Days 1-3: PaintingI promised some good news, and here you go! The first three of our series of work days was dedicated to painting. It was crazy trying to find enough helpers to come in and paint with us because everything was so last minute, but so many sweet girls stepped up and we got it done! Day one we worked on priming. Sadie and my friends, Sarah and Sophie came up to help prime that day. Then, other friends (Morgan, Emma, and Maggie) stepped up to get the first and second coats of paint on. We were OBSESSED with the new grey color. My Mom always says that there's nothing better than a fresh coat of paint, and I have to agree! IKEA Trip! had beenAfter painting, we had a little window of time (about a week) that we used to buy any furniture and decorative things we wanted to make the room feel more like home. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving, immediately after school, Sadie, my Mom, and I packed up and went to IKEA. We had just over $1000 in cash to spend, and we made it well within our parameters with our total bill being just over $600. Surprisingly, IKEA didn't have a lot of inventory which made picking things out extremely difficult, but we ended up purchasing items that we actually LOVED that we both agreed we probably wouldn't have bought if other items were in stock. Some of the major purchases that day was a chair, bedding, decorative pillows, throw blankets, curtains, curtain hardware, rugs, and a few other decorative things here and there. Sadie and I were THRILLED with everything we purchased and couldn't wait to get it to the Hope Center and assemble it all.
Following Up day 4...At this point we realized that we were going to need more time, so we started to plan for how exactly we could get everything done as quickly as possible in the least amount of stops. Day 5: literally get as much done as possibleAs mentioned above, going into day 5, we knew we were going to run out of time before we could get everything done. This was my most frustrating day because it was that one day that everyone always has when working on a project where everything feels like it's taking fooooorrrreeevvveerrrr. The new vanity took a long time to put in because of the odd plumbing situation in the room, and then we had to switch immediately to doing outlets and finishing the flooring before we lost daylight (our main fixture hadn't been put in just yet). By the end of the day, all but one outlet had been put in, the flooring was completed except for the transition pieces, and the vanity was done. Not an unprofitable day by far, but at this point, baseboards still needed in, we needed to install a light in the bathroom, clean, and decorate. Days 5-6: wrapping up
I will never forget this project. We've said it a million times, but we have never seen God's hand like we have these past five months. I think back to when we first got going, and He provided when we thought there was NO way we could do it. He somehow made this all work. There is no reason that two high-school girls, their friends, and their families should be able to work this out, but He made it happen. From my aunt that made custom artwork to Mr. Post who answered all of our questions and provided tools for the job, we were just overwhelmed with love and support. Several local businesses stepped up and donated(Frosty Boy, Gettinger's Meats, Bell Mortuary, Needlers, Brew 52), and Ms. Hardin, Sadie's AP Calc teacher, donated time and energy into making the headboards for both beds. Besides them, local residents that I will never know bought items off of our Amazon wishlist and other family members donated money and prayer towards helping the women that will live in our room shortly. In total, we raised around $2,800, not counting the Amazon purchases, which puts our total donation value at around $3,000. Right before the last workday, I read this in my quiet time, and I want to leave this as a summary and reminder that every ounce of success we have all came from God.
James 1:7 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows." Thanks be to God.
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Every time I write I new post I swear it starts off with, "so much has happened." I hate to say it again, but SO MUCH has happened--some good and some bad, but God is getting us through all of it. Last time I posted, Sadie and I had just bought our flooring, primer, and some other tools needed for the remodel in our room. We were on such a high after that day. God was obviously providing, and we had everything in front of us and going for us. T-shirt saleThe shirts that I explained in the last post were ordered and came in. We ordered over 60 shirts and sent out a Google Form to the staff and student body of the high school. We immediately received orders from both students and faculty who were so excited about our project and were thrilled to contribute in anyway they could. Seeing this overflow of support was such an encouragement to Sadie and me, and seeing the result from the creation and critique of the shirt design was so worth it. Currently, we have received over 50 orders, and several people bought multiple shirts. A friend and I handed them out during homeroom (a study hall period every Wednesday), and people were so excited and generous with their purchases. THEN, seeing kids and teachers walking around the school wearing our shirt, supporting the end of human trafficking, was just the best feeling in the world. Then comes the hard partAt this point, it was the week before Thanksgiving break (the week that Sadie and I had deemed as being the week we needed to paint), and on the same day that the shirts were handed out, I got some news that induced one of the most turbulent, stressed-out evenings of my life. I hate to admit it, but it was kind of horrible. My partner, Sadie had just been diagnosed with acute bronchitis and wouldn't be back at school for a couple more days...not the end of the world just extremely inconvenient. There was still a tiny bit of prep work that needed to be done, and our goal of the room being primed with two coats of paint on and all the tape removed was starting to fade. However, I had the most awesome friend named Naomi. Here she is! Naomi absolutely saved my life. She helped me hand out shirts and came to the Hope Center with me at 4:30 p.m. to help me finish up sanding down spackle and drywall spots that used to be holes, now filled up and just needing smoothed a bit. Naomi was such a massive help in so many ways, and I could not be more thankful for her, her friendship, and her eagerness to jump right in and help wherever and whenever I needed it. BUT, the day Naomi came was also the biggest turning point--for better of for worse--for the Hope Center adopt-a-room service learning project. The not-so-minor hiccup in our plansWhen Naomi and I came into the center, the rep who manages the adopt-a-room program seemed VERY flustered. As soon as we walked in she said, "Laura, I need to talk to you." I got the feeling that it wasn't