Another WorkFest has come to an end. Week 3 started off great with lots of warm weather. The first 3 days of the week it was in the 70′s which was a nice change compared to all the rain and cold weather we had in Weeks 1 and 2. Week 3 we pretty much got up all the siding on the new addition, as well as 2 new windows, a door, and we even built the roof and got it sheeted and papered. In addition to all this the group even put up soffit and built a new deck complete with railings. Our Week 3 blue crew was awesome, we couldn’t have asked for a better group to carry us through the last week of WorkFest. Their excitement and enthusiasm definitely lifted me up as I was pretty exhausted going into week 3.  Some of you may wonder what we do after WorkFest is over. Well currently my crew leader, Tony, has 3 jobs open, so Monday morning we are going to see where each job is at and see what needs to be done first. But until May it is just myself, Tony and Bethanie working on these jobs, so we have a lot of work to keep us busy. Then in May is when we start having church groups come down to help us for a week at a time.

In other news, March Madness is in full swing and I am a graduate of the University of Connecticut, so I’m very happy that Uconn is in the final four, but they are playing the University of Kentucky. So it will be exciting to see who wins. Clearly I’m living in UK country but I could never root against Uconn, because that’s what I was born and raised on, Uconn basketball.  Hopefully my next blog will be about Uconn advancing to the championship.

Below are some pictures from the last week of WorkFest…enjoy!

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Housing program. She lives in Floyd Volunteer House.

Well this is my first official blog post of 2011!!! I believe the last time I wrote I was getting ready to go home to CT for the holidays. My visit home was wonderful! I was able to see lots of friends and family and even got to experience a snowstorm in CT. I was home for about 17 days and I did a lot of visiting, relaxing, baking/cooking and shopping. I think I went to the mall more times in the 2 weeks I was home than the whole last year I’ve been in eastern Kentucky. Which is good because the nearest mall around here is about 2 hours away so I don’t get there too often, which is okay with me because I’m not a big shopper anyway.

Since I’ve been back in Kentucky we have continued to work on the house we were working on before we all left for Christmas. We are starting to near the end of the job, with just some painting, drywall patching and installing a new toilet left. This is always the hard part of the job because it’s exciting to see it all complete but very sad to say goodbye to our participants whom we have grown very attached to over the last few months. We have also started prepping for WorkFest, which is going to be here before we know it. So we’ve spent some time looking at jobs and getting material lists ready because it is quickly approaching.

As for today we had some snow so our whole house was grounded for the day for my first official snow day of the winter, but for some of my housemates it’s their third or fourth snow day. So you might wonder what exactly do you do on a snow day? Well there are many different options. For one most of us tend to sleep in and eventually roll out of bed around noon. Others catch up on reading or arts and crafts. My favorite snow day activity of the moment is playing guitar hero, which I brought from home. So many of my housemates have enjoyed playing it and battling one another. I also played a game of Dutch Blitz with Kevin and Bethanie (two of my housemates). It’s a very intense card game, which sometimes involves lots of yelling, but today was a very calm game. Also having a snow day gives me time to write my blog, which is good because I haven’t found time to update it lately.

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Housing program. She lives in Floyd Volunteer House.

Well it is officially starting to get cold in eastern Kentucky! Last week was Thanksgiving and it was about 70 degrees out and this week I think the high was about 45, so a very drastic change in weather over the last week. So you would think that after working in housing last winter I would be used to the cold weather and working outside, but nope I’m not at all. One very important lesson I have learned over the last year is that layers are your best friend. It’s always best to have way too many layers, than not enough and you definitely appreciate this when you are working outside and it’s about 25 degrees out and you can’t feel your fingers. Even though it stinks to have to work outside in the cold, it makes it worth it when your participant tells you that she made soup beans and corn bread for lunch. There is nothing better than a hot lunch on a day when you can’t feel your fingers. It’s even better when our participant walks outside with a hot plate of cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven. For some reason these simple acts of kindness make you forget about how cold out it is. As you can see we are getting a little spoiled at our worksite.

Cold weather also means that Christmas is just around the corner as well. Myself and two of my housemates (Bethanie and Kevin), got to see the first official sighting of Santa this year. We were on our way to Dairy Queen in Martin and I was telling Kevin and Bethanie how early in the day I had seen a fire truck all decked out with Christmas lights on the highway. I told them I had no idea what the purpose of this was or where he was going but he was being escorted by two police cars and there was another fire rescue truck pulling a sleigh. So as I am telling them this story we come around the corner and there is the fire truck!!!! It was very exciting, we pulled into the Dairy Queen parking lot and watched as the decked out fire truck drove by with his lights flashing and his sirens on. We were like little kids on Christmas morning. It even got better because behind the first fire truck was the second one pulling the sleigh which this time had Santa in it!!!! Of course all three of us were yelling and screaming SANTA, like we were 5 years old. It was an amazing night and I think we all felt like little kids again for just a moment.

