First Presbyterian Church Santa Rosa

I’ve heard that folks from the beautiful state of California think that Cali is the best place to live… ever.   Now I don’t know if I agree with that statement seein’ as I live in southern Louisiana, but I can certainly testify that folks from California are some of the most generous when it comes to assisting others in need.  Countless volunteers from all over America streamed into southern Louisiana and Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  A large portion of the volunteers that joined HH2G for the first few years post hurricane were from California.
One particular church in California – First Presbyterian Santa Rosa – started a connection with New Orleans when the church youth group with team leader Doug Webb ventured to New Orleans in the summer of 2007.  The recovery work at that time was primarily mudding and gutting out the homes… the reeeally dirty work!  Doug has continued to arrange mission trips to New Orleans for his church, and they joined us for another week at the beginning of August 2012, to further the work that other teams  began earlier this summer.
First Presbyterian continued work on Ms. Nancy’s home, as well as Mr. Earl Milaud’s home.  Ms. Nanacy is now the proud owner of a finished kitchen.  The team installed cabinets, a sink, and doors in Ms. Nancy’s home. Mr. Milaud’s kitchen was also fixed up with cabinets and other kitchen fixin’s.  The crew also accomplished other jobs in those two homes that previous teams this summer began.
The First Prebyterian crew always consists of familiar friendly faces that return year after year to volunteer.  This year they added a few new people to the group- they found their groove real quick.  Whether skilled or unskilled, the volunteers from First Presbyterian Santa Rosa work hard and get the job done!
Thanks Doug Webb and First Presbyterian for being strong supporters and good friends of HH2G.  It’s always a pleasure to host you guys- we look forward to the next time we see you!

Cincinnati's Finest

St. Vivian Church of Cincinnati, OH, has been a faithful supporter of HisHands2Go since... hmmm... well it seems like forever!  St. Vivian has given countless man hours of labor, financial donations, joy and laughter on and off the job, and encouragement and hope for those they have assisted.  They recently sent their youth (along with two lovely chaperones :) to further the work that teams before them have started.  They came, they saw, and they CONQUERED!

The first job they tackled was to finish painting Ms. Denise's home- those lovely bright yellow and green colors that Little Prairie Church first slapped on the house.  Work on the house was done by Lake Zurich Jazz group... boy did they do a great job!  Then Little Prairie Church started the painting process and made great progress.  Finally, St. Vivian finished up the painting for Ms. Denise and it looks GREAT!  One thing about this city that I really love is the various colors of houses- anything goes here- esp bright colors!

The other job that the St. Viv crew worked on is that of Mr. Earl's home.  The tile has been laid, the paint scraped, the walls repainted, and the hard wood floors scrubbed and ready for sanding and buffing.  The house looks fantastic!  The three volunteer teams again collaborated (though working at different times) to conquer this large job.  Lake Zurich Jazz group first, then Little Prairie Church, and finished up by St. Vivian Church.
Great job everyone!

Little Church on the Prairie

Well ok, it's actually called Little Prairie Church, but the name made me think of the old tv show with Half-Pint.  So there's this small town by the name of Albion located in Illinois. This particular region in Illinois is known for pig farms and PORK BURGERS! The volunteers of Little Prairie Church in Albion joined us in June 2012, and brought with them hard work, hilarious stories, PORK BURGERS, and my friend Aaron McCaleb- the team leader.
This crew continued the painting job on Ms. Denise's home- a beautiful combination of bright yellow with bright green trim. They also continued the work on Mr. Earl's home- laying tile, scraping and applying fresh paint, scrubbing wood floors, and conquering whatever tasks they could during their work week.
One of the highlights of their week was the development of a dance known as "the Ragan".  If ever you meet these fine folks you simply must learn the dance, and you MUST wear a feather mask while doing it!
Thanks for a great week Little Prairie Church!

All that Jazz

In the words of New Orleans' very own Steamboat Willie, "Summerti-----me, and the livin' is easy----".  Well many residents and visitors of New Orleans would say so, but the Lake Zurich HS Jazz group might be singing a different tune, or at least different lyrics!  This jazzy team braved the heat and rain to gain a variety of experiences in New Orleans during their visit the second week of June.

The week here began with their performance in Jackson Square (way cool!), followed by tours of the swamp, areas of the city affected mostly by Katrina, and the French Quarter.  In addition to the tours, they took a ride on the Natchez Steamboat, where their band director played a few songs with the house band.  Needless to say that steamboat had never seen such an enthusiastic audience before!

The other aspect of their trip was to work work work!  The crew spent four days pouring their efforts into restoring the homes of New Orleans residents.

They painted

 They laid tile 

 They used big saws and power tools! 

But the most exciting job that they accomplished from HH2G's perspective is the irrigation trenches that they dug for Garden on Marais!  

To top off their awesome week in New Orleans, we contacted our musician friend Steamboat Willie (many of you may remember him).  Steamboat is located in a nice little cafe off of Bourbon St. in the French Quarter.  He leads a jazz ensemble and invited some of the young jazz students to accompany his band one evening.  These brave students did an amazing job playing along with the band, and even performing their own improv solos!  We are so proud of them aaaaaand sort of turned into a slightly less annoying version of the paparazzi.

Attention Lake Zurich crew:   

We expect autographs next time we see you guys!  

Lili from Down Under

Ladies and Gentlemen,
allow me to introduce to you Lili Krins, volunteer from Australia.  She most definitely wins the award for coming the furthest to volunteer with HisHands2Go!
Most of Lili's time with HisHands2Go has been spent working at Garden on Marais with Kayla Miller.  For those who may not know, Garden on Marais is a neighborhood project of Elan Ministries- Kayla is the director of the Garden.  Lili assisted Kayla in planting and building a worm bin, among other tasks.
Below are pictures of the work Lili and Kayla accomplished during Lili's stay with us.  (Lili is the blonde woman).