RVentures with Doug and Chris: Welcome Home! Dade City, Florida Habitat For Humanity Build

''Home is where love resides, memories are created, family and friends belong, and laughter never ends.''

A year ago, I walked up to a house that had been given to the local Habitat affiliate... unsure of what I had just ''volunteered'' to help with. Scraggly bushes and an over-surplus of weeds embraced the building. Acrobatic skills were needed as I carefully stepped over the warped porch boards in order to get into the building. And as I entered the house, it was definitely not the aroma of fresh-baked cookies that greeted me. Yet, the contagious smiles, laughter and dedication of the other Habitat volunteers... along with the firm belief that this structure would someday welcome a deserving family is what encouraged me to stay and help with this rehab project.

A few weeks ago, Doug and I returned to Dade City, Florida to participate in another Habitat for Humanity Care-a-Vanner build. Initially when we started doing this volunteer activity, we would choose new cities to explore and new affiliates to assist. But recently, we have found ourselves being drawn back to this small town in central Florida to help build houses that will eventually welcome hard-working families home.

While morning temps were not quite as extreme as they were up north, we were taking no chances and donned our winter jackets as we gathered around the campfire for morning instructions and devotion. This affiliate has done a great job at making sure the Care-a-Vanners feel welcome in their camping area. They built a volunteer community center with a kitchen, bathrooms, showers, and a large screened porch that surrounds the full-hookup camping sites. This area overlooks a pond where migrating sand-cranes serenade us, and Mr Alligator basks in the sun.

My first day on the job was spent doing a familiar task ... caulking the siding and windows with a local volunteer. As we started talking, I could sense the excitement bubbling over in her. Marissa had worked for over a year to become a Habitat homeowner. The challenge of taking numerous ''future homeowner'' classes and working three-hundred volunteer hours while continuing to work full-time and care for her family was about to pay off. She was closing on and moving into her new home in a few days. And what a joy to hear that her new home was the house that I had helped work on the year before!

When we arrived at the dedication ceremony the following week, I was blown over by the transformation.

Neatly planted bushes replaced the weeds. Strong and sturdy steps led the family onto the porch where they would cut the ribbon, and accept their house key... along with an affordable 30 year mortgage.

As they invited us into their new home, fellow volunteer, Sally and I were so happy to see that our persistence the year before played a small but still important part in helping welcome another family ''home''.