Week Three of the NOMADS Asheville Disaster Rebuild had us welcoming Les to the team after we said goodbye to Anne, Dale, Cliff and Ann, leaving us with 5 hard working NOMADS for this week. Angela and Jake continued to be big assets to our team but we will miss Anne and Ann and Cliff and Dale.
We returned to Kim and Nick’s home Monday and worked the entire week there. They have been a joy to work with. They are both hard working. It’s always so nice to have the homeowners working alongside. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Jake and Angela completed the installation of all the flooring and most of the baseboard while the rest of the team worked on drywall and other tasks.
Jake and Angela were our Fantastic Flooring Team this week.
Les getting the last corner ready for drywall
Anne spent most of the week finishing drywall, yet still had time to help everyone else with their tasks and visit with the homeowners.
On Thursday, we began the installation of the new windows, completing two of them. Since there was very little window casing on site, Jake and Les used what was available to make one example trim setup for the other windows. Les spent some time preparing to lead the team for the next few weeks. We made sure he met Jordan, UMC construction coordinator, and Danielle, the construction coordinator for Rebuild Haywood, the county where we are working, and our contacts at the church. We and Angela and Jake completed our services in Asheville and departed Friday. We pray that Wes and the incoming team members have a wonderful time of service and most importantly that they stay safe.
Removing kitchen window
Kitchen window removed (The homeowner took this picture and sent it to us.)
The opening for the living room window had to be enlarged to fit the new window.
Jake and Les installing new kitchen window
New living room window from the outside
Inside of the new living room window. We didn’t have the window casing trim, so Jake and Les installed sample trim for next week’s crew.
When we last posted, we had just arrived at the Covenant Community Church RV Village in Asheville, NC. Due to tremendous shortage of affordable housing after Hurricane Helene struck, the church has installed 36 RV sites on their property. Six of the sites were designated for volunteer relief workers such as NOMADS. The remainder of the sites are for displaced residents. Most of the people in the village lost everything, home, cars, and often their land. It all washed away. We were very impressed by the loving assistance the church has showered on the community. The RVs, mostly travel trailers have been donated to the church or furnished by the UMC conference. Some of the sites saved for volunteers had electrical problems when we first arrived so we spent the next two days running our generator when needed. The site manager was a great help and we determined the problem but then had to wait for the electrician to come change out the GFCI breakers in those sites. After that was done, all has been great.
The RV Village at Covenant Community Church
Sunday service the Covenant Community Church. There were no seats that Sunday because the local high school had their homecoming dance the night before. Also, it was a special “the church has left the building” Sunday where the pastor holds a brief worship service and then sends the congregation out to do service projects in the community;
Most of you have probably seen news stories of all the damage that has occurred in North Carolina as a result of Hurricane Helene in September of 2024. It was and is worse than we saw on TV. There was over 14 inches of rain which caused catastrophic flooding and loss of life. It will take many more years for this part of NC to recover. Hopefully NOMADS will be able to help with the healing process for some of the people.
Saturday, we welcomed Anne and Dale to the RV Village at the Covenant Community Church. Angela and Jake arrived Sunday afternoon. The six of us began work on Sandy’s home in the Waynesville area on Monday morning. Sandy had a lot of roof damage which was repaired prior to our arrival. We are now working to repair the interior of her home – drywall work, and flooring. We returned to work on her house on Thursday. It will take several more days to complete all of the work. We have enjoyed getting to know Sandy. She has chickens in her backyard and has given the team two dozen eggs this week.
The living room before
The living room at the end of the week
The office at the end of the week
Jake, Anne and Angela installing flooring in the living room.
There were several transition strips required
It’s nice to have taller NOMADS that can finish the ceiling drywall without a ladder.
Some of the drywall had been partially mudded, but it all needed a second coat.
Annette, and most of the rest of the team, did a lot of drywall sanding.
Tuesday and part of Wednesday we were tasked with installing the insulation in a home in the Swannanoa area. A number of homes in this area have interesting patches in the roofs. We were told that the families in these homes climbed into their attic, cut their way out, and climbed onto their roof to await a water rescue. There are visible water lines above the tops of windows on numerous homes. There is so very much work to be done. We are just beginning.
Week 1 team in Swannanoa
Our first job at Swannanoa was to move some bundles of siding for one of the affected residents.
The duplex before we started
The duple after we finished
Dale cutting insulation
Annette dressed for work
We are very grateful that Jake handled the insulation of the firewall in the attic.
In one area of the ceiling Angela and Jake had to add some extra framing for the insulation and drywall.
The patch on this roof was to repair the hole made to rescue the people trapped in the attic.
Our team is great! We are accomplishing a lot of work. Covenant Community Church could not have been more welcoming and helpful. Our teams will enjoy their time here at the RV Village. In our off time some are enjoying the sites around Asheville, fly fishing, and the beautiful fall leaves on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Please remember our teams and all the families struggling to recover from the storm in your prayers.
RVing With a Purpose 