Bastrop, TX

Dear Friends:

It's times like these that I'm glad that I have a blog - so that I can share some experiences.  Writing these things down will help me remember them for quite a while.  This particular post is about something really special - I hope I can find the words to adequately share my joy.

Last night, I was able to fulfill a dream of mine.  How often do you get to say that?!?  I was able to volunteer to help build a house for a needy family.  The project just happened to be with this show:

If you have no idea what Extreme Makeover Home Edition is about - you owe yourself the opportunity to find out more here.

Some background is definitely needed for this story.  This past summer, Texas experienced one of the worst droughts in its history.  In addition, we had record high temperatures through the summer.  These two facts collided when a several fires broke out in Central Texas.  One of the largest was centered in Bastrop, Texas.  Here are some images from the fire, just to give you an idea of the magnitude of the disaster:

When this fire had finished wreaking havoc on this town, the destruction was vivid and complete.  Over 1,500 homes were destroyed - leaving families with nothing but what they escaped with on their backs:

There were several other fires at the time, including one in Spicewood, TX. A little over a month ago, I volunteered to help clean-up several homes that had been impacted by the fire (see my blog post here).

I was excited to hear the the Extreme Makeover folks were coming to Bastrop, to help a really deserving family.  You see, I've watched this show for many years, and it never fails to make me cry when I see folks that really deserve help, receive that.  I've ALWAYS wanted to be part of that "blue shirt army" that actually gets to build the house.  The project in Bastrop is the closest I've ever been to a Makeover project, and I jumped at the chance.  I had to apply to volunteer - and was accepted.

You have to understand one thing.  I may have some talent when it comes to computers and video - but I acknowledge the obvious fact that I have never really learned to build homes or even some of the most basic aspects of carpentry.  My path in life has been toward other things.  However, I have a pretty strong desire to help...and participating in a project of this size has been a dream of mine.  I volunteered for the 8pm to 2am shift - so that it wouldn't impact my family or work too much.

The appointed evening came, and I had to drive about an hour to the "parking area."  This was a public park that they used to stage volunteers.  I signed my life away - promising not to sue the show's producers if I got hit in the head with a hammer...and they issued me my very own hard hat:

Next, they loaded about twenty of us on a bus and we rode to the job-site.  This was about a 20 minute ride to the middle of nowhere ; )  This family (the Zdrojs) lived in rural area.  Stepping off the bus, I saw the illuminated site:

There weren't any street lights, but the site was pretty easy to see in the dark ; )  This was the end of day 5 of the project, and you can see that the house is really coming together:

They wouldn't let me play with the cherry-picker ; )

I was fascinated with the logistics behind such a daunting project.  It seemed like all of the "craftsmen" and contractors had very specific assignments.  I quickly figured out that if you stood around, waiting for someone to tell you what to do - you were going to stand for a long time and not get involved with anything.  Talk about a life lesson ; )  I immediately figured out who actually made decisions and introduced myself as willing "slave labor" ; )  They asked me to work on the "animal area".  I had no idea what this meant, but marched off in the direction indicated.  What I discovered, was the family had a lot of animals around their house, but very few actually survived the fire.  They were able to get some of their chickens into a vehicle, so they were still alive.  We were building a chicken coop, so the birds had somewhere to live:

I quietly watched the contractors that were building the structure, and then seized an opportunity to help.  I was given a pile of "joist hangers" and figured out how to install them across the structure.  Needless to say, I was pretty proud of myself - and I don't think the chickens will complain if everything wasn't perfectly "even" ; )

I was able to help unload a large truck full of cabinets that would be installed throughout the home.  Apparently, the mother is an avid canner and they were building a canning/preserving room for her to work in:

At this point, I learned something else.  Apparently, I can't handle a "vacuum of leadership."  When a dozen volunteers were sort of standing around, I immediately organized them into lines that could handle different sizes of cabinets.  At one point, the contractors inside the house were asking me to have "my volunteers" handle some tasks.  I tried my best ; )

On the front of the house was a large "mosaic" of tiles - I figure that they have some sort of meaning for the family.  There was quite a few men working on the tile through the night:

This was the tile "team" taking a quick brake...

Inside the house was what I call "organized chaos".  You wouldn't believe how many people were working in the same space. You had guys working on trim, working on top of guys finishing drywall, working on top of guys putting tile on the floor.  You couldn't even stand there to watch, or you'd get knocked over by someone trying to get work done.  I don't know how those contractors did it!!

I tried to snap this picture in a split-second, before getting hit by lumber coming inside...

 This picture was taken on a "break"...but there were still people working on the stairs...

This was the floor to the canning room...they were still working on it, while the cabinet guys were starting their installation...CRAZY

Away from the main job-site, was an even larger "city" of tents and RVs.  They had several tents where people could take a break - and get some food.  Pepsi/Frito-Lay had donated a ton of drinks and snacks.  This was right outside the food tent:

Next to the main tent, was this awesome vehicle:

The folks from Carl's Jr. had a giant truck, where they served all kinds of burgers and meals throughout the day.  I just wasn't hungry for a burger at 1am in the morning ; )  The number of local restaurants and companies bringing pizzas, nuts and coffee was amazing.  Those poor contractors that had been working for 16 hours straight sure needed it.

During one of the "down times", I decide to explore the production area a little more.  Yes, I ignored all the signs that said "PRODUCTION CREW ONLY", because they obviously didn't apply to me.  I found some interesting things.  First, there were about 20 full RV/trailers where the cast and crew of the TV show were sleeping:

Then, I found something that really surprised me.  The first was the "workshop" area when the actors look like they are actually building things for the home:

It was obviously decorated for Christmas.  However, I don't think there's ANY way that they can edit this footage for a Christmas episode in two weeks.  That means that this will probably air NEXT Christmas???

Next, I stumbled on to this tent, where they obviously were filming some Christmas-themed scenes:

Cute, right??  But the kicker was an adjacent tent that I snuck into:

Yeah...that's the keeper.

I have no idea when the show will air.  I don't care if I ever made it on camera - that wasn't why I was there.  I just wanted to help...to make a big difference in a family's life...and this was a larger-than-life way to do that.  I realize that there are smaller ways to impact lives - fulfilling my callings at Church, Home Teaching, raising good kids, etc.  But this was special.  A dream of mine that I was able to accomplish.  The joy that I felt was so great.  Writing this blog post has allowed me to experience that all over again.  Being on my hands-and-knees, picking up individual nails in the dirt, so the landscapers and pavers could start at 5am, was a task that I didn't mind at all...I'd do it again in a heart-beat ; )