am tomorrow morning, we'll pack the vans up, and aim to go "wheels up" at 9am, departing for Sumter, SC. Pictures and update to follow Sunday evening. Here's hoping for a nice bump in temperature as we head six hours south.