Newsletter #4

GV Team Newsletter

Molokai, Hawaii

July 17 – 27, 2010

Newsletter #4

Aloha! Our trip is less than a month away and we sincerely hope that all of you are getting as excited as we are. Here are a few last minute details and reminders.

Travel
We have received travel itineraries from most of the team. Thank you! We have not received or have incomplete information from the following people: Alexia, Anna and Sarah S. Please forward your a complete travel itinerary to us as soon as possible.

As a reminder, please try to arrive on Molokai as close as you can to 4:00 p.m. on July 17, 2010. We will gather as a team for a Welcome Dinner that evening. Our final activity as a team will be the Mahalo Party the evening of Monday, July 26, 2010. Since there are no flights leaving after the party, please book your departure flight for the morning of Tuesday, July 27, 2010. Your transportation to the airport will be covered.

Arrival Information

We will arriving on Molokai on Friday, July 16th to prepare for the team. We will be meeting each of you when you arrive on Molokai at either the ferry terminal or airport. We will both be wearing blue Habitat for Humanity polo shirts (see photo) to make it easier for you to find us. We will be keeping an eye out for each of you but if you spot us first please come over and introduce yourself.

Missed Flights
If you need to contact us en route we will both be available by cell phone. Our numbers are listed in our email signature. If you miss your flight or it was delayed, please contact one of us immediately. If you get voicemail please leave a message including a number where you can be reached.

If you would like to leave an emergency contact number with your friends and family members back home, please feel free to give them our cell phone numbers.  We will have them on us at all times.

Conference Calls
Thanks for your prompt RSVP’s to the Conference Calls on July 6th and 7th. Further details including dialing information will be provided via email in the next week or so. Please complete the Expectations section (pages 21-24) in your Orientation Handbook as well as your Habitat Learns courses prior to your scheduled call. Please refer to Newsletter #3 for step-by-step instructions on completing your Habitat Learns courses.

What to Bring
As we have mentioned before please remember to bring your own safety goggles, work gloves, sunscreen, and water bottle for the work site. A complete packing list is available in Newsletter #2.

Laundry
We posted information about the laundry facilities at Hotel Molokai on the blog, make sure that you check it out and plan accordingly.

Breakfast and Lunch
We recently sent a survey to all team members to collect information about your preferences for breakfast and lunch. Please complete the survey by Sunday, July 4th.

Team News
Remember to check our blog for updates about the trip, and to learn about your fellow team members. You can find the blog at http://molokaigv.blogspot.com/. Also, if you have anything you’d like to share with the team, please email it to us and we will post it on the blog. Feel free to share the blog address with family and friends so they can get to know our team and keep up with our adventures on Molokai.

**If you would like to be a guest author on the blog while we’re on the trip, please send us an e-mail to let us know and we will get you set up.

Devotions
As we mentioned in our phone calls with you, we will be having daily reflection time in our team meetings to help set the tone for the day. We invite all of you to participate by sharing something with the group. If you would like to lead a reflection one day, please plan to bring any resources (readings, poems, devotions, etc.) you will need. We look forward to having some of you lead this time. Please let us know if you are interested in leading one of these reflections so that we can put you on the schedule.

Conclusion
We recommend that you save this newsletter for future reference, but it will also be posted on the blog for quick and easy reference. We will be sending one more newsletter before the trip, in early July.

Laundry Information

We have clarified the information about the laundry facilities at Hotel Molokai and wanted to pass it along to all of you so that you can plan accordingly.  They have coin-operated washers and dryers open 24 hours a day.  A load of wash costs $1.50 and the dryer is $.75 with the option to add additional time by adding additional quarters.

We encourage you to bring laundry supplies with you.  A great way to do that is to bring Purex 3-in-1 sheets.  They are lightweight and a single sheet contains detergent, fabric softener and static remover.

Based on our experience on past GV trips we have found that bringing a few work outfits and combining laundry loads with your roommates helps conserve space in your luggage for bringing other items.

Meet Team Members Gary and Linda

Hi!  We are Gary Wenz and Linda Isola.  We have done volunteer work for 20 plus years in various places on different types of projects. We are fortunate to be able to spend our summers in Minnesota,
and our winters in sunny Arizona.

Newsletter #3

GV Team Newsletter

Molokai, Hawaii

July 17 – 27, 2010

Newsletter #3

Aloha! It’s hard to believe the trip is only a month and a half away! Below you will find some important reminders. We will send a longer newsletter with last-minute details and reminders a few weeks before the trip.

