Day Six: So Long for Now ...

Yesterday (Saturday) was our team's final day at the build site. We spent a half day working on the house (finishing up a trench for the septic pipe, scraping more paint and working on the new door openings we had created earlier in the week). Since it was a Saturday, Victor and Sara (Sra. Ana Maria and Sr. Jose's daughter) brought their two adorable sons to the site to meet us. The boys were excited to see the house and meet us, and Clint and Dave capped off our time with them by teaching them to play frisbee. The family also treated us to another amazing feast for lunch, including four different desserts! At the end of our time together, we posed for one last group picture.

It is with a mix of emotions that I write this last blog while sitting in the Frankfurt airport and reflect back on the week. We had a great group of Thrivent employees who all worked hard this past week, and we could not have asked for a more wonderful and deserving family for which to help build a new house. And we cannot to forget FlorBela and Sr. Rogerio - your hard work, dedication, kindness and patience made our trip a fantastic experience. You should both be proud of the wonderful work you are doing in Amarante!

So long for now, Portugal!

 

Day Five: What the Future Holds ...

Today, we completed our last full day at the build site. We continued to scrape paint from the front side of the house, took the concrete forms off the septic tank (thanks to the septic sisters) and did some more demolition on the interior of the house. We also capped off the evening with our last team dinner with our Habitat hostess.

 

 

Dave stands proudly in front of the exterior wall he cleaned and prepped for rebuilding. While a half dozen of us continued to scrape the front, Dave showed this wall who was boss. Meanwhile, Cindy helped us keep the interior clean and free of tripping hazards, and Florbela (our Portuguese host) expertly chiseled out a door frame.

 

Above, Sra. Ana Maria, Sara (her daughter) and Victor (her son-in-law) pose for a picture in front of the house. Victor has been a great help on the site (always positive and with an infectious spirit), while Sra. Ana Maria and Sara have kept us fueled with amazing multi-course noon meals. Their cooking is seriously going to make it hard to come home and return to the Thrivent cafeterias. Additionally, we took one last group picture in front of the house. They still have a long way to go, but the house looks very different from when we arrived at the beginning of the week.

 

 

  

After we finished our work day, we stopped at a completed Habitat house in the area. The house shown above was completed last year and gave us an idea of what the end product can look like. In Portugal, all of the Habitat homes are rebuild projects. The family must own the house/land, and it is required to keep the facade/outside of older houses. This example house was approximately 200 years old, and the architect incorporated the original stone structure while building out a modern interior.

 

 

In honor of our last night in Amarante, Florbela arranged a very special dinner for us. A few of us started the evening by donning animal print scarves in honor of our team leader, Jan, and then we headed to a wonderful dinner at Lago do Parco. Although Sra. Ana Maria had spoiled us with her great home cooking all week, we really got spoiled with this evening's team dinner at the Michelin star restaurant (the owner of the restaurant/hotel is a main supporter of the Habitat affiliate). The food was fantastic and the company made it better. A big thank you to Florbela!

 

Today's long-distance dedication goes out to: the Insurance Interaction Center.  Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Day Four: A Touch of History

Today was a rest day and the cultural excursion for our team. We toured the town of Guimarães (the birthplace of Afonso Henriques, the first independent king of Portugal). Its old centre was declared an UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001. We also had an afternoon walking tour of Amarante (the city we have been staying in during our week in Portugal).

We began our tour in the town of Guimarães, visiting the Castelo, which is thought to be the birthplace of Afonso Henriques. The castle was built as a defensive castle, by Mumadona Dias, the Countess of Portugal, in the 10th century. She was a widow who ruled much of the northwest Iberian peninsula after her husband's death circa 950. She first constructed a monestary and then constructed the castle. (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumadona_Dias)

After the castle, we toured the Paço dos Duques de Bragança (the palace of the dukes). This palace was constructed in the early 15th century by Afonso, the illegitimate son of Joao I (Duke of Bragança). The palace contained a very beautiful chapel, shown above.

For lunch (because we couldn't bring Ana Maria and her cooking with us), we were "forced" to visit a restaurant on the square. The setting was beautiful, and we capped off our lunch with a much-needed stop at a gelato shop. (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guimaraes#/search)

In the afternoon, we took a walking tour of Amarante (the city we have been staying in during our Habitat build). We visited the Church of Saint Gonzalo. Sao Gonçalo de Amarante is said to have ordered construction of a bridge over the River Tamega in the 13th century, but that bridge collapsed in the flood of 1763. The bridge that stands today was completed in the late 18th century. Sao Gonçalo de Amarante is also know as the saint of true love. Lonely women make a pilgrimage to his statue (seen above in the Monestary of Saint Gonzalo) and pull gently on the rope. If the statue leans forward, the woman will find true love in the next year (and must come back to thank the saint by placing a red carnation on his tomb).

Above is a picture looking out over the River Tamega, the bridge and the city of Amarante. It will be hard to leave this beautiful area on Saturday.

Today's long-distance dedication goes out to: Shared Services (EPM and IT).  Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the sky.

Day Three: And the Walls Come Tumbling Down ...

Today, we worked on tearing down the remainder of the interior walls we are removing, installed a roof on the septic tank and continued doing everyone's favorite job, scraping paint! The weather couldn't have been better (warm and sunny, no rain and a light breeze/clouds in the afternoon so we didn't get too hot). The views from the house are gorgeous, and we can see why the family wants to rebuild the house and continue living here!

