"You guys are one of the best staffs I've ever had."

The title pretty much sets the tone for the week so far.... :)

So, Monday morning was a little rough with our three vans worth of hardware running a wee bit late, but after that it's been smooth sailing! We only have the five crews like I said so it's not exactly a daunting task getting out to every site every day. These volunteers are really getting the message behind what ASP's about, yeah, we of course focus on emergency home repair, but the main objective here is to establish those deep and longlasting relationsihps with families. So far I've seen nothing but great things, and I'm just really excited because this is an amazing first impression of volunteers on the families we'll be working for for most of the summer. Ahhh I'm so happy right now!

Not to mention that we've had Dennis, DT, our program manager Nicole, a liaison William, and a dump truck driver all staying with us in the past few days so we're just buzzing with extra people and extra energy! I'm lovin the vibesss

Tonight was culture night! We had Joe and Harold play with their grandson, and they did an awesome job of combining storytelling with their folk and country music! They seem like a couple of dudes with great stories, I'm super pumped to get to know them. The happiest part of my day was watching Harold play his guitar and sing at the same time-- I was doubling over with laughter on the inside watching him play at super high pitches because he would squeeze his eyes shut, cock his head up, raise his cheecks and open his mouth super wide so all you could see was the copious amounts of gums where teeth used to be. He was so completely absorbed in playing his song at that moment, it was one of the most genuine things I've ever seen and I wish I could just capture that so you could all believe me. Sweeeet, there's my goal for next week!
Anyways... we've been busy setting up for our evening gathering for tomorrow night, a Prayer Walk, which I'm really excited for!! We'll have a bunch of different stations that the volunteers will walk through, and the last one will be a bonfire where they can throw in their slips of paper (where they write down what types of things are holding them back from living the Christian life they aspire to lead) into the fire, representing giving their burdens up to God. I really hope that we get some good feedback!


Speaking of good feedback, there are a few volunteers who are here that belong to one of the first churches to EVER do ASP. Thus, they knew Tex Evans, the founder of ASP, as well as other legends like Norma Dean. They've told us about how evening gatherings literally used to be them just sitting around listening to Tex's stories, and all of his dreams of transforming the homes and lives of the Appalachians. I can't even put into words how jealous I am that they actually KNEW Tex! That's some serious history right there. Plus, imagine the collection of ASP shirts they have! What I was going to say though, was that one of the women who has been on ASP for 38 years, told us today that we're one of the best staffs she's ever had. EVER. In 38 years! Considering it's only Tuesday night and they don't leave until Saturday morning, that's a huge compliment. I'm super pumped! This week rules.


I'm in a really good spot right now. I'm right where I need to be, with the people I need to be with, doing what I'm meant to be doing. Ahhh God I love it here.