Our destination was the Isaacs' house on Begley Road. On the way there, we got lost in the countryside, labyrinth neighborhood. After getting in touch with the Kentucky Mountain Housing association members and working the directions out, we finally arrived. Mr. Isaac welcomed us to his home and the work was to commence.
Our task here was to paint the entire house an eggshell white color from the aged cream color the house had acquired over many years. The first task involved moving furniture out of the two bedrooms so that they could be cleaned and painted. We were all a bit surprised to see that the rooms had not been readied for us, but we learned that the Isaacs' only had 10 minutes advance notice. After moving Ms. Isaac's impressive collection of angel statues we got straight to work.
Mr. Isaac bred his own champion-quality roosters and gave us a tour of his coops during one of our breaks. His birds were handsomely colored and he took a lot of pride in showing them to us and exercising them. It was quite a sight to say the least.
"Obama" Mr. Isaac's prize roosterWe were able to paint about half the house during the day. Ms. Isaac was recovering from two strokes, so both she and her husband really appreciated our help.
The other group returned to finish painting the handicap ramp we had started to paint the day before. They braved cold temperatures and were able to get the job done quickly.
The group was able to meet with Ms. Vanila, the elderly woman who owned the home. Ms. Vanila had recently broken her tail bone and was having trouble getting around. She was accompanied by her two nurses, who were extremely polite and thankful to the group. Unfortunately, the painting group learned that Ms. Vanila previously had been robbed by a person posing as one of her nurses. It was sad to hear that someone would stoop to such a level, but it fueled our efforts to get the job done.
Interestingly, we learned that Ms. Vanila had been born in a small one room house we had mistaken for a shed. It still stands next to the current house that is being improved by Kentucky Mountain Housing.
"Ms. Vanila's Birthplace"
"Ms. Vanila's current home on the same property"
After the day's work was completed and we had eaten, we went to East Manchester's Bert T. Combs City Park. This camping ground was quite a site to see. The beautiful landscape encompassed rugged mountains engulfing a clear still lake. The breath-taking site set the mood for our group reflection.
As our final reflection, we played "Tap me if...". In this game we sat in a circle with eyes closed. The leader read off various statements such as, "Tap someone who became a true friend". A few of our members went in the center of the circle and tapped groupmates who completed the statement for them. We then had an "open mic" session where people shared anything they wished reflecting on the overall trip. A common theme was "from fourteen strangers to fourteen friends". The setting and the topic created a great atmosphere to end our trip on.
To end the night Scottie came by to visit. He has been a great friend all week. We were all sad to say goodbye to someone who was so pivotal in helping us achieve our goals. Scottie's goodbye included him asking us to come by again in the future.
As we write everyone is busy tidying up our dorm in preparation to leave bright and early tomorrow at 7 AM!
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