Above, is a picture of the house we are working on. Mr. Jose and Mrs. Ana Maria (the homeowners are on the left) and Mr. Rogerio (contractor is on the right) discuss the day's progress in front of the house.

Denise practices her technique in hopes of being cast in the next Mario Brothers movie. We all took a swing at the last wall, and it felt pretty good after hours of scraping paint.

Jan, our fearless leader, hones his wheel borrow driving skills, as we haul away the debris from the walls we destroyed.

 

We are happy to be almost finished with the septic tank. Today, we set the roof bricks and poured cement on top to seal the roof of the tank. This project has taken longer than expected, but thankfully, the prior group did all of the hard work (busting up a lot of rock with a jackhammer and digging the pit itself).

Undercover Ellen tries to hide, but we always find her!

This week has been a week of bucket brigades ... cement, debris, more cement. Susan and Amanda execute the perfect pass of a bucket of concrete.

And lastly, today's long-distance dedication goes out to: Products (and the Corporate Actuary department).  Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Day Two: Rock (and Roll)

Today, we worked on the septic system (digging a trench for the pipe from the house to the tank and sealing the interior of the concrete block septic tank), removal of some interior structures and removal of exterior paint. The day started out rainy (again) but turned into blue skies in the late afternoon (before saying good bye with a quick shower as we packed up our tools for the day).

Ellen and I dug out the trench for the pipe, which will run from the house (kitchen and bathroom) to the septic tank, after Jan, the rockstar, smashed his way through the rocks in the hillside. Susan expertly back-filled the tank as we went along.

It may not be the Walk of Fame, but my handprints will forever be on the septic tank wall in Vieiros.

The Tuff Chix gloves save the day again, as they protect Amanda's hands from the dangers of stripping paint off the stucco on the front of the house. Using chisels, fingernails and our hands, we are slowly removing the latex paint used on the front of the house. This activity is making us all much more appreciative of modern wonders such as Zip Strip, mineral spirits and sandblasting.

Clint continued to show us how much he likes sledgehammers and demolition today, helping to remove one interior wall and a kitchen hood/chimney. Don't worry, there will be more to do tomorrow, Clint!

This is a picture of the matriarch of the house talking with the Habitat engineer in the former kitchen. Because this is a rehab, we are doing a lot of demolition and such before they can start to build out the interior of the new home.

Today's long distance dedications goes out to MaPS (RAC and Talent Management). And remember Feedback Frank - keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Day One: Rain, Rain Go Away ...

This morning started with a little bit of rain, but we didn't let that stop us. This was our first day at the work site, and we were ready to work. The house we are working on is over 50 years old and located in the small mining village of Vieiros. We are starting the rehab of the house while we are here. It is currently four rooms, with basic electricity, an outdoor water spigot and no indoor plumbing. When Habitat for Humanity finishes this project, the house will have a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom with running water and a septic system. Mrs. Ana Maria and Mr. José will be able to host their grandchildren in the house Mrs. Ana Maria grew up in.

Above, Dave and Ellen help Sr. Rogerio frame up the top of the septic system. After framing, we mixed cement and poured/leveled the top of the septic with cement. Tomorrow, we will dig the ditch/pipe leading to the septic.

Inside, we removed the flooring, windows and doors. Watch out, Amanda can chisel like nobody's business in her Tuff Chix gloves.

We also removed the ceiling in two rooms, and we should start removing the roof tomorrow. The current roof is composed of clay tiles (and leaks), and the ceiling was made of the wood from used mining crates.

Above is a picture of the team outside the house at the end of the first day.

And today's long-distance dedication goes out to: MEG. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

Portugal Bound!

From 21-27 September 2014, a small team of Thrivent Financial employees will be traveling to the town of Amarante in northern Portugal.  They will be participating in a 2014 Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity corporate volunteer trip.  If you would like to learn more about this trip and follow the adventures of Susan, Jan, Ellen, Cindy, David, Denise, Kelly, Amanda, Clint and myself (Jessica), read more below and check back here!

About Habitat for Humanity in Portugal:

The Habitat affiliate in Portugal was started in 1996 by a group of volunteers who were concerned about the housing needs of the poor in Baraga (northern Portugal).  The affiliate built its first Habitat house in 1999 and expanded its activities in 2002 to include renovation of existing homes of low-income families.  More than 40 families have been helped through Habitat for Humanity Portugal's efforts to build new homes of brick, red roof tiles and interior ceramic tiles on family-owned land and through the renovation of existing houses in Braga and Amarante (source: http://www.habitat.org/where-we-build/portugal).  On this corporate volunteer trip, the team will be helping with renovations in Amarante.

For more information on Habitat for Humanity in Portugal, click here.


About Amarante and Portugal:

Portugal is a country of 10.7 million people and is located to the south and west of Spain, in continental Europe.  Its capital city is Lisbon, and its official language is Portuguese.  The group will be spending most of its time in the town of Amarante, located in the Porto District of northern Portugal.  The area has a long history dating back to the 12th century, with the initial/original construction of a stone bridge across the Tâmega River (the river goes through Amarante).  This region has a Romanesque style of architecture featuring many churches, monasteries and religious buildings.

For more information about Amarante, click here.