RVentures with Doug and Chris: Colorful Talents Overflowing: Dade City, Florida Habitat for Humanity Build

The Colors of the Rainbow,

Each Vibrant by Itself,

But in Unison ... Endless Beauty!

Our desire to help out Doug's family, visit a couple of national parks, and attend another Hymer meetup brought us back to Florida in mid January. While figuring out our plans, we were happy to see that we would have time to volunteer once again with one of our favorite Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Dade City, Florida.

This Habitat affiliate, like many around the country, recruits volunteers to assist in building affordable housing in their community. Through their Care-a-Vanner program, we are given a place to camp

... and a chance to work with a fun group of individuals who

... skillfully and joyfully,

... come together

...and work in unison as their

... colorful talents overflow!!!

When we volunteer for Habitat builds, we need to be flexible. We may be asked to assist with framing new construction ... Doug's favorite. Or we may pick up a paintbrush to help with the finishing touches of a new house ... Chris' favorite. Or anything in between. But this year, it was a little different.

When the sun finally came out after a few days of cold and rain, we found out that we would be helping with some rehab work. A house had recently been foreclosed on and given back to the Habitat affiliate. It would need a lot of TLC (and a fair amount of elbow grease) in order to bring it back to a move-in ready condition. But as the sunrise brings the promise of a new day, so too, can the colorful talents of our Care-a-Vanner team bring hope for this home and the surrounding community.

We began our mornings at the campground's screened porch community area or, more often, around the campfire because the 40 degree temps were a bit too cold for us Floridians ... yup, we're wimps! After a morning devotion and announcements, our knowledgeable and ever-so-patient construction supervisor, Jose would advise us on the plan for the day.

And then the colorful talents got flowing!

Doug somehow got chosen to become a "Jose, Jr" so he kept thorough notes about what jobs needed to be done. Ben became a powerful force with the caulk gun.

Jayne, Deb, Susan, and Donna quickly breathed new life into the doors with a few coats of primer and paint, and we benefitted from Mike and Kevin's tall statures to spruce up the ceilings.

I was able to bring out the shine on the kitchen cabinets thanks to a few coats of varnish,

... while Earl, Don, and Leon meticulously leveled and re-set the kitchen cabinets and prepared the kitchen for many more years of home-cooked meals.

When the sun came out and temperatures started rising once again, the artistic flare of a few members of our group heated up also. Mike, Susan, Deb, Nanci, Donna, and Jayne designed and painted the sides of the storage bins that will be used on future construction sites. Besides storing tools and materials, the Conex containers will also serve as colorful reminders of positive changes that Habitat brings to the community.

Habitat's parade float, which serves an important role in public relations and advertising, also got a "face lift" with a stronger new base ... thanks to the talents of Vaughn, Norm, Brion, and Ben.

Sometimes the jobs that we are asked to do are not the most glamorous. The future homeowner may not think about the many hours that Doug spent scrapping dirty caulk off the window frames,