THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 26, 1996 TAG: 9607260448
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY JEFFREY S. HAMPTON, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: 68 lines
Juanita Williams was fretting over the leak in her roof.
Unemployed, she had no way of paying $3,500 for a new covering of shingles. She prayed daily that her home of 27 years on Walker Avenue would not slowly disintegrate from the top down.
Then came the miracle.
More than 400 teens and adult chaperones from churches all over the eastern United States were coming to town to repair houses for the needy.
Williams' home was one of 60 on the list.
``After I found that leak, I prayed that somehow I could get it fixed. This is a real miracle,'' Williams said Thursday in her living room, as the pounding of hammers on the roof echoed through the home.
The loud noise sounded like music to Williams.
She lost her job at the Roses Store in Elizabeth City when it closed two years ago. Recently, she got another job at the Roses in Edenton.
``I talk with the good Lord all the time,'' she said. ``I just depend on him.''
This is the 19th year Group Publishing Inc. has sent Christian work groups to cities around the country to help the poor. Elizabeth City was one of 24 projects this year. Group Publishing Inc. is based in Colorado.
Thursday afternoon, the sun baked the backs of 10 teens and four adults as they removed nails and tossed old shingles off Williams' roof. The workers already had finished one side of the A-frame roof. They hoped to wrap up the other side before the weekend.
``We always try to finish the job,'' said Ted Day, the adult crew leader from First Presbyterian Church of Chili in Rochester, N.Y. He removed his hat and wiped sweat from his brow. ``These guys are good workers. They jump right in.''
Extra help came when a second crew joined Day's group Thursday morning after finishing work on another home.
Jenny Buchanan, 17, scraped up old tar paper with a sharpened flat-edged shovel. This was the fourth straight year she has traveled to work a week with no pay during her summer vacation. In fact, she and her peers each paid $375 for the privilege of doing the Lord's labor.
The money also helps buy building supplies.
``I look forward to it every year,'' Buchanan said.
Nearby, her dad, John Buchanan, had just finished pounding some roofing nails. He was grateful for the cool evening accommodations after a hot day on the roof. ``Any time you have air conditioning,'' John Buchanan said, ``you count it a blessing.''
All of the work camp parties are staying at Northeastern High School. Like the other laborers, Buchanan sleeps on an air mattress with a sleeping bag in one of the classrooms.Robyn Reynolds, 18, was part of the crew that had just started helping with Thursday's roofing job. Within a couple of hours, she had a nasty blister on her hand. She said she is not the type to do a lot of physical labor at when she's at home in Berea, Ky.
``My mom and dad will never believe I got a blister,'' she said.
Most teenagers' summer vacations don't leave such a lasting impression - or provide such a lasting benefit as Williams' new roof will. ILLUSTRATION: DREW C. WILSON
[Color Photos]
The Virginian-Pilot
Work camp participant Lauren Ross, above, applies whitewash to a
house on Southern Avenue in Elizabeth City Wednesday while co-worker
Donna Ponder-Carpenter, 17, of Rockford, Ill., threatens to
whitewash Nick Salewsky, 18, of Howell, Mich. Salewsky was caulking
the house windows. Below, Sean Oumedian, 14, of Howell, Mich., nails
roofing shingles to a house on Roanoke Avenue. by CNB