We are home!

We have made it back to New Bern!
All safe and sound...
we had a lovely time
and I can't wait until our
ASP Reunion
on August 8!
We will have time for fun, fellowship, sharing and photos!
*More details soon!

Thanks for all the prayers,
Lara Lee

Fabulous Friday

Our last day at ASP!!! Here's all the news from the worksites on our last day with our families:)

Alphabet Soup (Debbie, Scott R. and Yvonne)

We finished up the bathroom and the rest of the projects we had. We had some good quality time with Ms. Barbara and ate ice cream with her. It was sad to leave Ms. Barbara but it was nice to leave the home in much better condition than we found it!

Nacho Cheese (Scott J. and Lynn)

Today we finished up the week by placing the rest of the dry wall. We completed all the plumbing. We also put up all the remaining drywall, mudded and sanded it. We cleaned out the backside of the house and put up scaffolding for the next group. We ate pizza with the crew and our family!

Welcome Home (Mac and Tracey)

We finished sanding the dining room and living room ceilings. We put up all our tiles in the first bedroom (ceiling). During our conversation with Mac, the family thought that we were paid contractors, and that's why they weren't happy with the mess we left earlier. We loved our family and all had a great time. Thanks for everything LLK and anyone else who helped:)

Cell phone (Becky and Lance)

Our wonderful team completed insulating the sheetrocking the living room and the kitchen. We went over to Andrea and Daniel's grandmother's house for lunch and she made chocolate cupcakes and gave her a picture of their children for us to take home. I love our family and the last day is my favorite and my least favorite day because I'm so sad to finish the project but I HATE to leave the family. Can't wait for next year! (written by Susu)

Candy Cane (Rick, Joanne, and Kim)

Today was frog leg Friday! For lunch we drove to Jason's Country Corner and had our first experience with frog legs! Everyone except Luke who was already an experienced eater, mustered enough strength to try them and Rick and Worth even relished the delicacy. At the house we put up underpinning on the side and Rick and Worth worked in the bathroom. By the end of the afternoon we all were dripping with sweat but we were happy to have worked hard and accomplished so much. We said our goodbyes to the family and the dogs and drove away.

Don't touch my stuff (Chuck and Andrea)

After waking up VERY early again, we ate french toast sticks and then went to the worksite . We finished our project and the deck looks great! We had pizza for lunch because Mr. Chuck (Chet) auction for it and won. Woo Hoo! (written by Meredith)

Counting Crows (Dave and Wendy)

We finished building the stairs, then installed spindles and railing to complete the entire wheelchair ramp. We cleaned up the worksite and were done with our day's work by noon. Since our homeowner Margaret loved frog legs, we headed to Jason's County Corner because it was Frog Leg Friday!! Dave ate a lot of frog legs, Ashley ate a whole one, Carson, Derek and Wendy ate some and Taylor watched. We then unloaded and cleaned up at the center before going back to Margaret's to take her frog legs and exchange addresses. We have had a great week and enjoyed Margaret and all the other people of Wyoming County, WV!

A Late One (Lizz and Jan)

It was a long but rewarding day. We started hopeful that we would finish early but with hot and humid weather, getting the handrails up took all afternoon. We worked hard, visited with the family and ate the delicious food they prepared for us. We also installed a door so the family could finally use their new porch and stairs. After bittersweet goodbyes, we ended a great day and a great week! (written by Hannah)

Bar of Soap (Chad and Ruth)

Today was our second day working with Lizz and Jan's team and we accomplished a LOT! We finished construction on the 17 step staircase (a LOT of steps and a LOT of spindles!). Our team cut wood and cut wood and cut some more wood! But the results were fabulous! The other team installed a new door as well so that Ms. Betty and her family can have access to her new porch and steps. We were late getting back to the center but it was worth it to finish the project. Great job, Molly, Carter, Jennifer, Sara, Chad and Ruth. You were a great team!!

That's all the news from Wyoming County!! We've had a FABULOUS week sharing our construction skills and our faith with the great people of Mullens, VA. Be back in New Bern tomorrow!

OK, here's the deal! Here are the blogs from YESTERDAY (Thursday). . .the blogs from TODAY (Friday) will be posted soon. . . I hope!

Don’t Touch My Stuff (Chuck and Andrea)
Today we were dragging a little bit with ‘mid- week” fatigue, but we trudged through. We dug 3 post holes, nailed in almost an entire deck and cut three stair treads. Pretty impressive for 8 exhausted people! Tomorrow we have a few finishing touches and we will have completed a 4 ½ day project in 3 days! We are ready for tomorrow and ready to bring our experiences home to our friends and families.

Nacho Cheese (Lynn and Scott)
Today was a very eventful day! After leaving the center we made an unplanned 30 minute trip to Rite Aid. While we waited on Lynn, Morgan and MB painted their fingernails 10 different colors. Then when we got to our worksite, an ambulance was leaving. Billy had been bitten by a spider and was being taken to the hospital! Together we finished all of our outside work in thirty minutes and took the rest of the day off . We had a very rough day laying around the pool. We will finish our work on the bathroom tomorrow. Tonight we had our family picnic. Carlos, Gloria, Latisha and Cody all came and had a great time.

