I Built A Home

Well, actually my team of ten Care-A-Vanners (RV owners/volunteers) plus one construction manager from the Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Mandeville, LA built a home.  Maybe that's overstating it a little since there's still much work to be done, but at least we got the walls up and the trusses in place for the roof.  Nonetheless, the logo on the T-shirt I received for my participation says I did it, so I'm going to go with that.

Yet, much more of the credit should go to the great team of people with whom I worked.  Larry and Ty were our team leaders and the rest of us would have followed them anywhere.

Clockwise from upper left: Terry, Phil, Jeff, Judy, Barbara, Dee

See how attentively everyone listens to Brandon!

Not only would we have followed them, but I expect each one of us would have cheerfully jumped off a cliff had Brandon, our site supervisor, given us the command.  But given Brandon's fanatical attention to safety, I knew he would never ask that of us.

Our build site was in Covington, LA, a community on the outskirts of Mandeville that in recent years has almost doubled its population.  Many victims from the 2005 Katrina Hurricane fled to the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain which is linked to New Orleans by the 24-mile Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the world's longest continuous over-water highway bridge.  Due to the influx of population, housing in the North Shore communities is in short supply.  That's where Habitat steps in to fill the gap.

This was the first time I worked on a build from the ground up.  We began with a cement slab, and by the end of our two-week build, we had the walls framed in and the trusses for the roof raised.

All this we completed despite two rainy days that turned the gummy red clay soil into a sticky quagmire.

I swear my boots were stuck in the muck more than once making me wonder if I would be able to free them.

Yet, look at what we accomplished!

Vinecia, the home buyer for this Habitat house, looks absolutely thrilled at the progress we achieved.  She's a single mom with three children who currently lives in cramped quarters with her mother.

From left to right, Vinecia and Derel

Derel, down the street, is another Habitat homeowner.  She moved into her home a year ago and she is so thankful for her very own place that she routinely fixes a home-cooked meal for each team of Care-A-Vanners who rotate through her neighborhood.

Speaking of food, Larry and Ty took us to a couple of their favorite restaurants.  Pictured above is our crew at the Crabby Shack.

And for our final day on the job, Brandon grilled chicken for our potluck dinner.

I know I've bragged in this post about building this home myself.  Then, I expanded my praise to give well-deserved credit to my team.

But ultimately, the real builder of this home, just as Phil's T-shirt attests, is God.

"For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything."  Hebrews 3:4

Most Gracious Heavenly Father, I'm thankful to have been a "someone" on this project.  As Tim and I travel on to our next stop, please be with Vinecia, Derel, Brandon and this team of Care-A-Vanners.  In Jesus name, amen.