Thank you to New Beginnings Community Church who returned once again with a great team of volunteers on Saturday the 8th to paint the home of Juan and Maria in King Arthur’s Mobile Home Park in Riverside.  The couple purchased the home several years ago but have not been able to spare the extra money or time to paint and the home was in desperate need of painting. They have three children under the age of eight and we all know how much it takes these days to care for our families so painting the house took a back seat to more immediate needs. Unfortunately, when you live inside a mobile home community, eventually you need to make sure your home is in compliance with park standards and for Juan and Maria that time was upon them.

Early Saturday morning, before the volunteers arrived, Juan jumped in and started painting the sunny and hot side of the house.  He had quite a bit done before the volunteers surrounded the house with brushes and rollers in hand. Everyone went to work with the finish line in mind. They were very careful not to step on Maria’s flowers and plants, especially her prized plumeria. Juan worked alongside the volunteers all morning, smiling the entire time.

Several of the high school students were assigned to paint the storage sheds and awnings since they needed to stay firmly on the ground. No ladder work for them. They did a fine job on all of them. Christian learned a valuable lesson about removing roller covers full of paint: pulling it off with your hand can be effective, but very messy.

Bruce, the Team Leader brought lots of extra water and beverages for the group to keep hydrated. Much appreciated Bruce! All morning as the volunteers completed their assignments, they immediately asked about where to go or what to do next. No goofing off from this group!

As usual we had a few hams in the crowd, especially Jordan! He is the one with the cool head phones and Angels hat.

The New Beginnings group did a fantastic job and finished painting the home in just under 4 hrs.  That includes reattaching the awnings, cleanup and re-loading the truck. As things settled down, Juan kept going out to the street to get the full view of what the New Beginnings group had done for his family. In four hours, a team of strangers became friends working together for a common cause, making a huge difference in their everyday lives. They won’t soon forget these new friends. We suspect the volunteers won’t soon forget them either. Thanks again New Beginnings Community Church.