Alphabet Soup (Scott R. Debbie and Kim)
Kim gets our MC Hammer Award for being such a trooper. Mr. Scott is the man! Tomorrow is our last day and we should be finished with our projects! Had a great picnic tonight!

Welcome Home (Mac and Tracey)
We finished the drywall in the hall and mudded the ceiling. After eating lunch, we went to visit Priddy’s to look for tiles for the ceiling. Tammy and Clarence wanted to rest so we left. Actually they threw us out of the house. We visited Tamarak in Beckley and had an awesome time at the picnic.

Bar of Soap (Chad and Ruth)
Today we had to go to another group’s house because we had finished our project. We helped them put in steps. First we measured and cut all the wood while the other group put up the stringers. Today we used a table saw, a jigsaw, a circular saw, and a chop saw to cut the wood. We cut the wood 38 inches for the steps and then began to nail the steps in. After making sure the steps were level we cleaned up our work station and began our way back to the center. On the way back we were fortunate enough to stop back by our original house and visit with our original family.

Cellular Phone (Lance and Becky)
We finished the ceiling! Our group finally put up the rest of the insulation in the kitchen and the last of the living room. Also, we finished up the ceiling dry wall and got it all secured. All that is left to do is the mudding and taping for the ceiling. Then tonight our family joined us at the picnic. We had a great time visiting with Danny, Andrea, Sara Lou, Jacob and Chase. Can’t wait to go back and finish their home tomorrow!

Candy Cane (Rick, Yvonne, Joanne)
It was a hot blazing morning followed by a blazing hot afternoon. We began by digging trenches around the outskirts of the house for support for the underpinning. This tedious task took an extremely long time due to the rocky soil. We placed treated 2x4’s in the trenches and secured them with rebar. Then we attached more treated 2x4’s to the joists on the underside of the house. Rick and Worth began to replace the leaking hot water heater in the bathroom. To their surprise, there were three layers of wood flooring (rather than only one) to remove first. They did not finish but left immediately to return to New Bern. If you see them tell them to come back and finish!!!

Well, didn't hear from 2 teams tonight. . . they must have been having too much fun to write in the blog today! More news tomorrow:)

Thursday Fun!

We had a great day here in Mullens, however, it's nearly LIGHTS OUT time so we will hopefully post more details about today's adventure tomorrow! Good Night!

Wonderful Wednesday!

OK! Here's the update for Wednesday at ASP!

Don't touch my Stuff (Chuck and Andrea)

After waking up VERY early, we ate muffins and such. Then we got ready to leave. We went our new house for the first time. We dug six holes and framed the deck and filled the holes with cement. Roy was with us so we measured and leveled everything about 83 times. So the deck is going to be perfect. We had a good day and are looking forward to another good day! (written by Meredith Medlin)

Cellular Phone (Lance and Becky)

We insulated most of the living room and applied drywall as well. We ate lunch with our family, a couple with their 3 year old son and 3 month old son. However, the highlight of our day was when we stopped to get gas and joined the state championship girls' softball caravan as we pulled out. We were hailed as heroes! State champions baby!

A Late One (Lizz and Jan)

We continued working on our 18 step staircase. We left earlier in the morning and stayed later in the afternoon just to try and get as much of the job done as possible. It was frustrating because certain pieces of the wood wouldn't fit in the current spot even though we measured twice and cut once. I played with a little girl and boy today for about an hour jumping on the trampoline. The kids made me smile because they were so happy. Our group is bonding well and we are making progress. It has been a good week so far!

Nacho Cheese (Scott J. and Lynn)

Hi! This is Geordan from Nacho Cheese working in Glen Rogers, WV and we had some bad news when we arrived at our worksite. Our family's mother was sick today so we could not continue our project in the bathroom. So instead, we painted some outside trim and installed two storage doors. Thanks for all the prayers. We're having a great week and a fun time!

Counting Crows (Dave and Wendy)

We nailed all the spindles on the deck, finished 90% or the rail capping, and started on the stairs. Margaret came out and talked to us for awhile. She gave each of us a dollar coin and we got to meet some more of her family. We are looking forward to tomorrow!

Bar of Soap (Chad and Ruth)

Well, we started out the day undoing some of the previous day's work, We then proceeded to measure,m cut and nail boards for the insulation to attach under the house. After lots of time, we completed the insulation project under the house. We also finished the daughter's room and she was jubilant to say the least! We finished our week's work and said our goodbyes to the family!

Alphabet Soup (Debbie, Scott and Kim)

We celebrated Holden's birthday with a delicious lunch at Subway. We completed the tin roof on the back deck. We started replacing flooring in the bathroom. We had lots of nice visits with Miss Barbara.