Also next weekend I start my journey back to CT for the holidays. My housemate, Bethanie and I will be leaving next weekend for home. She lives in Rhode Island, so we are practically neighbors, which is awesome, but we will begin our 14 hour drive home for the holidays. Part of me can’t believe I am going home for Christmas already because I feel like I was just home for my cousin’s wedding, but that was back in September already. It will be really nice to spend some time with the family and catch up with all of my friends. Although, I will miss my Kentucky family very much as well. So this will probably be my last blog post for the next few weeks! Until next time…

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Housing program. She lives in Floyd Volunteer House.

“Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten.”- From the Disney movie Lilo and Stitch.

This quote seemed to be very appropriate for the events that have transpired in the past week. On Wednesday night I drove to Huntington, West Virginia to pick up my sister (Jess) and my best friend ( Heather). They were visiting me for a long weekend and they actually got to come volunteer with me on Thursday. It was really cool to have my family from back home meet some of my Kentucky Family. Immediately my participants fell in love with them and treated them like family and like they had known them for years. By the end of the day we were all listening to our participant tell us stories about her family from Michigan and she was giving us all hugs as we left for the day. This is probably my favorite part of volunteering in Housing. We get to know our participants so well that they become  our family because most of the time we are working on their house every day for at least a month if not more depending on how big the job is. So not only did Jess and Heather get to meet my participant but they also got to meet the whole Floyd House and some of the other volunteers from Johnson House. It was really cool to see people from both of my families in the same place.

Then on Saturday I was able to take them to Harold’s (my volunteer life manager) house and spend some time with his family. Harold’s house is probably one of my favorite places in eastern Kentucky. He has lots of animals and there are always new additions every time we visit. Some new additions were a pot belly pig, a few more goats, a peacock, some guinea hens and another bunny. While we were there we got to see all the new animals, as well as get some good pictures with them. We also learned a lot about the different types of chickens they had and we  got to hang out with Harold’s kids, which is always fun!

Two people that I have grown really close with since I came to Kentucky would be Tony (my crew leader) and his  wife Liz. Their kids are all grown and out of the house and they have kind of adopted me since I got here or maybe it’s more like I’ve adopted them. Anyway since I’ve been here they have both been there to listen to me and give me advice which has been very helpful since my parents are hundreds of miles away. Not only have I grown close to them but I’ve grown attached to their animals too. They have 3 dogs: Sadie, Kehma, Silas and 2 cats. I’ve probably grown attached to them since I get the pleasure of watching them all when Tony and Liz go out of town. All 3 of their dogs have different personalities too. Sadie is crazy and off the wall with energy, while Kehma is an old lady and Silas always greets you by slobbering all over you. They are all so fun to take care of, even though at times they do drive me crazy especially when they drag you around the yard. But last night I had a reality check. Myself and a few of the other volunteers were at Tony and Liz’s house for a campfire and Kehma and Silas were running around outside. Silas especially likes to chase cars, which is not good considering his fur is all black and its hard to see him at night. So last night he got out of the yard through the hole in the fence and unfortunately he got too close to a car and was hit. I’ll never forget that sound I heard when he got hit. We finally found him standing in the creek, but he was in bad shape and being in eastern Kentucky the nearest vet is about 30 minutes away, so needless to say by the time we got him to the vet it was too late. I never thought losing a dog would be so upsetting, but it was because he was a part of the family. Silas showed up at Tony and Liz’s house one day back in March and kind of adopted them, at that point he was still a puppy, maybe 6 weeks old. So even though Silas was a dog, he was still part of our family and he will be missed very much and never forgotten.

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Housing program. She lives in Floyd Volunteer House. You can see more of her pictures from the week below.

There have been a lot of changes going on within CAP and the volunteer house lately. One of the big ones is theexpansion of the Floyd Volunteer House. Right now the volunteers at Floyd just live in the downstairs part of the house and the upstairs is used for another mission organization to hold their groups in the summer. CAP can now use the entire house, so within the next couple months our house is going from 6 volunteers to 16 volunteers, with even a couple who is going to stay in their trailer outside of our house. So it will be a big change especially since  when I first came to Floyd house there was a total of 5 of us and the most we have ever had in our house since I’ve been here is about 10. Therefore this will be a new and exciting experience for me and my housemates. But it is a very good change because it means that so many more people are wanting to commit to volunteering long term at CAP, which is an awesome thing!

