Sunshine Beneath the Clouds

This week our crew had the pleasure of working for Ken and Katie, a loving and forever grateful couple. The Mulan crew consisting of; Ryan, Laura, Zach, Kira, Tomi Lee, Sarah, and Matt were presented with the project of continuing the building of a new addition to their home. Our job seemed quite manageable and we began to a great start. Monday went as planned as we started our week with the beautiful Virginia sunshine. Tuesday started off very similar to Monday and we were excited to see accomplishments coming to life. However, to our disappointment they were short-lived. Typical to the weather in Appalachia the rain clouds rolled in from the mountains and seemingly washed away all of our insulation that we previously put in. On Wednesday we were faced with the challenge of replacing all the damaged insulation, which was frustrating considering we practically had to do all of our work over again.

Despite all the typical and infuriating mishaps of ASP we were blessed to be motivated by our appreciative homeowners. They always reminded us how thankful and blessed they were to have us working on their home, saying that we were “a gift from God”. Although ASP is mostly about the work we do on the homes, our crew's favorite time of the day was by far sitting down and having lunch with Ken and Katie at their giant picnic table. We felt like a true family there, talking about anything and everything as if we all grew up with one another. The conversations were comfortable and natural and a true bond was formed. Katie never failed to tell us that we were welcome at her home, considering the little they have, and it definitely says something about who they truly are. Ken has heart problems and was pronounced dead a total of four times but it doesn't stop him from trying to help us out on the work site and is always positive and smiling. Even with all their struggles they feel that there are always people out there who have it worse. We are so grateful to work for this lovely couple as we continue putting up the rest of their walls on their new room addition. Knowing that our friendship is one that will last forever is priceless. 

Kira & Tomi Lee