Welcome Home (Mac and Tracey)

We started the hallway and finished mudding and taping the ceiling and also had the privilege of working with our new youth pastor, Andy. The day began to grow frustrating as we ran into complications with the drywall in the hall and our moods became congruent with the weather as our work came to as close. Leaving a few things unfinished we look forward to completing our work over the next two days.

Candy Cane (Rick, Joanne and Yvonne)

Today we completed a 27 foot support beam under the floor and built concrete support pillars. This was scheduled to take all day but by finishing early we will be rewarded with additional work. The work would have been much easier (and cleaner) if is had not been raining under the house (above us). The hot water heater in the bathroom is rusted out and the bathroom floor is very wet. So tomorrow we will replace the hot water heater and subflooring (possibly). Having a peachy time. All kids are working hard!!!

More tonight!!!

Wonderful Wednesday

OOPS! Having a few computer problems tonight! We only have internet access in one upstairs hallway. . . so today's blog will be posted tomorrow morning. . . Still having a great time in Wyoming County, West Virginia!!

Tattoo Tuesday

Another great day in Mullens, West Virginia! Here are the updates from each of the teams!

Counting Crows (Dave and Wendy)

We were thinking the weather was going to hinder our project, but we were able to finish most of the ramp. Everyone in the group is getting along great, which is awesome! As a team we have accomplished so many tasks we didn't think were possible in this short amount of time!!

Welcome Home (Mac and Tracey)

We finished replacing insulation and installing dry wall in the living room and dining room ceilings. We finished putting special zinc compatible silicon on the new metal roof. Tammy is so excited! Every morning when we arrive, the house is spotless and our work area is prepared for our day's work. They are awesome people to work with. Rhett got stung by a wasp and we borrowed a cigarette from Clarence so we could apply some damp tobacco. Not sure if it really helped, but Rhett said it felt OK.

Alphabet Soup (Scott R., Debbie and Kim)

Finished steps on back deck, started roof on the back deck. Played cards in the rain. Joy joyfully sawed rebar. Cut, Sawed, drilled and acted like wild cowboys all day:)

Don't Touch My Stuff (Chuck and Andrea)

It was rough waking up. . . everyone was super tired. After our daily routine we made our way to our work sites. Out four posts for our family's steps were dried. Today we had Cameron and Andy to help us and Roy also showed up. We worked together cutting the wood and nailing the steps together and worked through the rain to finish! Out family was really appreciative and tomorrow we are off to work on the next house!

Bar of Soap (Chad and Ruth)

Our group had a great day! We touched up the paint in Amanda's room and put up molding. Her room looks great! Then all of us, plus Worth, who was helping at our site today, headed under the house to work on putting up insulation. Even a little rain did not stop us! We put up 1x6's to attach the insulation to. There was a whole lot of measuring, hammering and cutting going on under the house. Tomorrow we finish the insulation!


Nacho Cheese (Scott J. and Lynn)

In spite of occasional showers we had a very productive day. Scott and I repaired pipes that were leaking. James and Morgan completed the outside painting while MB, Geordan, and Lynn worked on the sheet rock. We have had a lot of help from Carlos the home owner's brother. He has been a big help getting the bathroom finished. We are confident we will complete all of our projects by the end of the week.

Candy Cane (Rick and Joanne and Yvonne)

When we arrived, we had a daunting task ahead of us! We crowded under the house yet again and placed a girder. We joined the two halved together and adjusted them correctly. Then we joined the other team to celebrate the birthday of one of the family members. Afterwards we installed hangers to support the girder. It began to rain after lunch which produced much mud. . . everywhere. We sacrificed Mr. Rick to dive under the house to protect the girder!

Cellular Phone (Lance and Becky)

Today we finished piping the drainage to the water heater, played with Strom (4 year old boy) and cleaned up the yard. Then we had lunch on the front porch with Melanie and Strom. After lunch we painted some of the kitchen and moved furniture from the living room back to the kitchen. We bought some treats for our family and headed back to the center. Tomorrow we will get a new family!

A Late One (Lizz and Jan)

We worked on building steps for Miss Betty's deck. There was a lot of math involved, figuring the angles for the stair stringers. Just as we were beginning to make a lot of progress, it started pouring down rain. We continued to work until Miss Betty came out with her umbrella and told us there was a flash flood warning and we needed to go back to the center. She was more concerned about us than she was about her steps. So we packed up and called it a day. We plan to get an early start tomorrow!

That's it for Tuesday night! Stay tuned for tomorrow's adventures in Mullens, WV! Send us a message. . . we love to hear from you:)

Mosey Monday

Here are the updates from our first day of work! Thanks for your prayers for all of us in Mullens, WV!

Alphabet Soup (Scott Roys, Debbie Davis,Kim Saylor)

We rolled up in our Explorer and met Miss Barbara, Buddy and Beethoven (dogs), Little Flea bag and Bill (birds) and Cookie (son!) Out team captain Scott helped up begin our projects. . . putting steps on the stairs and replacing flooring in the bathroom. We killed about 1 million ants! Steven busted a bag of concrete and scared Holden with a fake raccoon. Barbara kept us company on and off all day. We look forward to tomorrow!

