muscles, monkeys, and meatballs galore!

On the 4^th day of August, in the year 2013, Benjamin Duvall arrived in New Orleans with a crew of folks from Gospel Community Church in Fort Wayne, IN.  This just so happens to be where Suzanne Duvall, HH2G hospitality coordinator, is from, and Ben just so happens to be her brother!  In addition, included in this bunch of arrival was a big surprise in the form of her parents and niece.  The week was off to an awesome start!  

 

If you note the title to this page, you’ll notice three words.  Let’s begin with “muscle”.  Now, ‘round these parts Mid-westerners are known for their hard work and big hearts.  Of course it was no surprise to find that this team possessed those traits as well, and exhibited them on and off the job.  The team was split into three groups.  One group went to work alongside Pastor Jose at Philippi Evangelical Church of God in Christ, located in the lower 9^th ward (by the homes developed by Brad Pitt).   They worked on the children’s building, strengthening the frame and working to repair and reconstruct the inside of the building.  They had the privilege of working with several members of the congregation, who joined us for dinner one evening.  They brought gumbo to share, beautiful voices to sing with, and lots of laughter and good conversation.    

 

The second group worked hard at Garden on Marais, even in spite of the record highs in temperatures that week!  Nut sage has been a serious nuisance this year at the garden, so a few people went to battle with it, while a group of guys led by Ron Duvall began prepping the hoop house for shade cloth.  Once the hoop house is set up with the shade cloth it will be functional year-round.         

 

The third group spent their days doing some much needed painting and St. Luke AG.  Bathroom doors, closet doors, the stairwell, and an entire brown wall were painted beautifully.

  

When the team wasn’t eating, sleeping, or working, they were playing spoons (a dangerous game I might add J), or exploring the city, especially the live oak trees in City Park!  This is where the word “monkey” comes in.  I’ve never seen so many people climb 1 tree before!  They were all over it, and some people climbed up to higher limbs.  Seriously, they looked like monkeys.   

And last but not least, let me explain the inclusion of the word “meatballs”.  We have a tradition at HisHands2Go that on spaghetti and meatballs night you can have as many meatballs as you want.  This practice, of course, inspires competition amongst team members.  Prior to this team’s arrival, the record of 55 meatballs consumed in 1 sitting was held by a college student from Florida.  Well, allow me to present Rachel, the new record holder of the most meatballs eaten in 1 sitting… 60.  That’s right, folks…60!!!  

1 + 1 + 1 = a job well done!

The last week of July this year the Boyd family returned from Minnesota to volunteer with HisHands2Go for the second time.  Mother (Tammy) and daughter (Jordan) made the previous trip, and this year they brought along a third, Jacob.  The trio completed the final major job on Mr. Albert Franklin’s home… painting.  Mr. Franklin’s house is a duplex, both sides identical.  Tammy, Jordan, and Jacob painted one entire side (indoors) of the house, closets and bathrooms on the other side.  For those of you who have ever painted the inside of your home, you’ll understand what an undertaking this was for three people.  They did all of that in the span of 4 days!  Amazing!  The color is a light peachish/goldish that looks beautiful in the sunlight.  Check out the pictures below.
At the end of their week with us, the Boyds had the privilege of handing over the keys of the house to Mr. Albert Franklin.  

 

So very many of you volunteers reading this have worked on Mr. Franklin’s home over the last several months.  Every single person’s hard work combined made this final act of handing over the keys possible.  Allow me to pass on to you Mr. Franklin’s gratitude for all of your hard work, words of encouragement, and love.  He says that he remembers all of you with love and thanks God for you every day… and he said something about keeping your pictures out where he can see them regularly :-)  Next time any of you are in town you’ll have to stop by and say hi to him and see the final product!  Until then, take a look at the pics below, and maybe scroll back through previous months to see the journey of reconstructing his home.