Go Team 3!

     I have been part of Team 3 (Stefanie Baarman, Carolyn McGill, Noah Pereles, Emily Petti,  Lia Sohl, Lynda Tennent, Jack White, and on Monday Kendra Grams) for three glorious work days (one day rained out).  I have not been following the posts so I don’t know whether or not an accurate picture has been painted. I want to make certain everyone understands that these stalwart souls have been doing the most hot, hard, hideous project in the history of the world of mission trips. If you don’t want to wade through all that’s about to follow, skip down to the last paragraph, which really is the only one that counts.

In searing heat and humidity, we slung sledge hammers at solid 4-6 in. concrete (a foot deep around all the edges), reinforced, as far as I could tell, every half inch, with heavy wire, inch thick rebar, and something akin to steel I-beams. We wailed away with everything we had, cheering on each other and sending up a special cheer for anyone who managed to chip off a tiny piece.  We ended an 8-hr day with about a foot of concrete knocked off each end of an 8 by 32 ft. porch, and most of that had been brought down by our carpenters, who clearly took pity on us and did some sledge hammering – an impressive display of strength and skill.

      It rained on Tuesday so we didn’t go back until Wednesday. When we drove up to the house, expecting to settle into another day of more of the wretched same, we were overwhelmed with joy when we saw that the entire concrete porch was gone -- well, almost gone. Our most wonderful carpenters, Matt and Daniel, had been out pretty much all day Tuesday with sledge hammers, jack hammers and a concrete saw, reducing the porch to rubble. We were so overjoyed we could have cried. Well, I could have cried. We were so grateful to them we hardly knew what to say. On closer inspection, we realized there was about an 8x32 ft area, a foot deep, and deeper in places, of concrete chunks and concrete blockes that had to be moved away. And thus it began: The great concrete mountain.

     We started a pile and threw onto it what we could. We carried the big pieces we couldn’t throw. We carried buckets full of small pieces. We filled wheel barrows, steered them across a steep incline to our concrete mountain, and when the wheel barrow didn’t turn over, we dumped its contents onto the mountain. We sledge hammered some concrete blocks, carried others whole, and added them to the concrete mountain.  We built a second, smaller concrete mountain, a medium mountain of lumber that had been under the porch floor and 2x2s that had been on the ground under the porch. This was our Wednesday. At the end of the day, the entire area was completely cleared, having been distributed among the four mountains. (Oh, one additional pile – of the I-beam pieces and the rebar.) Our carpenters had very kind words for how much we had accomplished – much more than they had expected -- which we did appreciate, and we limped, exhausted (but well hydrated) to the car and headed back to church.

On Thursday, we arrived at Cassie’s house full of hope that we might be able to begin to build the new porch. Hmmmmmm. Not to be.

      I will be happy to speak individually with anyone who can stand to hear any more, we, but will just say that there was still more to sledge hammer. We had to take out two walls of concrete blocks down to a concrete base plate. We had to break up and take away a whole lot more concrete (reinforced) and enormous pieces of huge I-beam that was supporting the house. Before that, we had crawled into the dark, dank, spider-infested, gravel floored, maybe 3 ft high crawl space under the house and hauled in and hung four 16 ft 2x8s, doubly heavy from having been drenched in whatever they use to treat lumber these days. We screwed them to the floor joists above, the best we could, maneuvering around the many pipes that hung all over the place. And still, after another full day of back-breaking, hard labor, in 300% humidity, we limped home, exhausted (but well hydrated), and headed back to church. But the job was still nowhere near finished. The next mission group will complete the job of building the new porch.

Now, if you are still reading this, is the main point: This was the most amazing, dedicated, hard-working, never complaining, no task too daunting, good humored group of young people you could possibly imagine. They worked so, so hard, taking only short water breaks throughout the day.  You would have been so proud to call them your own. They have been wonderful ambassadors for Potomac Presbyterian Church and God’s most faithful servants.

It should be said that we had a wonderful time. We learned so many new things. We made fast new friends – of each other and of people in Hazard. And it was an amazing week.

Lynda Tennent

(this is Sean)

I am sorry for Lynda’s longwindedness.  We have Bible study now.  G’night y’all.