Welcome Home (Mac and Tracey)

We met Tammy and Clarence (Bo)/ They are very nice. Tammy is a little shy at first but Clarence was ready to lend a hand the minute we got there. He had more tools than we did, and was volunteering to give us whatever we needed. We're insulating and putting dry wall on the ceiling. We got a lot done for a first day and think we'll accomplish a lot by the end of the week.

Nacho Cheese (Scott J. and Lynn)

We (the girls) worked on the bathroom, prepping for the dry wall, while the boys built a storage unit with doors above the house. I learned how to use a drill and a saw. (written by Morgan Smith)

Counting Crows (Dave and Wendy)

We arrived early and got right to work! Carson, Wendy and Ashley started nailing in boards to finish the deck while Dave, Taylor and Derek started digging out dirt and rock to be able to put in the concrete slab. We all met and talked with Margaret while we relaxed and ate lunch. By the end of the day we had finished 90% of the decking and the hole and frame for the concrete. We've all worked hard and are excited to continue projects tomorrow.

Candy Cane (Joanne and Rick)

Our first day flew by with introductions to our family and starting work on the floor supports. The house is home to 5 kids ranging from 8-17 and three adults with a number of dogs and a horse to keep them company. Another group from Morganton, NC is working with us on a different part of the house. Today we constructed girders to put under the house for support to the bowed floor. We also dug holes and put in wooden boxes for future support. At the beginning we killed wasps and covered the hole with dict tape to avoid being stung and throughout the day squished spiders. Tomorrow we will be ready to pour concrete and then work on the bathroom floor.

Cellular Phone (Lance, Becky, and Lara Lee)

Out wonderful team (Becky, Lance, Lara Lee, John, Sasha, and Susu) met our family that we will be working with for the next few days. After that we will get a new family on Wednesday. Yay! Today our team constructed a bathroom floor, filled in a ditch with rocks, and did plumbing from the hot water heater to the outside. Lance did a little landscaping on the side. We also chased a couple of kids and shot a couple of "bears" with the young-un in the household. We have had an awesome first day (written by Suzanna Reid)

Bar of Soap (Chad and Ruth)

We got along great with our group and our family! Our family consists of Janie, the mom, Amanda,the 17 year old daughter and T. Andy, the son. We painted Amanda's room a bright blue. Molly and Sara headed up the painting project and Amanda was thrilled with her new room! Chad, Carter and Ruth battled wasps, hornets and bees under the trailer and took out several layers of old insulation. We learned a lot about our family and we hope to learn more tomorrow.

Don't Touch My Stuff (Chuck and Andrea)

I woke up this lovely morning on my mattress next to 2 of my favorite people in the world, Lucas Holton and James Fisher. We had a delicious breakfast and headed to our worksites about 9:30 and got down and dirty. We filled in a ditch and started to build stairs to Ricky's
back door. That's about it. Hello Missy, Brian, Z-Tay and Wrigley. J. T. out! (written by Josh Taylor:)

A Late One (Lizz and Jan)

Today we met Betty and her daughter Shawna, who live in the home we will be working on this week. They are very sweet and have beautiful flowers all around the house. Today we dug 6 holes for posts to hold a landing for a staircase we're building. We then had a change of plans and ended up and ended up filling the holes and digging four more. That plan ended when we accidentally cracked a pipe from the house. We then regrouped and filled up those holes to move our landing once again! We finally were satisfied with the way things turned out and filled the holes with "quickrete" and finished the day. We had a productive and awesome first day and were blessed with cool weather and soft ground. Yay God! (written by Hannah Sloan)


More updates tomorrow night!

We have arrived....

After 2 days of fun travel we have arrived in Mullens, WV...the bus, however, did not...we left her in the WV Welcome Center Parking Lot.

Tonight, after EGs and Dinner, one adult and one student from each team went on their Home Visits. Home Visits are the initial connection between each team and the family they will serve. Everyone had a great experience, and we are all looking forward to our first day on the worksite.

Mosey Monday will begin tomorrow morning after Devos; we will mosey on the worksite and get to know our families!

Tomorrow, Andy Mannes, the new Director of Student Ministries will meet us here in Mullens. We are looking forward to getting to know him!

PS there is NO cell phone reception here for most service providers, so we hope that you are all sharing our ASP info from the blog.

LAUNCH

See you all tomorrow at the LAUNCH from the Ministries Center Parking Lot at 8:59am!

Bring your smiles, open heart and don't forget your Overnight Bag.

All other luggage, tools, sleeping bags, etc are to be loaded on Friday night between 7-8:30 pm!

Week 4 Updates

NOTE NEXT WEEK'S PROJECTS...THEY MAY BE WHAT OUR TEAMS WILL BE WORKING ON!

