Setup Week

Thursday of "Setup Week"
Bluefield, WV

We only have a couple days until the first volunteers arrive. We are feeling optimistic. We have selected 9 homes to work on, which will accommodate the 9 work crews coming Sunday. We "signed" 5 of them today, meaning that we went over the work agreement form, and got information to pull city building permits. Tonight we hashed out the details of the work on each of those five homes. It was painstakingly detailed. Four more to do tomorrow.

Not even one week in the county, and already some good stories are evolving. Let me first say that selecting homes is a very daunting task. As staffers, we are charged with allocating the thousands of dollars that volunteers bring in a way that serves the needs of the community, keeps volunteers safe, and is altogether manageable. Mostly, we are literally the answer to people's prayers. This is very literal. People pray for help with their home, and we are the incarnation of God's answer to that prayer. We are told this all the time.

Now think of the reverse. People pray for help with their home, we come and visit the house, then decide that it's an unmanageable project, or that we don't have the budget for it, or we already have enough projects. This also happens. As someone pointed out, we are still God's answer to their prayers. God's answer was "No." Those are the people we pray for.

So we go on many home visits. Some homes are ridiculous, such as "I need help with my grass," or "there are cracks in my sidewalk." Others are very challenging, like sure signs that there's serious drug abuse in the house. Then there are the families which are absolutely adorable. The little old lady that says she'd be grateful for anything, or even nothing but the visit you've paid her. Well the answer is obvious there: Fix the house. But what if the roof has a 10/12 pitch, and never-before-seen four-way symmetrical roof design on top of a huge two-story house? We're gonna need harnesses, and lots of bravery.

Real estate is apparently very cheap here. One family said they bought their house for $2,500. This house is a monster. Two floors, huge attic, basement, and incredible foundation and structure. I can't imagine what property taxes are. I think every house we're working on is two floors, or at least has a continuous foundation. Before coming to Bluefield, I had seen neither in Central Appalachia. We went to the mall today. A very modern mall with all the modern trends. I guess the point is that the people that live here and elsewhere in Appalachia are not "our contemporary ancestors." This is the stereotype, and for the most part it's not true. Some things about it are true. Family-centered culture lives on, and going for a run or a bike ride seems a little out of place. But with West Virginia (the only state to be completely in Appalachia) setting a goal to have state-wide high-speed internet by 2010, you can hardly think of Appalachian people as "our contemporary ancestors."

I mentioned Craig Hammond and his radio show. He will come to our center next Monday to talk to our volunteers about local issues in poverty. This will really be an incredible help, since we have limited knowledge and can only teach the volunteers so much about real live local issues. We'll use his information in subsequent Monday night "Evening Gatherings."

I talked about Gary Bowling and his amazing House of Art. We haven't been there yet, or talked with him since last time.