BUILDING HOPE IN INDIANA — June 20 to July 2, 1999
by Linda Lee Walden F245876

I'd been waiting a long time for this and my anticipation grew as June 20th neared. I tried not to let expectations rise too high — it would be my first Habitat build as well as the first official build for our new FMCA Chapter: Habitat for Humanity®. I didn't have a good idea of what to expect. A complete novice at construction, would I be relegated to carrying boards and gophering? Would I embarrass myself (and my husband) by my lack of hammering skill? What would happen if (when) I made mistakes?

Since becoming full-time RVers 3 years ago, my husband and I have realized how lucky we are to be able to lead this low-stress, go-where-we-want way of life while making a living on the road as freelance magazine writers and photographers. However, we had also started to feel a need to show gratitude for our good fortune by personally giving of ourselves in some meaningful way. We realized that opportunities for community volunteer work are somewhat limited when you're moving every couple of weeks. So when we learned about Habitat for Humanity® builds geared specifically to RVers, we knew that this was our solution. The forming of the FMCA Chapter at Ogden last year and the subsequent planning of the Bloomington, Indiana inaugural build promised to fulfill our dream.

By the time the 20th arrived, we’d bought all the recommended tools: hammers, tool belts, measuring tapes, quick squares and sturdy work gloves. On Sunday afternoon, nineteen chapter members in ten motorhomes arrived at what would be our encampment for the next two weeks. For about half of us it was our first Habitat experience. Our leaders, Jim and Lois Campbell, had found an ideal location — the Ellettsville farm of newly recruited chapter members Don and Nancy Frye. Not only did our hosts provide ad hoc electric and water hookups but their Midwestern hospitality, plus the inspiring view of deer grazing in the soy beans and thousands of fireflies rising toward the heavens each evening, provided, the perfect setting for group bonding and laughs around the campfire. At the open-air welcome dinner we met Kerry Thompson, the build coordinator for the local Monroe County Habitat affiliate, a likable, committed woman in her 20s who has been working for Habitat since college.

The first week of the build we’d be the primary group of volunteers working on a three-home site, but the second week was what the affiliate called a "Fast Frame" build — more than a hundred local volunteers would join us to raise the walls we were about to build and take the houses as far as possible in six more days. Unlike a "Blitz," we would not see the completion and presentation of the homes to their new owners.

Monday, day one, found all of us eagerly arriving at the build site in Bloomington well before the appointed 8 am starting time. After opening devotions by Lois Campbell, Kerry introduced us to Larry and Helen, the couple who would be buying one of the completed houses and who would be working side-by-side with our group for, the next two weeks. Our first assignment was laying sub-flooring on two completed foundations and building the entire floor system on the third. Even for novice builders, simple instructions and a team spirit provided everyone a productive task. Before I knew it we were all plunging in, men and women, first-timers and experienced volunteers alike: carrying, gluing, hammering furiously.

It was as if we thought that by, working as ‘fast and long as our strength would permit, we’d prove ourselves. worthy contributors to the Habitat for Humanity® mission of eliminating poverty housing. Not that we were required to work that way. On the contrary, Kerry urged each volunteer to drink lots of water, do only what we felt capable of and take breaks whenever we needed. By the afternoon of that first, frenetic day we began to understand the wisdom of that philosophy. Back on the farm we retired to our respective coaches tired, but happy that we had exceeded Kerry’s expectations.

On Tuesday our spirits were just as high, although several of us admitted to aches in places that we didn't know we had places. Our task for that day was building outside corners, leads and headers. The local supervisors patiently explained the use for each of these wooden framing structures and how to build them to Habitat specifications. I was especially pleased to be learning details of how a house is constructed, but also made an unexpected discovery: there is more than one "right" way to do just about everything in building. Aside from teaching the totally inexperienced such as myself, Kerry’s job required explaining to volunteers with differing construction backgrounds why this affiliate did things a certain way.

I should mention the food. Eating was a highlight of the entire two-week period. The fee we paid to the FMCA Chapter to attend the build covered incidental expenses, our lunches for the first week, the group welcome barbecue and a Friday night weenie roast. Unexpected, but gratefully accepted, were the four dinners planned in our honor by local churches, community members and home extension clubs. A young people’s summer bible-study class even presented us with hand-decorated nail aprons! During the Fast Frame week local organizations donated a veritable mountain of casseroles, sandwiches, snacks and drinks. Several volunteers from our chapter kept the food tent under control. The support from Bloomington and surrounding communities proved overwhelming, even to the Habitat affiliate staff.

By mid-week our aching, overused joints and hammer-thumped fingers became merely a minor, overlooked annoyance, as did the sudden drenching of summer thunderstorms. We’d gelled into a cheerful, moderately efficient work group, switching jobs and lending a hand where needed. I helped chalk the floor plan of each house on the sub-flooring and mark 2"x4" plates for framing. Other teams dug ditches, buried drain pipes and graded around the foundations, measured and cut lumber for building door and window frames, assembled walls and unloaded supplies. At the close of each day we all pitched in to clean up the site. By Friday we had accomplished everything Kerry had hoped and more.

Then came Saturday, the first day of the Fast Frame. After working with the relatively small, cohesive FMCA Chapter group, the huge influx of volunteers seemed to overrun the build site. Within hours the walls were raised and roof trusses secured. Kerry had previously appealed to us to stand back if necessary and let local volunteers do the hands-on work. She understood that there is nothing as demoralizing as making a commitment of time and then feeling unneeded. Being quite familiar with the site and affiliate methods by now, the more skilled workers among our FMCA group supervised a variety of tasks, while the rest of us filled in as needed and made excellent cheerleaders.

After Sunday’s worship and much-needed rest (plus laundry, dumping holding tanks, etc.), work progressed rapidly throughout the second week, with an average of 30 to 40 local volunteers each day plus our group. Roofing, insulation and siding material appeared, more or less on schedule, and were immediately put to use. Professional electricians and plumbers worked swiftly and efficiently among the organized chaos. And suddenly the final day of our participation arrived. With admirable dedication, several of our RV group worked past quitting time rather than depart with tasks unfinished. Reluctantly, we bid good-bye to newly-made friends, leaving with an open invitation to return again next summer.

Was this a typical FMCA Chapter: Habitat for Humanity® build? Hard to say, as our fledgling chapter will certainly develop traditions of its own. Two weeks is probably longer than usual, and our accommodations more personal than we can expect every time. The delicious and copious food is apparently fairly typical. Community welcome and support was, as I understand it, superior. Details aside, we all agreed that the camaraderie, sense of fulfilling personal ministries and of useful work well done, are what builds are all about for FMCA Chapter volunteers. I for one cant wait for my next opportunity to build hope with the Habitat for Humanity® program.