|
|
 |
Thursday
March 18, 2010 Since 1922 |
Students nearing end of work on couple's home
By Alexa Garcia-Ditta
The Baytown Sun Published June 8, 2007 Before this week, The Woodlands High School junior T.J. didn’t have much handyman experience.
“I’ve used power tools before, but I’ve never built anything,” he said.
T.J. and 12 other Houston area high school students honed their construction skills this week to renovate Ruby Morgan’s Highlands home. They participated in U.M. ARMY — United Methodist Action Reach-out Mission by Youth — a nationwide summer mission camp. The group finished painting the exterior of the house Thursday and plans to complete the new wheelchair ramp by noon today.
T.J. attended the camp for the first time this summer. Despite the sunburn and exhaustion, he said he enjoyed it so much that he doesn’t want to go home.
“I’m kind of a lazy person, and this motivates me to want to do more,” he said. “I want to stay longer.”
The students bared the Texas heat and bent over backward to perfect a new wheelchair ramp for Morgan’s husband, who spent the week in the hospital due to pneumonia. They redesigned its path and made the structure stronger.
“It’s a life saver,” Morgan said. “Sometimes I’m afraid we were going to fall down, but now, they way they’re building it, it will be easier for me to get him to the car.”
Sarah, an Austin High School student, wasn’t ready for the amount of her ahead her before the week started.
“I didn’t think we’d be doing as much as we’ve done with this house,” she said. “It feels good to be done. It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s very rewarding.”
While she hasn’t walked around her property to see all the changes, Morgan is impressed with the group of students that spent the week with her.
“You don’t hear a word out of them,” she said. “They’ve all been working so well together.”
James, a recent Woodlands High School graduate, helped tear down Morgan’s original ramp and build the new one.
“I’ll be happy at the end when she’s happy with the ramp and doesn’t have to chase her husband down it anymore,” he said.
James has spent four summers with the U.M. ARMY, and appreciates any kind of shade he can get during the day.
“It was nice to work in the shade under the breezeway,” he said. “We’re pretty worn out by the end of the day, but it’s worth it.”
Morgan calls herself blessed to have had the group spend the week on her house.
“I don’t know how God sent us such a wonderful group,” she said. “I never thought something like this would happen to us.”
The Baytown Sun Published June 8, 2007 Before this week, The Woodlands High School junior T.J. didn’t have much handyman experience.
“I’ve used power tools before, but I’ve never built anything,” he said.
T.J. and 12 other Houston area high school students honed their construction skills this week to renovate Ruby Morgan’s Highlands home. They participated in U.M. ARMY — United Methodist Action Reach-out Mission by Youth — a nationwide summer mission camp. The group finished painting the exterior of the house Thursday and plans to complete the new wheelchair ramp by noon today.
T.J. attended the camp for the first time this summer. Despite the sunburn and exhaustion, he said he enjoyed it so much that he doesn’t want to go home.
“I’m kind of a lazy person, and this motivates me to want to do more,” he said. “I want to stay longer.”
The students bared the Texas heat and bent over backward to perfect a new wheelchair ramp for Morgan’s husband, who spent the week in the hospital due to pneumonia. They redesigned its path and made the structure stronger.
“It’s a life saver,” Morgan said. “Sometimes I’m afraid we were going to fall down, but now, they way they’re building it, it will be easier for me to get him to the car.”
Sarah, an Austin High School student, wasn’t ready for the amount of her ahead her before the week started.
“I didn’t think we’d be doing as much as we’ve done with this house,” she said. “It feels good to be done. It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s very rewarding.”
While she hasn’t walked around her property to see all the changes, Morgan is impressed with the group of students that spent the week with her.
“You don’t hear a word out of them,” she said. “They’ve all been working so well together.”
James, a recent Woodlands High School graduate, helped tear down Morgan’s original ramp and build the new one.
“I’ll be happy at the end when she’s happy with the ramp and doesn’t have to chase her husband down it anymore,” he said.
James has spent four summers with the U.M. ARMY, and appreciates any kind of shade he can get during the day.
“It was nice to work in the shade under the breezeway,” he said. “We’re pretty worn out by the end of the day, but it’s worth it.”
Morgan calls herself blessed to have had the group spend the week on her house.
“I don’t know how God sent us such a wonderful group,” she said. “I never thought something like this would happen to us.”