The "After" Picture

Six work days later and the house is really looking like a home.  We exceeded the expectations of the staff and family and are really pleased with the end result. 

Jazz Night at Coffee's of Hawaii

The team is enjoying jazz and dinner after an amazingly productive week of building.

Friday

David, Chris, Uncle Timmy, & Shane putting up the last piece of siding.

Friday

David drawing a picture before putting up the last piece of siding on
his house.

Friday

Anna, Matt, & Megan nailing the siding.

Friday

Neil, Bill, Gary, & Linda working on the lanai.

Friday

Julie Anne, Tina, Jana, & Don painting trim.

Friday

Mack and Linda working the power saw.

On the job site

Sara and Sarah sawing rafters for the roof

End of Day 4

It's starting to look like a house!

Entertainment at dinner last night

Lono, a local musician, sang and played songs about Molokai for us
during dinner. Jaime and Manu danced the hula.

Dinner

Earlier today, we toured Kumu Farms, a local organic farm that
specializes in growing strawberry papayas. A lovely woman named Manu,
who works at Kumu Farms, hosted us there for dinner tonight. She made
us a delicious meal, which we enjoyed while listening to a local
musician perform songs about Molokai.

Sunset

Sunset as seen from the parking lot of our hotel.

Koa wood canoe

Here is a koa wood canoe that belongs to the canoe clubs on Molokai.
It is the official material used to make canoes that compete in state
competitions, which the Molokai Canoe Club members qualified for and
will compete in next month.

Outrigger canoes

Members of the Molokai Canoe Club gave us a lesson in paddling and
then took us all out to paddle for ourselves in outrigger canoes.

End of Day 2

Day 2

Frame of second wall is up!

End of Day 1

After one day of work.

First wall

Built and raised the first wall in just over 3 hours.  Woo!

The "Before" picture

Arrived at the job site this morning and here is our before shot o the build site.

Halawa Falls

We did a 5 mile team hike and cultural immersion to and from Halawa Falls. Some of us went swimming in this pool by the waterfall.

Paella Dinner

Our hosts prepared an amazing paella dinner tonight.  It was incredible!  Thank you Emilla and Chef Matt!

Heavy Cargo

Julie Anne and Lani are at the dock on Maui ready to sail for Molokai with team supplies and food.

Team Leader Expectations

As Team Leaders, we have some expectations for our team members. We talked about these on our conference calls. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns about any of the following:

On the work site:
• Safety first
• Be sure to hydrate continuously and reapply sunscreen throughout the day
• Proper attire (close-toed shoes, safety glasses, work gloves)
• If you’re not sure what you’re supposed to be doing or are not comfortable with the task you’ve
been assigned to do, find one of us or the Habitat construction foreman so we can rectify the situation.

All the time:
• Please make an extra effort to be respectful of the Hawaiian culture at all times. We are guests representing Habitat for Humanity even when we're not on the build site.
• If you go anywhere alone, be sure to let someone know where you’re going.
• Cell phones may be used during free time only.
• Patience and flexibility- despite all our careful planning, things will not always go as planned. We ask that you remain open-minded and be willing to go with the flow.
• We’re a team- we expect all team members to participate in all group activities, including team building, reflection times, and meal times.
• Live in the moment- this promises to be an incredible experience.
• Gift giving- you are giving your time, energy, positive attitude, and your help on the work site. In your trip cost, a $400 donation has been made to HFH Molokai and $100 to HFHI. Habitat for Humanity requests that you refrain from giving individual gifts.
• If you are having a problem of any kind, please let us know right away. It is very important that we work through any issues to ensure a positive experience for everyone involved- the team and team leaders, the families, the affiliate, and the community.