THE EXCITEMENT IS BUILDING Someone once said, time passes very quickly when you're having fun. The older I get the more this proverb seems to be true. It seems like months ago since I returned home from Almost Heaven Habitat for Humanity in Cherry Grove, West Virginia, and yet it was only a few days. Though we had planned the Habitat trip for nearly a year, when we departed from Marienville, only Dan Kendall and I traveled together to the Almost Heaven Habitat Volunteer Center. Our minister, Tom Barner, met us there. Peg Mesing, a junior high school teacher from Warren, read my article and after years of supporting Habitat financially, was finally getting the opportunity to participate directly and share some of her own "sweat equity" with others. Last year, our group only spent a weekend working on a variety of projects. This year, we were able to really make a dent in a major project. When we arrived on Sunday, Kirk Barner, the director, told us that he reserved the Barkley home for us. This was the tenth home the Almost Heaven affiliate was constructing. It was just a shell and was ready for windows, doors, insulation, and drywall. We were excited about the possibility of getting to work. On Monday morning after devotions, we traveled out Snowy Mountain Road up into the hills and arrived at the work site. What we faced was just what Kirk said was waiting for us; the shell of a newly constructed dwelling. The material arrived a few moments after we got there. After 30 minutes unloading the truck, my pants were drenched with sweat. The week's work had begun. What a magical experience! I felt throughout that I was part of an Amish barn raising. Four of us working on windows and doors. Three others cut and hung insulation. Others worked on moving materials from here to there. By noon, we installed seven of the nine windows, and by 4 pm, all the windows were in and the front and back doors were hung. Half the house was insulated. All in all, it was a very productive day. The Barkley's, Ken and Joyce, stopped in to visit, and were pleasantly surprised to receive the keys to the front door of their home. Ken's "sweat equity" was already invested even before the home's foundation was poured. He dug the majority of the foundation for his home by hand. All potential Habitat home owners are required to invest 400 hours of sweat equity in their own home as part of their contribution toward the project. They are also required to invest 50 hours of equity in another Habitat home project for someone else. There is no charity in this work. People are made to feel that they truly contribute to the construction of their new home. On Tuesday, we hung the first ceiling drywall panel in the livingroom. Those of you who have ever hung drywall before know how heavy and awkward the material is, and when it is being lifted and installed eight feet up on the ceiling it is even more obtuse. Yet, with six good people working together, the task is not difficult, and can be a whole lot of fun. As the first panel went into place, I remarked to our crew that now we could more intimately understand how the Amish must feel when they gather together to help a neighbor in need. At the end of the second day and regardless of all the help, my arms and hands were feeling the effect of muscles that were not used to such sustained effort. Even though I used to build cabinets and remodel kitchens for a living, I realized I was out of shape for this type of work. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we continued to hang drywall while the other members of our crew finished insulating the walls. By Wednesday evening, we were all done with the insulation and were nearly finished with the drywall on the dining room ceiling. Initially, Dan, Peggy, and I planned to leave on Wednesday evening, but we were into the task now, and so we stayed over to finish all that we could by Thursday noon. Though we were tired, we couldn't leave what we started only half done. For a break, we all rode up to the top of Spruce Knob, the highest mountain in West Virginia at 4,826 feet. The winding road to the peak was 20 miles long and took nearly an hour to traverse. The view from the top was spectacular. From the lookout point, I could see 80 miles in all directions. To the east were the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, and to the west, the great expanse of the Monongahela National Forest. The northern view provided us a panoramic scope of the Appalachian Mountains. Nine miles away, Spruce Knob Lake shimmered in the setting sun. It is about the size of Beaver Meadows Lake north of Marienville, but off in the distance, it appeared to be the size of a dime. I had taken my mountain bike with me, and for the fun of it, I rode it back down to the volunteer center. What a treat to be able to ride nearly 17 miles downhill without having to pedal much at all. It took me only an hour to cover the distance. On Thursday, we all worked as if we were inspired, and in many ways we were. Pastor Ken Webb, from the Oakwood Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, Dan, Jim, Peg, Pat, Terry, and I combined our efforts, and by noon, we finished the drywall on the dining room and hallway ceilings and half the walls in the livingroom. When we departed, we knew we contributed significantly toward making it possible for one family to have a decent place to live. We are planning to return to Pendleton County again in late October this year. If there is anyone who is interested in participating in this mission work, please give me a call at 927- 8303. Truly, the Excitement is building.