Habitat For Humanity Mission Trip, July 14th- 20th, 2013- West Liberty, Kentucky

“West Liberty, Kentucky was struck by an EF3 tornado on March 2, 2012.Damage surveys revealed that winds likely peaked around 140 mph. The maximum width of the damage path was approximately one mile.”
Weather Channel

Today, over a year after the tornado devastated West Liberty, the damage in the small town is still evident, and the recovery efforts continue to demand volunteers. In response to this disaster, the First Christian Church of Liberty, Kentucky and the Grace Community Christian Church of Aurora, Illinois traveled to help rebuild with Habitat for Humanity.

We were joined at the work site by a group from Pillar Christian Church of Michigan and a Kentucky group consisting of volunteers from Henry, Oldham, & Spencer counties. Together, we worked on four Habitat Houses in close proximity. We applied vinyl siding, installed windows and doors, placed tin roofs, and constructed  decks. The construction progress, teamwork, and fellowship throughout the week was evident and incredible to witness! While some had the ability to share their skills with others, many volunteers left at the end of the week with new skills. Our ages ranged from early teens to late 80’s! We all left with new friends and several Facebook contacts, as well as a wonderful peace of mind. It is always a refreshing feeling to know  you had a hand in building a home for a family.

Our Mission group from Liberty, Kentucky and Aurora, Illinois.

Above, is a mission group from Michigan, who we teamed up with through the week. They were an absolute delight to get to know and work alongside. I really think it is amazing that the deck they are sitting proudly upon is a structure that had not existed when we arrived; most, if not all of the people in this photo helped build it! What very talented group!

Much of West Liberty is still missing and/or “coming soon.”

Our mission trips always consist of lots of games and fun activities in our down time. This year everyone was even more involved in games since most of us were without phone service. Since the only wifi was in the church’s narthex, we had a nice “un-plugged” week.

During the week, numerous volunteers helped build a large wrap-around deck along the sides of this Habitat house . There was also a tin roof applied. You can see the progress in the following photos:

More fun games during our exhausted down time.

My mom, Tishana Cundiff, led the siding crew for much of the vinyl siding on this home.

Several volunteers worked to install windows, siding, and other projects on the house above.

Numerous groups worked to install windows, doors, and vinyl siding to this house. It is almost unrecognizable from the photos spanning the week!

We worked hard as a storm rolled in, but when lighting began to strike, we packed up and ‘called it a day.’

After the storm calmed, the warm mountains filled with a layer of fog. They held the pink sunset like a blanket as it came to rest over the countryside.

Madison Lee and Sarah Coffman chat with future homeowner, Linda Watterson (Disaster Case Manager, Morgan County), at the Habitat for Humanity work site.

The ladies begin construction on the front deck of one of the homes. This was one of the projects that I worked on. We made sure that the boys didn’t take over our deck project. Girls know how to build, too! (Thanks, Pete!)

Friday, after a half day of work on the Habitat site, the crew headed to Natural Bridge for a nice hike. By this time I had headed home, so I wasn’t able to take photos, but Jena Johnson was kind enough to provide a few from their hike.

Related articles

• Habitat for Humanity (thepragmaticreport.com)
• Habitat for Humanity (joegsei.wordpress.com)

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