Vivian Cornwell
7th November 2006, 01:29 PM (13:29)
This weekend we were very busy with our church friends. The church did an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It was pretty amazing.
The family has come to our church for many years. They are a young couple with three children. They have a nine year old daughter and twin boys around 8 years old. One of the twins is handicapped. He has MS and wears a brace on his leg. He also is autistic. They have had a lot of medical expense. Recently the father/husband lost his job. The mother/wife home schools the children because the handicapped boy wasn't happy and not doing well with a new teacher he received. I think she is overwhelmed with everything required of her.
Friday morning the family went to the zoo for the day. Then they stayed two nights at Fort Rapids, an indoor water park and motel. All of their expenses were paid. The church had a food pounding for them. The food was placed in the new kitchen pantry.
Friday the church volunteers went in and packed up their belongings. Men began tearing our the bathroom for a complete makeover as fast as I could get things from the bathroom packed. We arrived at 8 AM. I packed up the bathroom first. At 9 AM our friend, Sharon, who is principal of a Christian HS came with about 20 of her students. She had everything organized. One volunteer and two students were assigned to each room to pack and mark the contents of the boxes. We used colored tape to identify the room the items came from. I worked in the parents bedroom. Sharon's husband Dwight was the one in charge of remodeling the bathroom and kitchen. He had helpers. Bob helped run errands and carry boxes, etc.
We didn't go to the house on Saturday, but that is when all of the hard work took place. A group came in and painted, etc. Some women went shopping for new bedding, window coverings, etc. Some of the men were there half of the night finishing up the flooring (laminate, carpet, etc.), installing cabinets, etc. Things were donated and items were obtained at special prices, etc. Our church took up offerings for the project and they received almost $7,000 for the project. A furniture store gave a great discount for new living room furniture and two dressers. A couple from church donated a used 62" TV and entertainment center. Their dining room table (where they eat every day) was all scratched up. A man from church took it home and refinished it. When he was finished it looked like new. Ladies cleaned, washed windows, etc. We went back Sunday to help with the finishing touches. The family came back at 5 PM. If you have ever seen the TV show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, you know a little of what I am talking about. We have done this before for a couple of families but this one was more complete. The home was beautiful inside when we finished. When warm weather comes again a group plans to paint the outside of the house and porch. One lady organized food for the workers each day. It was a great experience. There were over 100 people there when the family came back home. They were so happy. This was in a small town and the street wasn't a busy one. We had the street blocked with people clapping when they arrived. Neighbors came out in the street also and were given a tour of the house after the family got a private tour of their "new" home. One neighbor allowed a dumpster, a pod and many cars to be parked on his property. He just happened to own a vacant lot right across the street from their house.
If you have never watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, watch it sometime (Sunday evenings) and you will get an idea of what we experienced.
Below is a link for a newspaper article on the makeover.
It appeared in today’s paper!
http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061107/NEWS01/611070319
The family has come to our church for many years. They are a young couple with three children. They have a nine year old daughter and twin boys around 8 years old. One of the twins is handicapped. He has MS and wears a brace on his leg. He also is autistic. They have had a lot of medical expense. Recently the father/husband lost his job. The mother/wife home schools the children because the handicapped boy wasn't happy and not doing well with a new teacher he received. I think she is overwhelmed with everything required of her.
Friday morning the family went to the zoo for the day. Then they stayed two nights at Fort Rapids, an indoor water park and motel. All of their expenses were paid. The church had a food pounding for them. The food was placed in the new kitchen pantry.
Friday the church volunteers went in and packed up their belongings. Men began tearing our the bathroom for a complete makeover as fast as I could get things from the bathroom packed. We arrived at 8 AM. I packed up the bathroom first. At 9 AM our friend, Sharon, who is principal of a Christian HS came with about 20 of her students. She had everything organized. One volunteer and two students were assigned to each room to pack and mark the contents of the boxes. We used colored tape to identify the room the items came from. I worked in the parents bedroom. Sharon's husband Dwight was the one in charge of remodeling the bathroom and kitchen. He had helpers. Bob helped run errands and carry boxes, etc.
We didn't go to the house on Saturday, but that is when all of the hard work took place. A group came in and painted, etc. Some women went shopping for new bedding, window coverings, etc. Some of the men were there half of the night finishing up the flooring (laminate, carpet, etc.), installing cabinets, etc. Things were donated and items were obtained at special prices, etc. Our church took up offerings for the project and they received almost $7,000 for the project. A furniture store gave a great discount for new living room furniture and two dressers. A couple from church donated a used 62" TV and entertainment center. Their dining room table (where they eat every day) was all scratched up. A man from church took it home and refinished it. When he was finished it looked like new. Ladies cleaned, washed windows, etc. We went back Sunday to help with the finishing touches. The family came back at 5 PM. If you have ever seen the TV show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, you know a little of what I am talking about. We have done this before for a couple of families but this one was more complete. The home was beautiful inside when we finished. When warm weather comes again a group plans to paint the outside of the house and porch. One lady organized food for the workers each day. It was a great experience. There were over 100 people there when the family came back home. They were so happy. This was in a small town and the street wasn't a busy one. We had the street blocked with people clapping when they arrived. Neighbors came out in the street also and were given a tour of the house after the family got a private tour of their "new" home. One neighbor allowed a dumpster, a pod and many cars to be parked on his property. He just happened to own a vacant lot right across the street from their house.
If you have never watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, watch it sometime (Sunday evenings) and you will get an idea of what we experienced.
Below is a link for a newspaper article on the makeover.
It appeared in today’s paper!
http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061107/NEWS01/611070319