Wow…what an exciting day! For so many reasons this day was perfect. We all worked hard to take care of much needed repairs & improvements for a woman who runs a daycare out of her home in Aloha. Several extended family members also live with her, and they were all involved with the projects! It stayed dry for most of the day, except, of course, when the Girl Scout troop was there working in the yard for 2 hours! That was when it all broke loose and poured rain!!! But they were not hindered in any way! They worked so hard regardless of their wet backsJ! What a joy to watch. Check out the before and after pictures of the front yard, and you’ll see the difference they made! The family was so overwhelmed at all the volunteers pouring onto their property to do nothing but serve them and give them a ray of hope. They continued to say that they didn’t know people like this existed anymore, and that this gave them hope. Not only did it give them much needed improvements around their house, but God poured hope and peace into their home that they said they haven’t felt in a long time. What an honor for us to be a part of this. We look forward to a continued relationship with this family, and are so grateful to all the volunteers and financial supporters who make projects like this happen, truly making a difference in the lives of the recipients!
Projects Accomplished: Repairing broken roof section across entryway, cleaning & repairing leaky gutters, Massive yard work, installation of deck railing and safety lattice, fence repair, removal of old debris.
Number of volunteers: 40
Cost of project: About $1,000. Admittedly, we did go ‘over budget’ for this project. If you would like to help offset this cost, please send donations to:
Catalyst
P.O. Box 1922
Beaverton, OR 97075-1922
Impressions:
• Lots of volunteers all over the place – on the roof in the yard, in the house, everywhere – doing different tasks to change the world of a family who needed a boost of hope in action:
• Watching Tom Brown take Shauna’s delightfully disposed 12-year old granddaughter Breah under his wing to install safety lattice under the front deck
• Seeing the front yard totally transformed by a dozen Girl Scouts and parents led by Judith McLean and daughter Paige
• Laughing while one of my kids’ school teachers Jim Hayhurst, with girlfriend Heather Fowler, uses the Catalyst van to pull a big junk trailer that carries a large couch & other household stuff to nearby storage
• The all-day barrage of painters who came to do their part in completely repainting Shauna’s day-care area in her built-out garage: Donna Erickson, Juli Lang, Heather & Nik Roberts, Renee Boucher, Fred Knudsen, Katy Elliott, Linda & Jacqueline Marino
• Working alongside members of Shauna’s family: Kristen, Gina, Phil, Breah, Jesse
• Watching children grapple with & embrace the fulfillment of expending time & energy for the benefit of others
• Appreciating the 6-hours Orvin Erickson dedicated to meticulously fixing the house’s gutters
• Watching my children, McKenzie (11) & Sawyer (8) roll-paint entire walls under Marina’s watchful eye
• Enjoying the sight of Jim & Josiah Boucher cutting & installing exterior trim to the door frames, and Jim’s willingness and agility to come back in the afternoon to finish the roof project
• Appreciating the opportunity Chris Marino took to teach 8-year-old daughter Alexis how to position and hammer slats into place on the newly installed hand railing
• Admiring the giving spirit of licensed contractors Ryan Kerner and Jerry Zink, who each donated 3 hours of their time to our more difficult projects
• Being encouraged by just about everyone who showed up about how cool it was to do this, and offering to help in future projects
• My favorite was overhearing Marina Mitchell sitting & talking with Shauna and her family members about why we do what we do, answering their questions, and encouraging them with the words of God’s love for them while volunteers are busy all around us.