Today was one of the best days in the season of a Habitat build.  Our family and 8 others were presented with the keys to their new homes in a celebration at the Dunbar School, just down the street on Sheridan.

Our homebuyer family is originally from Somalia, and Khadija asked her friends to cook foods from that part of Africa.  We had our usual photo cake, but in addition were treated to some very authentic Somalian specialties.  Khadija has invited all of the West County Church volunteers to Thanksgiving at her house.  I hope that Ameren gets the electricity installed in time.  They are way behind schedule due to the storms of a few weeks ago.  We saw their trucks in the alley as we left the party, so maybe it is coming soon.

Click here or the photo to see more photos.

Salem volunteer Jeff Gentsch sent some photos that he took last Saturday.  Here they are.

House 15 is coming along nicely, and there are only a few more Saturdays and Wednesdays remaining before the dedication on November 1.  Yesterday crews from Webster Presbyterian and Salem Methodist worked on finishing the siding, painting doors, and installing brick, among other tasks.  Here are some photos.

Barb and Terry Zenser provided photos from the Blitz, and I shot some last Saturday. Have a look here.  Keep those photos coming!

The weather was hot and humid, but the volunteers for House 15, Phase 2, were undaunted.  Henry, our house leader, commented that our volunteers this year were the best ever.  All exterior and interior walls are up, roof plywood sheeting is on, windows installed, exterior doors installed, some siding installed, plus many other miscellaneous items done.  So, the house is close to being “weather proofed” so the subcontractors can come in.

The ceremonial first wall was raised today, on one of the Phase One homes. The blitz for Phase One starts next Wednesday, June 4 through Saturday June 7. One of the Habitat folks mentioned that they are 80 people short, so if anyone is interested in helping, contact Josh at the Habitat office. Here are more photos of the event.

There was an orientation meeting at the Habitat offices last night where the homebuyers and family partners get to meet each other. Susan McConnell and Steve Adams were there to represent West County Churches, and met our new homebuyer, Khadija Osman. Khadija and her husband are from Somalia, with a brief stop in Kenya on the way to St. Louis 15 years ago. She is a case worker for the African Community, and her husband is a taxi driver who was working at the time of the meeting. They have 5 children ranging in age from grade school through college. We know you will enjoy getting to meet her.

Our house leader, Henry Dayringer, sent me some recent photos taken at our site. 

These next two are from last Wednesday, May 14, and show the foundation walls after the sill plates were installed.

This Thursday we will meet the new homebuyer – look for more info soon!

West County Churches will be building one of 27 houses that Habitat for Humanity St. Louis is constructing in the JeffVanderLou (JVL) neighborhood this year. Our house is at 3147 Sheridan Avenue. We are part of Phase 2 which begins with a blitz July 9 through 12, and continues on Wednesdays and Saturdays until the dedication on October 25. As a matter of fact, the Wednesday crew is already hard at work now. They are the reason we start our blitzes at the subfloor, rather than a hole in the ground.

This blog will allow all of us to communicate at a central point, post photos, make suggestions, etc.

Our house leader once again is Henry Dayringer, assisted by Don Boekemeier.

Susan McConnell and Michael Turley from Salem will be co-family partners.

Here are the volunteer coordinators:

Cris Heffernan, Bonhomme Presbyterian

Patrick Goertzen, Green Trails United Methodist

Barb & Terry Zenser, Manchester United Methodist

Steve Adams, Salem-in-Ladue United Methodist

Jan Carver, Webster Groves Presbyterian

More to follow…