Charlie Morgan House Complete!

Charlie Morgan's house in Pingree Park is finally completed! Thank you for all the hundreds of hours of volunteer labor! Thank you to suppliers for hundreds of dollars of donated or discounted materials and labor: Home Depot, BMC West, Gordo Roofing, ABC Supplier, Builder Supply, ReSource, Greyrock Concrete Countertops, Savant Homes, Gary Armes Construction and Kwall Paint! Charlie will be moving in soon!

Grace Church Work Day

On April 17 we had a big work day for Grace Church and our partners. The larger crew, including many youth, returned to the site of our 2009 City Project for some follow-up work. Windows were replaced, carpet was laid, along with yard cleanup, landscaping and painting. Another crew went into the mountains near Pingree Park and joined a group from Poudre Christian Fellowship to work on Charlie's house. There we did drywall mud and tape, installed beetle-kill tongue and groove paneling, and mounted more deck boards. We were treated to a BBQ dinner by the Simmons family at the end of the day. We had a great day together and made a lot of progress. Thanks to all the volunteers and supporters!

Warming Up

Along with several other projects, we have continued to help Charlie make progress with his home on the mountain through the winter months. Wiring and insulation are done and an outdoor wood stove was installed which heats the home by forced air when passive solar is not sufficient. Pictured are Tracey & Charlie insulating, Todd doing sheet metal duct work, and Charlie firing up the wood stove.

Fall 2009 Projects

Before the snow started falling in earnest we made more progress on a couple of ongoing projects. We got Charlie's home in the mountains closed in with all windows and doors installed as well as much of the siding. Charlie, Josh & Todd are pictured (L) installing flashing. We also delivered more materials there so some work can continue through the winter. We wrapped up projects at Tommy's house in old town including winterizing. Josh is pictured (R) running a duct through the crawl space.

New Opportunities in Old Town

RN has completed several projects in an Old Town home for Tommy, who relies on a wheelchair for mobility. The small kitchen and bathroom were innovatively remodeled for accessibility. Main floor laundry and very high efficiency appliances from Builder's Appliance Center will make everyday life much more manageable and save hundreds of dollars in energy costs each year. A new ramp & driveway were poured for accessibility along-side some new water-conserving landscaping.

In addition to the volunteer labor, here are some of the donors of material that made this progress attainable: Home Depot, the Morway family, Coffman and Laub Construction, and John Elliot, who built a beautiful, custom folding kitchen table to fit limited space. Tommy is very grateful for all of this help, he remains cheerful and persistent in spite of his disabilities, and he has also taught us much for our future service.

City Project 2009

Our week-long City Project this year was focused on updating an older home in the Buckingham (Andersonville/San Cristo) neighborhood to address many needs of the recently-widowed owner and her family. We remodeled the kitchen and bathroom to address everyday needs and poured a concrete ramp to greatly improve accessibility. New windows & soffits were installed and cracks were sealed for comfort and energy efficiency. This was all topped off with new floor coverings and fresh interior & exterior paint.

We were blessed again by many generous donations of labor and new or reclaimed materials, with donors including: Alpine Cabinets, Savant Homes, Connell Resources, Loveland Ready Mix, Home Depot, Kwal Paint, the Zorigian family, Builders Supply, and ReSource. Most of our volunteers were from Grace Church or Athletes in Action. We were glad to help this family stay together in their own home and continue their involvement in their neighborhood. More photos can be viewed here.

Deck Deconstruction

In June of 2009, an existing wood deck was donated through divine providences and we worked a day in the Red Feather Lakes area fresh air to dismantle it. We were able to reuse a large portion of this lumber to cost-effectively build a deck for Charlie's house with help from an AmeriCorps crew to install it. Restoration Now puts many donated used materials to good use, directly, or by working with partners like ReSource.

Charlie's Mountain Home

Restoration Now is partnering with Charlie and other friends to build a new home on the remote mountain property where his only home was destroyed by fire. On one chilly November day, volunteers and mountaineers, Wes & Brady, were essential to summiting the high and steep roof. Ropes were used along with power tools to safely install sheeting. The roof is now complete and work continues towards getting the house closed in. A large array of custom-built dual-pane windows on the south roof will provide most of the heat and light by passive solar. A modest photovoltaic system has also designed to improve sustainability of the home. Contact Josh to volunteer or donate towards the solar electric system.

