Wow! What a group! I was telling Brandon, our Construction Director, that we need to develop a system for rating the volunteer groups that come to work with us. This group from the Simple Church was a four star group! Bill McConathy, the missions pastor of the church brought a group of 16 from their congregation last week to help build Markedia Wells' home. One one week we really brought the house along well. All of the exterior siding and trim was installed. All of the plywood soffit was installed around the whole perimeter of the home. All of the metal roofing was installed (a five sided hip roof- lots of cuts). The whole exterior of the home was painted. The whole of the interior of the home was painted two coats. And the bamboo flooring was started. Lot's of progress in a cupla weeks! We are shooting to have the home completed, as far as construction is concerned on June 22nd.
       One of the exciting highpoints of the week came on the day I forgot to wear my hat and I was presented an LSU hat . I wore it all Wednesday and to our staff meeting on Thursday morning where Jared, our volunteer coordinator and crimson-blooded fan of U of A's Crimson Tide football team was shooting knives out of his eyes toward my new gift. I figured that if I wore it a whole day around town without getting struck by lightning it was OK to accept the gift. I reported the intense persecution that the hat was causing and attempted to return it, but Tom had all of the people in the group sign it instead and also added a large, Roll Tide Roll on the front and center just above the LSU insignia, so I guess it's alright to keep it. I'll wear it to Peru in September.
      Our subcontractor also formed and poured the driveway and sidewalks and will build the brick steps at the front door this week.  
     We also cleared out a bunch of materials behind the house to ready for foundations of the 3rd home at the same site in Alberta City. This house will be built at the stadium in Kansas City and then get disassembled, put on a truck and shipped back to Tuscaloosa to be set up on our foundation here . Brandon is going out there to make sure it fits when it comes back here and to know whcih part goes where.
      Been applying steady pressure to the Lion's Den at the Y's Acres and its coming along nicely. I don't know if any of you have read the book, The Secret, but one of the concepts in that book is that if you want something, you have to announce it to the universe and then it will come to pass. I tried it at the ReStore recently. That's where I do most of my shopping for the hobby project. I told Jeannie, the manager, that I was putting in my order for a drop-in tub. (The Restore is a Habitat run business that accepts donations of materials, furniture, etc. and there is no real way of knowing what is coming in ever until its there). You'll never guess what was sitting there about a week later. Go ahead, try to guess! Perfect fit, acrylic drop in tub! Amazing!   I have a goal of completing it enough to move in by end of August. That's all for now! Thanks again to all at The Simple Church and hope to see all of you and the others who wanted to come but couldn't next time! Love ya'll! Peter