Bonjour from Mullens, WV! Week 4 is over and we couldn’t be more happy with the work thats been going on. Progress has been made for the better so lets get right to it!

Project 1
Code Name: Paparrazi
Situation: Leanna and 3 kids are going to be enjoying a new bathroom soon! They are eagerly awaiting it.
Last Week: Put up walls and took down the porch next to our addition.
This Week: Lets roof this thing!
Future: finish interior and exterior of addition

Project 2
Code Name: Alphabet Soup
Situation: Barbara. I don’t think Barbara can have a situation other than her own personality, which is as wild and bright as the Appalachia mountains themselves.
Last Week: Put a roof on her front porch.This Week: Giving her a back porch!
Future: Check out her bathroom floor.

Project 3
Code Name: Nacho Cheese
Situation: Billy, Donna, Latisha and Cody are living and loving in the mountains of West Virginia. A wonderful family who will always be willing to help you out.
Last Week: Finished up some siding and began painting.
This Week: Fix up Billy’s Bathroom!
Future: We are investigate more possible projects

Project 4
Code Name: Welcome Home
Situation: Clarence and Tamie are the smiliest, happiest folks in all of Appalachia. No one could be more grateful.
Last Week: Tin Roof!
This Week: Repairing the ceilings in the effected rooms.
Future: That might take a while.

Project 5
Code Name: Cell Phone
Situation: Storm and Grandmother Melanie live at the top of a hill back in Itman, West Virginia. Storm Is a Storm. Melaine is a Melaine. We love them both.
Last Week: Repaired kitchen floor joists and subflooring
This week: Giving Melanie and Storm some new vinyl tiles!
Future: Checking out the bathroom!

Project 6
Code Name: Don’t Touch My Stuff
Situation: Ricky, Rachel and their daughter Nicole. Nicole will take up your energy and make you smile all day long with her antics!
Last Week: Started a drainage ditchThis Week: Finishing a drainage ditch?! (Crossing our fingers!)
Future: At the moment, we have no future plans.

Project 7
Code Name: Counting Crows
Situation: The Broyles’ are an elderly couple both of whom are very ill, but big hearted and very gracious. When they can express their gratitude, they most certainly do.
Last Week: Finished underpinning and began the wheel chair ramp.
This Week: Ramping it up with the wheel chair ramp!
Future: Continue the wheel chair ramp.

Project 8
Code Name: Bar of Soap
Situation: Janie (mother) and children Amanda and T. Andy live with their dogs Coco and Ladybug. Ladybug needs to be on guard because all of the staff want to slip her in our vans week 8 and take her home with us...JUST KIDDING!
Last Week: Put on a rooster roof and put up some drywall in Janie’s room.
This Week: Finishing the drywall in Janie’s room and moving on to Amanda’s.
Future: Insulation and underpinning under the trailer?

Project 9
Code Name: Ale 8
Situation: Betty and her daughter live together amongst beautiful gardens.
Last Week: Put up siding and dug holes for MONSTER PORCH.
This Week: MONSTER PORCH!
Future: We are currently investigating possible projects.

Project 10
Code Name: Yellow Pages
Last Week: Closed in a pre existing room addition.
This Week: Continue work on an addition and work on shoring the foundations for the other side of the home.
Future: The foundations will take a while. So will the addition.

We’ve been some busy bee’s here in Wyoming County. You can also check out some pictures and little updates on our website: http://asphome.org/group/wyoming-county-wv-mullens . We can’t wait to see our new volunteers soon!

ASP Theme Days 2010

Just wanted to let you know all about the fun that ASP has planned for us in Mullens , WV. See below from the staff regarding THEME DAYS:

Mosey Monday, bring you socializing caps--you'll be hanging out with the family and sizing up your project for the week. (please note we will NOT know our projects until we arrive)

Tatt-Tuesday, bring sharpies/markers (sharpies do sweat off, trust us!) or be prepared with temporary tattoos to apply during load up.
**Culture Night on Tuesday we will pretty much be line dancing, nothing too intense. We like to do this outside, so bring your dancing shoes!

We are Heroes Wednesday, go all out! Hats, t-shirts, homemade capes, gauntlets...have a ball!

Tacky Thursday, PLEASE enjoy yourself. Get as tacky as possible. I'd suggest a trip to goodwill—just remember that your outfit must we worksite appropriate!

Fun Fact Fridays, Bring fun, random facts to share! (Example: There is a law on the books of Detroit, Michigan that states that "Alligators may not be tied to fire hydrants.”) FOR REAL!

Week Three Updates

Konnichiwa from Mullens, WV! Week 3? You’re really over? I think our clock is broken. This summer is going far to fast. This past week was such an incredible one, splendid families, supreme churches, superior group leaders, sublime floaters and sensational volunteers. You all brought a light to our hearts and a skip to our step heading in to week 4 and we couldn’t be more grateful. The work they’ve done is incredible, so lets get on with these beautiful homes!