Also this past weekend my housemate Rachel left to return home since her year of service was up. It’s very different now that she is gone considering she was one of the few left that was here when I first arrived at Floyd House. Also we worked together in Housing on a daily basis and basically got to learn construction skills together as well. She will definitely be missed at the Floyd House because she did provide many laughs at the house as well as on the job site. She also contributed greatly to the spiritual aspect of our community as well as some good practical jokes.

As for this week we are getting ready to head to disaster relief in Pike County, Kentucky. There was a flood recently and a lot of damage to one particular area in Pike County. So this week the whole Housing Program from the Sandy Valley Region is going to help out with cleaning up houses. There are also many other volunteers from this region and the Cumberland Valley who will be helping with the clean up. So look for updates in next week’s blog on the progress of the clean up. And also keep the families of Pike County in your prayers, as many of them have lost their homes or have had severe damage to them.

May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you. 11 Thessalonians 3:16

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Housing Program.

These last few days in eastern Kentucky have been sweltering. I never knew how hard it was to work outside in 95 degree weather with humidity making it feel like 110 degrees. It’s been hard to get myself motivated in this weather because I feel like the sun just drains me of all energy. Luckily I’ve been able to push through and keep reminding myself of why I’m here and lots of water helps as well. This past week we went back to one of WorkFest jobs to try and wrap that up because it is very close to being finished. And this week we also have a group from Michigan and they are all very skilled and quick learners which is making the work go a lot faster. So far all we have left is some painting, trim work and a few minor repairs in the floor and ceiling. It will be great to see the project finally finished but I will also miss the company of our participant and her daughter. They are a great family and are very appreciative of the work that CAP is doing on their trailer. One of our major projects this week was to get an air conditioner in their trailer and we finally got it in by the end of today, so they were delighted.

As for life outside of Housing, the volunteer houses are going through lots of changes with many volunteers leaving and many new ones coming in. This is all very exciting and sad all at the same time because most of the people that are leaving now have been here since I got here almost a year ago, so I’ve definitely gotten to know them pretty well. So as a going away trip before one of my housemates leaves in a couple of weeks, we took a trip down to Cumberland Falls to see the moonbow. Cumberland Falls is down in McCreary County and the moonbow only happens when there is a full moon out. Unfortunately the night we went was a little hazy so it was hard to see the moonbow, but we did see a little bit of it. It was also a great drive down to McCreary because everything is so green and in bloom and it’s just a really nice area. Below are some pictures I took at the Falls.

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Housing program. She lives in Floyd Volunteer House.

Time sure has flown since I’ve been at CAP. It seems like just yesterday I was on a plane to Kentucky to begin my service with CAP. Now I’m two months away from the end of my service time. I think part of the reason why time seems to have flown is because we have been so busy lately. It seems like ever since WorkFest we’ve been bouncing around to different job sites trying to get things wrapped up. Which this week we did finally finish one of our WorkFest jobs, we finished up the Pink team’s work-site and our participant seemed happy with the outcome of the repairs. So now that one job is done we have three others to finish up, and with summer arriving we will start to have groups coming down to help us with the repairs which will make things move along a little more quickly.

Probably one of the hardest things about finishing up a job is not seeing that participant every day. Yet we still have opportunities to keep in touch with them. Yesterday Rachel and I went back to a house that we worked on in September. It was great to visit with the family again and to see how much their son has grown. When we first met him he was just a baby and know he’s starting to crawl around and babbling a mile a minute. They’ve also continued to do repairs on their home by painting and adding a sidewalk and the house looks like a different place, it was really great to spend some time with them.

Well this past weekend was a long one for us with Memorial Day, so I thought I was going to catch up on some rest and relaxation but somehow I managed to keep myself pretty busy all weekend. On Friday I went out with Leslie, a volunteer in the Elderly Housing program and we finished up a job that we started as a side project back in November. So that was a nice accomplishment and also nice to see the participant again. But to end our weekend we are having a house cookout, which is nice and a good time for our community bonding. So even though on the weekends we aren’t required to eat community dinners we usually end up eating together anyway.

Old Time, that greatest and longest established spinner of all!…. his factory is a secret place, his work is noiseless, and his hands are mutes. ~Charles Dickens

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Housing program. She lives in Floyd Volunteer House.

These last few weeks seem to have flown by extremely fast and they have also been pretty busy for me. Since it is getting closer to summer we are having lots of prospective volunteers visiting CAP, as well as our volunteer house. So for the last few weeks we seem to have had at least one prospective volunteer with us each week, which can be crazy at times, trying to coordinate where they are going and who they are going to see, but its also awesome to see the excitement on their faces and to get a chance to meet people from all around.

