Here comes the sun!

By Annie

Today was the last day at our jobsites, and many of us fought back tears as we left the houses and residents that have made our spring breaks so meaningful. For the first time all week, the forecast was correct—although the day started out foggy, by eleven the sun had risen over the mountains and warmed the earth. Hammering may be hotter when the sun is out, but no one complained about wearing short sleeves!

We worked through the day, finishing projects and tidying the site. Workfest lasts for three weeks, and we’re only here for the second week, so many of our projects will be finished next week by another group of college students. It can be difficult not to see the finished product of our work, but as we are reminded in the prayer of Oscar Romero, “The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.” We are grateful to have had the opportunity to play a small part in God’s work in Appalachia, but look forward to going home, to more opportunities every day to participate in His plan.

The evening wrapped up with a delicious thanksgiving dinner prepared by the magnificent cooking ladies; we feasted on sweet potato casserole, turkey, dressing, rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and peach cobbler. Many of our residents joined us for the meal. After dinner, the UofL group led devotion, a beautiful reflection on the gifts of Appalachia, prepared by Mandy. Then we shared our experiences with one another through a skit and song competition, judged by the kitchen ladies. The Red Team won, and then we said our final goodbyes to the families. To end the evening, we shared our thoughts and thanks with one another in a closing reflection.

Here’s what happened at our individual sites today!

Chris: We went to Dairy Queen after we were done working just to celebrate. We put up all the walls today and started on the roof, although I and a few others kept working on the ground.

Mandy : Finished windows and finally got to put up siding after all the challenging, hair-pulling prep work!

Gwen: Finished prepping for siding, and started on the siding.. Then after we were done, we went to visit Butcher Hollow, where Loretta Lynn is from. There, we visited the general store, which is actually an old coal company store. We could see the housing the coal company built, which has been reworked, but people still live there. You can really tell that they’re the same. It was a pretty cool experience.

Sarah K: We finished the porch at Elmo’s today!

Sarah F: is asleep at the time of this writing. She had a good day though : )

Annie: We finished the bathroom we worked on all week, and it looks great! At the end of the day, our crew leaders Jeff and Phil took us to the Black Barn Store, where we snacked on ice cream!

University of Louisville InterFaith Center Alternative Spring Break

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