Project 1
Code Name: Paparrazi
Situation: Leanna and 3 kids. The kids are absolutely wonderful and are enjoying a new swimming pool.
Last Week: Finished the floor of the addition.
This Week: WALLS!
Future: Roof, and everything inside of course.

Project 2
Code Name: Alphabet Soup
Situation: Barbara lives with her two dogs, birds, fish and personality. She’s a real kick, and she’ll light up your day with her humor.
Last Week: Gave her a new front porch.
This Week: Roof that porch!
Future: Back porch? Inside perhaps? Its Barbara’s call.

Project 3
Code Name: Nacho Cheese
Situation: Billy, Donna and thier two kids Latisha and Cody. This week was a difficult week for them, as they suffered a death in the family. Prayers please.
Last Week: Siding the front addition of the home.
This Week: Finishing up the siding, painting the trailer that “clay” color...
Future: Moving inside to help out with the Bathroom!

Project 4
Code Name: Welcome Home
Situation: Clarence and Tamie are pretty much the greatest people in the whole wide world. Thats all there really is to it.
Last Week: Removed rotted roof and added OSB.
This Week: TIN ROOF. Its exciting. And removing some rotted tile from the inside of the home.
Future: Redoing damaged ceilings.

Project 5
Code Name: Mac N’ Cheese
Situation: Wanda and Robert, living with three kids. They love to have you around. Oh, by the way, watch out for the wasp/bee/hornet army. I believe they’ve been vanquished but a resurgence is possible.
Last Week: Removed vinyl siding and soffits, fixed areas of roof.
This Week: Keep on doing that.
Future: We’re investigating possible projects.

Project 6
Code Name: Cell Phone
Situation: Storm and his grandmother Melanie live at the top of the hill. Storm is a storm. Sometimes a tornado. Melanie is sweet as pie.Last Week: Underpinning and put the finishing touches on her deck.
This Week: We’re looking at replacing her kitchen floor.
Future Plans: Kitchen and bathroom Floors.

Project 7
Code Name: Don’t Touch My Stuff
Situation: The Baily’s are a family of three; Rachel, Ricky and Nicole. This week Nicole turned 10!
Last Week: We built them a new porch for a safe second exit.
This Week: Drainage ditching.
Future: At the moment, we have no future projects planned.

Project 8
Code Name: A Candy Cane
Situation: Quiet Mr. Oneil is 97 year old and a real gentle spirit. He’ll make you smile just by being around him.
Last Week: Removed substandard subflooring and repaired rotten rafters.
This Week: Adding fascia, soffits and a brand new tin roof!
Future: At the moment we have no future projects planned.

Project 9
Code Name: Crows
Situation: The Broyles’ are an elderly couple, both of whom are very ill.
Last Week: Fixed the underpinning and put up siding.
This Week: Finishing underpinning and putting up porch.
Future: Wheel chair ramp!

Project 10
Code Name: Bar of Soap
Situation: The Sizemore’s are a joyful family of three, along with their dogs Coco and Ladybug.
Last Week: We built them a front porch.
This Week: Putting a better roof on the place
Future: We’re looking into insulating the back of the trailer and underpinning.

Project 11
Code Name: Opportunity Knocks
Situation: Vada, her daughter Vada and her son who goes by a million names have been living with mold for a few years.
Last Week: Painted the room we replaced drywall in.
This Week: This was our last week on the project.

We’ve been some busy bee’s here in Wyoming County You can also check out some pictures and little updates on our website: http://asphome.org/group/wyoming-county-wv-mullens. We can’t wait to see our new volunteers soon!

Commenting on the ASP Blog is easy...

CLICK ON THIS IMAGE TO INCREASE THE SIZE!

Info from Apex UMC

Hello,

I am the group leader for the Apex UMC group that just returned from the Mullens, WV ASP center. I just wanted to fill our fellow NC groups in on a few things.

Sleeping arrangements - The men slept in two rooms downstairs and both were air conditioned although still a little warm when filled with bodies. The ladies were in classrooms up stairs.

Showers - can't really say much about them except that we had hot water and they had not been used in a while so were quite musky smelling. I believe there were probably 4 working shower heads in the men's bathroom and I'm not sure about the women's although other than smell, I heard no complaints.

Mullens is a little more developed than most towns we've been in. There is a grocery store and most importantly a Dairy Queen. There are also a couple of gas stations.

The furthest house we had was probably 30 minutes from the center. Several were 5-10 minutes away. I know the staff was working hard to find other projects in the county so that is subject to change I'm sure.

On Saturday when you're leaving, no breakfast is provided so we split our teams between the Hardees and McDonalds which will be on Rt 16 (after turning from the two lane Hwy 54) and just prior to getting back onto the Interstate. You'll probably see them if you come in through Beckley.

