After two years off from hands-on building and repair projects, First Church adults were happy to spend Saturday, March 19, serving with Habitat for Humanity in Lake County. The last adult work trip was in February 2020 on the South Side of Chicago and also with Habitat for Humanity.
On March 19 a group of 10 church volunteers, a mix of veteran church members and newer persons, left Evanston at 7:00am for the Habitat warehouse in Waukegan. There they worked until 4:00pm building exterior wall panels for a new, affordable house in the Waukegan area. The Habitat of Lake County organization has a number of ongoing home construction projects, with the final projects designated for families in need.
Prior to the COVID pandemic, First Church’s Mission & Outreach Committee typically offered two adult mission trips each year. Usually a group would serve with the Appalachia Service Project (ASP) for three or four days in the fall and in the spring another group would travel to an area affected by natural disasters such as New Orleans, Oceanside, New York, and the Texas coast near Houston.
Joe and Pat Haughney led the First Church group this month. Joe hopes First Church will continue serving with the Habitat for Humanity organization.
Haughney also commented that “it was especially great to get back in action” after the two years away from this kind of service. “I’m glad our group had the chance to do God’s work.”