In addition to it being busy at the volunteer house, the Housing program has also been busy as well. We are still trying to finish up all of our WorkFest jobs, and it seems we are starting to get closer to finishing up a couple of our jobs. Our participant’s house that we are working on now is getting a whole new kitchen, which we are all almost finished with. But after we finish her kitchen we still have some other minor projects to do such as a new door and a back stoop, as well as a little siding. As of right now our participant is currently in the hospital and has been for the past week, so I ask you to keep her in your prayers and that she has a speedy recovery and the doctors figure out what is making her so sick. I know she is looking forward to seeing her kitchen finished and she was delighted to see the few cabinets we did get up before she had to leave for the hospital.

So with all this busyness going on, us volunteers got a chance to go on a retreat this past weekend. Every year CAP has two retreats for their volunteers, one in the spring and one in the fall. It’s really a great time for everyone to get together and to relax and reflect. We had our retreat at Camp AJ which is one of CAP’s summer camps and we had some great weather and the scenery was also amazing. The theme of this retreat was about transformation and thinking about your life in the past, present and future and how you transition from CAP to wherever you are going next. It was a great time to discern the time that I have spent so far at CAP and to think about my future with CAP. I think my favorite part of the retreat was when we spent an hour in silence. We finished the morning talk and from the end of that talk until we came back for the afternoon talk we were to be silent. So we all ate lunch in silence and it also allowed us some time to either walk or just sit in silence and reflect. I really enjoyed this retreat and I think it was one of my favorite retreats that I’ve been on because the talks were engaging and we had group discussions as well as time to ourselves. So all in all it was an excellent weekend and a much needed retreat that has definitely impacted my life and how I will go about my future.

One of my favorite quotes from this weekend: “Vocation is that place where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.” -Frederick Buechner

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Housing program. She lives in Floyd Volunteer House.

WorkFest 2010 was a huge success: more than 400 college students served on 20 different jobsites throughout March, repairing homes, meeting the people of Appalachia and having a life-changing experience. Repeated over and over again during student reflection time was that students didnot want WorkFest to be an isolated time in their lives, but the beginning of a life of service that they would live back at their colleges and communities. And as happens at every WorkFest, some students felt a call to Appalachia that may bring them back to CAP after graduation to serve as long-term volunteers.

For more information about WorkFest 2010, including pictures from the jobsites, visit our WorkFest 2010 headquarters. As our Housing crews complete the jobs that the students began, we will post “after” pictures of many of the homes.

As CAP bid farwell to another WorkFest, we welcomed YouthFest 2010, an alternative spring break for high school students. During YouthFest, students from schools and churches from as far away as California come to eastern Kentucky to serve on painting, cleaning and yardwork projects for participants in CAP’s Elderly Services program. Our long-term Elderly Services volunteers lead crews of students who provide some much-needed home and yard improvements that participants could not do themselves. More important, the students have the opportunity to visit with Appalachia’s elderly and form relationships that will have a lasting impact on both students and participants. Some older teens will serve on Housing projects with our long-term construction volunteers.

As CAP continues to welcome high school students this April, we hope you will pray for everyone’s safety on the jobsites and as they travel to and from Kentucky. As always, we ask that you keep Appalachia’s elderly and low-income families in your daily prayers. Together, we can move mountains.

The week after WorkFest has been a catch up week for Housing. We spent most of Monday driving around to all our sites and collecting all the tools and then inventoried everything we had. So the rest of Monday and all of Tuesday was spent cleaning up and straightening out our tool trailer, which is not a fun task but needed to get done. Tuesday afternoon the Housing program ended the day early and spent a few hours together at Painstville Lake where we had a going away party for one of our long-term volunteers, Nick Borninski. It was an awesome day out and we spent it tossing a frisbee, eating good food and telling stories about Nick. It was a good time together and it was then followed by our monthly volunteer gathering at Mountain Community Fellowship. Harold ordered pizza and we sang a few songs and then broke up into small groups and discussed traditions we all had in our family for the Easter season. It was nice to see everyone all together since the past month its seems like I haven’t seen a lot of the other volunteers that aren’t in the Housing program because we were always up at Camp Caleb, so it was good to reconnect with everyone.

Wednesday we went out to one of our job sites and started tying up some loose ends, like putting in a storm door and finishing some siding. And then after Wednesday it was the weekend for us because of Easter we got a nice long weekend, which was much needed. I spent the weekend catching up on sleep and on reading as well. Sunday was Easter so I went to Mass with some of the other volunteers from the Johnson House and then went over to Tony (my crew leader) and Liz’s house for Easter dinner. It was a really nice time to eat good food and talk with them, especially since I wasn’t spending Easter with my family back home, it was nice to spend it with them,  since they have become like family to me.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life- John 3:16

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP’s Housing program. She lives in Floyd Volunteer House.