Regards,

John Tigner

Mid-Week 3 Updates

Aloha from Mullens, WV. Wow, we’re a quarter of the way through our summer and its never gone faster! It must be because we’re having fun. Week 2 was filled with rain, but our volunteers were real troopers and worked through it. They also helped us raise money for a new bathroom in one of our homes with their very successful t-shirt auction! Week 3 promises to be a very interesting week, we’ve started a few new projects and we finished up a few old ones. Hopefully this update will give you a little update on how your families are getting on.

Project 1
Code Name: Alphabet Soup
Situation: Barbara lives with her dog and bird alone. She’s a real kick, so be prepared to fall in love!
Last Week: Underpinning/Foundations.
This week: Finalize Underpinning and give Barbara a new front porch!
Future: Back porch?

Project 2
Code Name: Cellular Phone
Situation: The Rutherfords! Grandma Melanie and Storm (her grandson) living together at the top of the hill. Storm will require a playmate at all times, so be prepared to PLAY!
Last Week: Added railings and stairs to the porch, as well as attached it to the home. It turned out beautiful.
This Week: Insulate the floors!
Future: We are investigating the situation

Project 3
Code Name: Unique Opportunity
Situation: Mother, daughter and son living next to the post office. All of whom love to chit chat!Last Week: Got rid of black mold in the back room and re-did the drywall. (It looks GORGEOUS!)
This week: Spackle and paint the new drywall.
Future: We are investigating the situation

Project 4
Code Name: Bar of Soap
Situation: Janie, Amanda and T. Andy live together in a trailer quite close to our center. They’re so wonderful and charming, you’ll love to meet them.
Last Week: Put in new floor and put railings on a the back porch, as well as building a set of back steps.
This Week: Front Porch and Rooster roof.
Future: Bathroom Floor is looking like a possibility.

Project 5
Code Name: Nacho Cheese/ Charlie’s Angels
Situation: Billy, Donna and their two kids Latisha and Cody living and loving in West Virginia. Latisha and Cody will be your best friends!
Last Week: Finished their front porch off and had a drainage ditch installed around back.
This week: Siding the second addition.
Future: Interior work, gutters, facia and soffits.

Project 6
Code Name: Counting Crows
Situation: Margaret and Arnold are and elderly couple, both of whom are very ill. Margaret loves cake!
Last Week: We were not on this house last week due to a family emergency, but previously we put on new underpinning.
This Week: finishing up underpinning and putting up siding
Future: We are investigating the situation.

Project 7
Code Name: Paparazzi
Situation: Leanna and 3 kids Shannon, Zackary and Julia. Kids are fun when they are around.
Last Week: repaired continuous foundation and fixed the electrical situation, so they finally have full power in their home!
This Week: putting in a sill plate and floor for their bathroom addition.
Future plans: The rest of the addition; walls, roof, flooring painting and fixtures.

Project 8
Code Name: Candy Cane
Situation: 97 year old James lives alone with lots of visits from his daughter Lola.
Last Week: This is a new project!
This Week: Repairing his roof.
Future plans: That might take a while, possibly.

Project 9
Code Name: Don’t Touch My Stuff
Situation: Mother and Father Baily and daughter Nicole (who can kick our staffs butt at connect four) live together with two cute dogs and mysterious kittens no one can find...
Last Week: This is a new project!
This Week: Building a safe second exit porch.
Future plans: We are investigating the situation.

Project 10
Code Name: Mac and Cheese
Situation: Mother Wanda living with two kids, all of whom are very sweet.
Last Week: This too, is a new project.
This Week: Investigating her roof and the vinyl siding/soffits.
Future Plans: Roofing possibly. We’ll tackle it as it comes.

Project 11
Code Name: Welcome Home
Situation: Clarence is the most lovable man you’ll ever meet. Be prepared to fall head over heels for this project.
Last Week: Another new project. We like to keep busy.
This Week: ROOF! ROOF!
Future Plans: We are investigating the situation.

If you haven’t been able to tell, we’ve been busy! Our projects thus far are working out spectacularly. appreciate it. We can’t wait for your arrival at Mullens middle school!

---Mullens Staff (Meg, Mike, Jamielee and Becca)

Week 2 Updates

Hello from Mullens Staff! We’ve been having a great time getting to know the families, the community and of course, the volunteers. We’re super excited because week 2 has a special t-shirt auction planned, I think this will give us enough money to fully fund a new bathroom for one of our homes. We’ve finished a few homes and we’ve started a new one for week 2 and we’re very excited to tell you about it!Without further ado, an update on each project…

Project 1
Code Name: Superman
Family Situation: An elderly woman living alone, although she is surrounded by family close by. You’ll have more visitors than, you’ll know what to do with so be prepared to put on your best ASP smile!Last week:They replaced her kitchen floor, with OSB and luaun.
This week: Finishing the tile for her kitchen!
Future: At the moment we have no future projects planned.

Project 2 & 3
Code Name: Nacho Cheese/Charlies Angels
Family Situation: Mother and Father living with their 2 sons and their 16 year old daughter. Father and mother are unemployed. Kids are willing to help out!Last week: Sided their back addition and built them a front porch.
This week: Finishing porch, beginning to fix bathroom floor. Also digging drainage ditch.
Future: siding on front of home.

