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Published: July 24th 2012July 23rd 2012
Our team was up bright and early to enjoy a delicious breakfast with eggs or sausage, followed by a team meeting and devotions. Everyone was excited to see the work site in Swietochlowice. It's about a 30-40 minute ride from Gliwice, but there is a lot to see along the way. Lydia passed around our team journal at breakfast -- here are today's team thoughts: "My expections for our building project are..."
I wish I had my chainsaw and nail gun from New Zealand. But, on second thought, I know whatever we do will be fun and the greatest to do is to succeed.
Sounds like work I might be able to handle. I expect that we will accomplish much and be a true help to advancing this project.
My expectation is that I will find a task that I can do/learn. I also expect to have a lot of fun working with these people.
My expectations are to learn new skills. I'm very willing to take on any job asked of me and look forward to trying something new. As far as the work we will actually be doing, I don't really know what to expect!
Our Building Project!
Former school built in 1905. Great building!
I expect and am excited to, be tired every day; work side-by-side with different team members every day; learn new skills and the "Polish way" of doing things; make a difference.
I expect to work -- I hope to be busy and productive all day! I hope to look back at the end of the day with satisfaction that we have made a difference!
I expect God to do big things through His people and am excited to see how all the renovations will impact the community. This will be so awesome -- we get an opportunity to partner with many others for a great cause.
I expect to learn and enjoy the process of physical work / working as a team in an effort to help others.
Hope to learn procedures and "find a groove" that will feel useful.
Would like to see a difference at the end of each day -- to see progress and be safe.
I want to help in any way possible, and I expect to have fun, learn new Polish words, and make new friends -- even with people who do not share the same language.
At the end of the day, here are responses to the question, "How did our first build day meet, exceed or completely diverge from your expectations?"
I had no idea what to expect - so it really kind of took on a life of its own! Lunch far exceeded my expectations! The old building is lovely - large windows, high ceilings, wide staircases.
I did almost every job available outside of painting the heat registers. I was expecting to be assigned one specific task alongside many (or a few) others. Instead, I became more like the supply line/gopher, which I really enjoyed. It is a vital role to play.
The day met my expectations. I expected to have a slow start and to be frustrated by an 'early' end. That is part of my make up -- part of my learning to be less task focused. Getting to know the team was great!
I enjoyed working with the team and getting to know people as I worked. We work well together!
I expected things to be a little slow getting started, and they were. Once the painting crew got going, we accomplished a lot and will be able to get right into things tomorrow.
There was less instruction than I expected -- we really had to take initiative about small details, and I was thankful we had some more experienced team members there to help us as we started our building experience.
At first, a feeling of being useless -- walking back and forth like the 7 dwarfs in the mine. Then found a niche and something great to do -- but then the end of the day came.
I thought we would be assigned to a certain job for the whole day, but I got to pick and choose what to do. I started with carrying, then mixed cement, then laid bricks. It was fun!
It went pretty much as I expected it to be -- I figured we would be assigned to something like painting with less liability issues. I enjoyed painting. It went a little slower than I thought, but I am staying positive and flexible. :)
The first day did all three! But the thing that I didn't expect the most was the faith and support that was evident in the group. We supported each other,
Annika
Scraping Radiators
Exceeded by getting a lot of masonry done and getting a "Dobzre" (good) from Zygmunt that it is done correct.
At first, it was frustrating -- some instructions that weren't clear, some work followed by re-work -- but by the afternoon, I had a great feeling that we would be able to add tremendous value to the building by the week's end.
At first, it was hard to get going, but once we did, I learned quite a lot of work I have never done before. It was awkward at first, and I was unsure of everything that I was doing and felt slow, but once I saw the completed wall, I felt confident that we were going to be able to get much work done this week.
After Sunday [at Auschwitz] -- If the walls could only cry out!
Vas Gut - Confusion Resolved.
Totally met my expectations -- uncertainty transformed into learning, and knowledge became productivity. We are an amazing team already, definitely all vital parts of one body! We are like one big family. When we're
Mo
Found a radiator to scrape, too!
There are more photos below
Photos: 28
Displayed: 27
Displayed: 27
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From July 19-28, 2013, a team of 16 energetic and enthusiastic volunteers from all over the United States will travel to Budapest, Hungary. As part of a Thrivent Builds Worldwide / Habitat for Humanity trip, we will help install window, wall and attic insulation to an existing family's home in Nagymaros to allow for proper heating in the cold winter months.
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Trips
TBW Team in 2008
August 21st 2008 -» August 31st 2008
2009 TBW Team, Poland
August 13th 2009 -» August 23rd 2009
2010 TBW Team, Poland
August 12th 2010 -» August 22nd 2010
2011 TBW Team, Poland
July 21st 2011 -» July 31st 2011
2012 TBW Team, Poland
July 19th 2012 -» July 29th 2012
2013 TBW Team, Hungary
July 19th 2013 -» July 28th 2013
August 21st 2008 -» August 31st 2008
2009 TBW Team, Poland
August 13th 2009 -» August 23rd 2009
2010 TBW Team, Poland
August 12th 2010 -» August 22nd 2010
2011 TBW Team, Poland
July 21st 2011 -» July 31st 2011
2012 TBW Team, Poland
July 19th 2012 -» July 29th 2012
2013 TBW Team, Hungary
July 19th 2013 -» July 28th 2013
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Karin
Has a radiator to scrape.
Eunice
Found a radiator to scrape.
And Julene, Too!
There are a LOT of radiators in a 4-story building!
Zygmunt
Teaches other team members how to apply block, brick and mortar.
Gunnar and Colin
Mixing mortar for the team.
Surgery?
Nope! Jodie, Lydia, Chuck and Terry are precisely measuring and cutting block.
Finally Found Marvin...
...who joined the scraping team! Great conversations and lots of laughter in this room!
Comments
Date: 25th July 2012
Hello
Looks like you have a great crew. I hope someday to be able to come back to Poland again. Ellen and I had some great time there. Please pass on my good wishes to Adam, Michal and Asia.
From Blog: First Day in Świętochłowice
Hello
Looks like you have a great crew. I hope someday to be able to come back to Poland again. Ellen and I had some great time there. Please pass on my good wishes to Adam, Michal and Asia.
From Blog: First Day in Świętochłowice
Date: 25th July 2012
Hi!
Say hi to Marilyn and Terry - You're looking good.
From Blog: First Day in Świętochłowice
Hi!
Say hi to Marilyn and Terry - You're looking good.
From Blog: First Day in Świętochłowice
Date: 25th July 2012
Following along
Enjoying your blog and following along. Hope to go on another Thrivent Build someday. Best wishes to the team!
From Blog: First Day in Świętochłowice
Following along
Enjoying your blog and following along. Hope to go on another Thrivent Build someday. Best wishes to the team!
From Blog: First Day in Świętochłowice
Date: 26th July 2012
Wow...looks productive...hope you've had a great week. Enjoying the updates!
From Blog: First Day in Świętochłowice
Wow...looks productive...hope you've had a great week. Enjoying the updates!
From Blog: First Day in Świętochłowice
Date: 30th July 2012
Keep up the great work!
What a great team! Keep up the good work! Julene and Hanns - look'n good!
From Blog: First Day in Świętochłowice
Keep up the great work!
What a great team! Keep up the good work! Julene and Hanns - look'n good!
From Blog: First Day in Świętochłowice
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Mark Theisen
non-member comment
Enjoy the Build
Hope evryone enjoys the build and have a safe and productive week. Enjoy the experience.
From Blog: First Day in Świętochłowice