Winterization in Bellview

September 6th

On Saturday Dayspring Church volunteered to help winterize a home in Bellview. During the workday, the old uninsulated windowpanes were replaced with an insulated wall and storm windows.








Here is the wall before, during, and after the winterization process

Visit to Lagnaippe- Bay St. Louis, MS

Spent the day with Jordan Sikema working and checking up on multiple jobsites configuring plumbing issues and keeping crews going. This organization has around 7 new homes going up at once! Here we worked on leveling all the pilings for the flooring on this home 8 feet off the ground.

Travels to the South

Olive Branch Mississippi City Project-While five out of six days of Olive Branch City Project I ran a crew restructuring and reroofing an elderly lady's home in 115 degree heat index, I spent the last day working on a home of a lady whose husband was in a serious accident. Here we are pouring a new sidewalk for wheel chair accessibility.

Closing night festivities

Van Dykes' hosted the last night's cookout. A big thank you to all who hosted dinners in the evenings. This time of fellowship, worship and recap of the day is one of the best parts of City Project.

Day 5

Nicole Roloff installs trim after new floor went in.

Day 4

Alan Strope begins to hang new doors.

City Project Day 3

Finnley VanDyke came prepared with tools in hand, here he shows off his painting skills.

City Project Fort Collins 2008

This years' City Project we worked on three different projects. This one was at the Matson's, a family from Grace Church, who needed some renovation done to beable to house Kathy Matson's mother who has had heart surgery and other health issues. She is now wheelchair bound, thus the renovations!

John, Michael, Eric and Steve reframed doors and walls and hung drywall for wheel chair accessability on day number 2.

Youth Build on the Farm

On Friday the Youth Group spent the day on the farm, working on the fence, cleaning up, and generally helping the cows feel more at home. Libby and Josh are seen here with some of the group during a rare moment when they paused in their work for a picture.

Iowa Flood Relief

Over the 4th of July holiday, Nicole's cousins and I went 10 minutes outside of Nicole's grandmother's small town in Iowa to a place called Oakville. The residents of this town and surrounding farmlands were devestated by the recent flooding of the Iowa River. As of now, it is uncertain whether the town will even be rebuilt. We spent time in 2 different homes hauling out personal belongings so FEMA can come in to assess whether the home is salvageable. Thankfully there was enough warning to evacuate the town, but many of these people were caught without flood insurance and have lost everything. One homeowner was grateful for the help so that his wife didn't have to carry out all of their sentimental belongings covered in toxic sludge. It was a hard day, but good to meet the people of Oakville and great to work with Nate and Brett.

RYM Colorado Conference

This week, June 9-13, I am up in Estes Park at the 2008 Reformed Youth Ministries Colorado Conference. It is an honor to be asked to be part of this week. I am co-teaching an elective class titled Incarnational Ministry with Michael Matthews (a pastor at St. Patricks in Greeley). We will be discussing why Jesus calls us to be ministers of mercy to people in need around us, how to discover what our gifts are and then practical ways we can use those gifts in service.

There are approximately 260 youth and leaders here from Arkansas, Mississippi,
Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and Colorado. Yesterday and today, I am leading two sessions of mountain biking, that's 5 hours a day total! We'll see if this 32 year old can still challenge these high schoolers to a good ride . . .

(Reformed Youth Ministries is our denomination's ministry to junior high and highschoolers. For more information, visit http://www.rymonline.org/)

RUF Tulsa

RUF Tulsa came to spend five days working and camping in Brush, Colorado. They are an amazing group of people! I enjoyed my time with them immensely and, thanks to their energy, we really accomplished a large amount a work in a short amount of time. We camped on our client's land and did property cleanup, build a porch, installed new windows and painted the entire house, all in 4 days! Thank you to the RUF Tulsa group, their leader John Knorr, his wife Denise and family for their amazing service. Our clients were touched and encouraged by you all. It's a joy to know you and please come back!