Project 4
Code Name: Bar of Soap
Family Situation: A mother living with her son and daughter. Daughter will DJ music for the day, so be prepared to work and JAM!
Last Week: Built a back porch and fixed her kitchen floor.
This week: Putting in luaun and tile.
Future: Front porch.

Project 5
Code Name: Paparazzi
Family Situation: Husband, wife and 3 kids. Both parents are unemployed. The kids LOVE to help. Last week: Removed entire bathroom.
This week: Fix continuous foundation underneath the bathroom, begin bathroom repairs.
Future: whole new bathroom!

Project 6
Code Name: Unique Opportunity
Family Situation: Single woman living with 45 year old son. She may not remember when you come by, but she’ll really enjoy you while you’re there. Meg would like to include that Unique’s sister worked where her dad works in Cockeysville, MD.
Last week: This is a brand new project!This week: cleaning walls from mold, sure up walls and roof, fix mold in walls and ceiling in back bedroom.
Future: Possibly paint and scrape windows.

Project 7
Code Name: Cellular Phone
Situation: Grandmother living with 4 year old grandson. Grandson is a real spitfire. She is unemployed.
Last week: Built a front porch.
This week: Attaching porch to house, building stairs, putting on handrails.
Future projects: Fixing floors, checking the foundations and if all is well, placing underpinning.

Project 8
Code Name: Alphabet Soup
Situation: Elderly woman, lives with dog. You’ll love the dog!
Last week: Underpinning!
This week: More underpinning and fixing some foundations.
Future: Porches, replace band joists, possibly fixing bathroom floor.

Week One Update from Mullens

Greetings future Mullens Volunteers!
Here’s the update for week 1:

We cannot wait for you to arrive! We’ve been having a wonderful week of getting to know the families, the communities and our wonderful week 1 volunteers. We’re even enjoying those West Virginia country roads, as crazy as it sounds. Prepare yourselves for the hills and switchbacks, as well as lots and lots of gnats (can you say bug spray?)

In a few days or weeks, you’ll be arriving at Mullens Middle School searching for projects. At the moment, we are compiling more projects for future weeks to work on. As of right now, we have 8 beautiful projects that promise us lots of hard work and a wonderful ASP experience. Hopefully this will help you figure out what to bring for each project, and I’ll try to keep you updated as to what’s happening with the new projects we’re acquiring.

Without further ado, here are some brief descriptions of our projects:

Project 1
Code Name: Superman
Family Situation: An elderly woman living alone, although she is surrounded by family close by.
Last week:They replaced her kitchen floor, with OSB and luaun.
This week: Finishing the tile for her kitchen!
Future: At the moment we have no future projects planned.

Project 2 & 3
Code Name: Nacho Cheese/Charlies Angels
Family Situation: Mother and Father living with their 2 sons and their 16 year old daughter.
Last week: Sided their back addition and built them a front porch.
This week: Finishing porch, beginning to fix bathroom floor. Also digging drainage
ditch.
Future: siding on front of home.

Project 4
Code Name: Bar of Soap
Family Situation: A mother living with her son and daughter.
Last Week: Built a back porch and fixed her kitchen floor.
This week: Putting in luaun and tile.
Future: Front porch? Maybe?

Project 5
Code Name: Paparazzi
Situation: Husband, wife and 3 kids. Both parents are unemployed.
Last week: Removed entire bathroom.
This week: Fix continuous foundation underneath the bathroom, begin bathroom repairs.
Future: whole new bathroom!

Project 6
Code Name: Counting Crows
Situation: Single woman living with 45 year old son.
Last week: This is a brand new project!
This week: cleaning walls from mold, sure up walls and roof, fix mold in walls and ceiling in back bedroom.
Future: Possibly paint and scrape windows.

Project 7
Code Name: Cellular Phone
Situation: Grandmother living with 4 year old grandson. She is unemployed.
Last week: Built a front porch.
This week: Attaching porch to house, building stairs, putting on handrails.
Future projects: Fixing floors, checking the foundations and if all is well, placing underpinning.

Project 8
Code Name: Alphabet Soup
Situation: Elderly woman, lives with dog.
Last week: Underpinning!
This week: More underpinning and fixing some foundations.
Future: Porches, replace band joists, possibly fixing bathroom floor.

Hopefully this will help you out in preparing for your fun week with us!
-Jamielee (Mullens Volunteer Coordinator)

Check in out...ASP CONNECTS

New to the ASP website this summer is ASP CONNECTS. It gives us all the opportunity to see all of the different communities ASP is serving and allows us to connect with the other churches who have already visited our center. There are photos, blogs, and more, so check it out!


http://asphome.org/group/wyoming-county-wv-mullens

Video Clips

For a peek into Appalachia culture and poverty, check out these video clips:

Hidden America: Children of the Mountains

American Idol: Idol Gives Back (2010)

Appalachia Service Project Overview