New Team Members
If you have visited our blog recently, you may have noticed that two of our team members’ profiles are no longer there. Chelsea and Austin both had to drop out of the trip unexpectedly. We have already found two wonderful people to fill their spots- Gary Wenz and Linda Isola. We will be posting their bios and photos on the blog soon, so be sure to check the blog to learn about them and your other fellow team members!

Travel
If you haven’t booked your flights yet, please do so as soon as possible and forward us your itinerary. So far, we have itineraries for Jacquie, Mack, Alexia, Tina, Jana, Neil, and Matt. As a reminder, please try to arrive on Molokai as close as you can to 4:00 p.m. on July 17, 2010. We will gather as a team for a Welcome Dinner that evening. Our final activity as a team will be the Mahalo Party the evening of Monday, July 26, 2010. Since there are no flights leaving after the party, please book your departure flight for the morning of Tuesday, July 27, 2010. Your transportation to the airport will be covered.

Important Dates
Trip Balance: Most of you successfully met the June 1st deadline- great job!! Also, several of you fundraised some or all of the money for your trip- congratulations to Jana, Neil, and Matt Jackson, Sarah Sawyers, and Don Nunn!!

Conference Calls: We have tentatively scheduled team conference calls for the evenings of July 6th and 7th. The Molokai Habitat affiliate has agreed to be on both calls to answer any questions team members may have for her. We will ask everyone to join one of the two calls. More details about these calls will be sent out to you later in June.

What to Bring
Please refer to the suggested packing list we included in Newsletter #2. Remember that you will need your own safety goggles, work gloves, sunscreen, and water bottle for the work site. You will not need to bring your own tools, however, if you do choose to bring any of your own tools, please make sure they are clearly marked so they don’t get mixed up with the affiliate’s tools.

Communication
Telephones will be available at the hotel. You will need to bring a long-distance calling card or other method of payment for calls to the mainland. Cell phones should not be used during team meetings, on the work site or during team activities. Feel free to use your cell phone during free time.

Team News
Remember to check our blog for updates about the trip, and to learn about your fellow team members. You can find the blog at http://molokaigv.blogspot.com/. Also, if you have anything you’d like to share with the team, please email it to us and we will post it on the blog. Feel free to share the blog address with family and friends so they can get to know our team and keep up with our adventures on Molokai.

**If you would like to be a guest author on the blog while we’re on the trip, please send us an e-mail to let us know and we will get you set up.

Devotions
As we mentioned in our phone calls with you, we will be having daily reflection time in our team meetings to help set the tone for the day. We invite all of you to participate by sharing something with the group. If you would like to lead a reflection one day, please bring any resources (readings, poems, devotions, etc.) you would need. We look forward to having some of you lead this time. Please let us know if you are interested in leading one of these reflections so that we can put you on the schedule.

Habitat Learns
All team members need to complete three courses on Habitat Learns in order to prepare for our adventure in Hawaii. These courses will give you some basic knowledge about Habitat for Humanity and are easy to complete. Each course will take you about 15-20 minutes to complete. Please take the time to read the extra tidbits within each course, there are some really interesting things built in.

To sign up for the courses, please complete the following steps:

1. Go to http://www.habitat.org/Habitat_Learns/default.aspx.
2. Click the "Online Courses" link near the bottom of the page.
3. On the left side of the screen, click on "courses."
4. On the right "Categories" sidebar, click "(Open) Foundations of Habitat for Humanity," which is towards the top of the list.
5. On the right, under the "Enrollment" column, check the boxes for "HFHI Values," "HL_BEG The Beginnings of Habitat,” and "Vision and Mission of Habitat for Humanity."
6. Click the "Enroll Now" button.
7. Check to make sure you have the three correct courses under the "Course Title" column and click the "Confirm" button.
8. You will then have to click the red "Register Now" link at the bottom of the page.
9. Fill in your contact information. When you are asked for your "Habitat E-mail" enter your primary email address. When asked for organization/affiliate put "Molokai GV 11027" and for job title put "participant.”

 Once you submit your information, you'll have to wait for HFHI to process your information. You will first receive a “registration request” e-mail. After your registration is processed, you will receive a “registration confirmation” e-mail with your user name and password. This process can take several days to complete.

Once you receive your login and password you can complete the courses by following these steps:

1. Go to http://habitatlearns.org/home/
2. Log in on the right side of the screen.
3. Then simply click the course you'd like to take! The circles on the right will show your progress through the course.

Make sure to save your answers on every page as you work your way through the site.Please be sure to save a copy of the certificate upon completion of each course, and e-mail all the certificates to us. Please let us know if you have any questions or problems throughout the process.

Conclusion
We recommend that you save this newsletter for future reference, but it will also be posted on the blog for quick and easy reference. We will be sending one more newsletter before the trip, in early July.