by BJ F. and Lisa S.
This past Saturday began with another pleasant summer morning; mild temperatures were teasing us, but we knew better. Arriving at the “Building Hope” Habitat for Humanity worksite we saw a familiar scene: a half dozen plus houses in different stages of construction were clustered together providing evidence that this will soon be a welcoming neighborhood stretched along Tulip Tree Road in Hillsborough.
We recognized several faces from our last visit to the site. Like before, volunteers ranged from young to old as a nice mix of personalities blended together. The construction leads were there guiding our progress; individuals with all different levels of building skills were present (from none to experienced); and most importantly, members of the families who will soon call these locations home were present to put in their share of the effort.
Just a few weeks ago our group’s worksite consisted of cement blocks for a foundation, and by midday on this visit, three of four exterior walls had been erected, and the team of volunteers enjoyed a well deserved lunch to admire the progress.
What is most evident during these Habitat experiences is how genuine everyone is. Each participant is providing whatever gifts he or she can to help make someone else’s homeownership dream come to fruition. There is a lot of teamwork, a lot of learning, a lot of good honest work, and a lot of fun. As we leave, we envision the afternoon crowd setting the fourth exterior wall, then constructing the interior layout. We both look forward to seeing the progress that will take place between now and our next site visit.