Today, our group woke up early to eat a quick breakfast and pack lunches before setting off on our first day of service work! Our guide, Kevin, introduced us to Roy, an Estill County native whose house was damaged by flooding earlier this year. The insulation below his floor was almost completely washed away or discarded, leaving us a big job to do over the day.
About half of our group, alongside four of our adult leaders, worked beneath Roy’s house, lining the “ceiling” with insulation material. The other group worked in his garage, clearing out oil that spilled out of a container there. After about two hours of work, we took a half-hour lunch break. During this time, we spoke with Roy and listened to his experiences working on a coal industry railroad, his family and friends, and his recollections of the flood that brought us here. Additionally, a short and light rain shower refreshed us for the work ahead. As we finished up lunch, we prayed for Roy and his family as he set off to a medical procedure to precede his upcoming surgery.
After lunch, we continued our work – we had never been so happy to be crouching beneath a house, due to occasional rain showers – for another two hours before leaving. We had originally planned to leave at 4:00 rather than 2:30, but a foreboding weather forecast and dark clouds approaching on the horizon made our leaders think twice. Indeed, as we cooled off with ice cream, the clouds also decided to cool us off with a sudden and forceful storm. However, it stopped soon after we returned to our lodge, and would not return for the rest of the day.
The remaining afternoon and evening hours were spent having free time within the lodge. Dinner – consisting of spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad – was made by the Mandolins, one of our small groups of 5 youth. As the Mandolins cleaned up after dinner, the Fiddles and Banjoes tidied up the rest of the house for the night.
We look forward to continuing to help Roy tomorrow! If we finish quickly, we may also move on to another project.
A quote from Roy to send you off – “Remember to love and help your neighbor, and pray.”
Sam Freimuth