good news, so going up the many flights of steps up to room 1402 of the top floor was not a great time. Once we got inside and got situated, Lori, my representative told me the news: "We've gotten several new residents come into the center," which was SUPER exciting because COVID had basically shut that down for a long time. She continued, "security has doubled-down now, so it's going to be hard for you to come up here and work whenever you want." **Just a note: it had not been easy to get up there up until this point either. Sadie and I had to be escorted up every single time we went. We usually had to sign in/provide identification, and sometimes we had to have a supervisor. Getting guys up there was even more difficult. We had to have them massively outnumbered by females, and they couldn't leave without a female escort. SO, the news that it just got harder was sickening. Okay, I'll continue. "You guys are only going to be able to come in here 4-5 more times. So, I'm going to need the exact dates, times, and genders of your helpers by tonight or early tomorrow morning." My head was swimming at this point. We still needed to paint and get a vanity to replace the one that had been ripped out and get the floors in and move in the furniture and assemble the beds and buys a chair, "AND," she added, "we need the room by mid-December." Our deadline that we were shooting for, and we were pushing it, was Christmas. Our deadline had just got moved up by two weeks, our work days got cut almost in half (or worse), and getting up to the room was exponentially more difficult than before. After some clarifications (that did not tell me what I was hoping to hear), Lori left me and Naomi standing there, and I was dumbfounded. This massive project that we had taken on just got totally changed and condensed. Naomi snapped this picture right before we left. I honestly think it's so bad, but I kept it because a picture says a thousand words, right? My face and body language just completely encompassed what I was feeling. I was attempting to keep it together, but trying to muster some enthusiasm and even a smile was just not happening at that moment. :) That night was not fun. When I pulled up to my house and walked in the door, I didn't make it 5 minutes without breaking down crying. And let me clarify: I'm not saying this for pity, but I want you to understand how invested I am in this and how horrible this news was to hear. I had to figure all the things out by that night and send a schedule to Lori. So, my Dad (who's just the best) sat me down and we figured out how to make everything happen. Once we got a plan of how to formulate a schedule, I called Sadie and explained everything. We were on the phone for over an hour. Both of us were beyond overwhelmed, but when it was all over, a schedule was sent. I'm sorry to end it on such a melancholy note, but this is a natural stopping point for me. Even though things seemed bleak and stressful, I am so thankful that I have the peace of God with me. Even though I was upset, I wasn't alone. I have seen more people rally alongside Sadie and me these past few days, offering any help they can and all the encouragement they can muster.
I know that everything is going to work out just fine. I'm writing this on the first day of our Thanksgiving break, the week that was our goal to have the painting done by. I don't want to spoil anything for my next post, but I may have some good news for you... :) Oh my goodness. Strap in because there is SO much to share. After running to Southport to view flooring and pricing options, and receiving box after box form Amazon wishlist purchases, our minds were swimming with possible flooring options. However, we came upon the slight realization that, even if we went with our best offer of buying flooring at 50% off, we still needed $500 to buy it in the first place. In addition, our room needed the carpet ripped out and repainted. Our project felt very conceptual for me up until this point, and the realization of the actual logistics made me feel a bit nauseous. However, I knew that God was going to provide for our project, so I continued to pray and trust that He was going to show up and prove all of my doubts me wrong. In order to fund the purchase of the flooring, Sadie and I designed t-shirts (see slide below) that would be printed and sold around our school with the hopes of raising the $500 to purchase the vinyl flooring, but we would have to buy the shirts from a printing company in order to even sell them. Like I said earlier, my mind was swimming. So, in talking with the Service Learning instructor, Mr. Large, my partner Sadie, and I decided to reach out to local businesses to request donations to fund the purchase of the shirts. Below is a copy of our letter of intent: We began to reach out to businesses as soon as possible, but fall break came around and halted our progress. Having a break was lovely, but if I’m being completely honest, I couldn’t stop thinking about how in the world we were going to raise the money, buy the floors, rip out the carpet, etc. in time to complete everything on time. When Monday finally came around, I was ready to get back to class and get going on our project. After phone calls and receiving answers from all the local businesses we felt comfortable asking, we had raised $450 dollars. We were beginning to see God’s provision over our project and we were THRILLED. In addition, I got a phone call from Lori, our Hope Center “adopt-a-room” overseer, telling us that our flooring had been removed by a volunteer group, and we just had to vacuum and scrape glue off of the old flooring that was below the carpet. oNow that the floors were prepped and money was raised (for the most part), it was officially go-time. Before finally buying the flooring, the construction teacher at the high school, my older brother, and Mr. Large were extremely kind and met up with me at the Hope Center in room 1402 one day after the school was over. My brother, Damon, and a couple volunteers will be installing the floor to keep costs low and the timing more flexible for us, and he needed instructions on what to do. Their visit was such an encouragement and affirmation for Sadie and me. In addition to this, donations from private donors--friends and family--came flooding in, and by the time we were heading to Lowe's, we had raised $690. Then, the amazing day happened. Because our funds came from so many different outlets, Sadie and I cashed as much of it as possible, and we were going to cover any additional costs via credit card that would reimbursed later. On the way to Lowe's, I kept thinking and praying silently that the employee, Brad, that guaranteed us the 50% off was working that day. I felt peace inside, but my overactive imagination kept reminding me of all the ways our plan could be messed up. Once we arrived, Sadie and I beelined for the customer service sector of the store and asked for Brad. After a slight hesitation, we were informed that Brad was indeed there. Thank. God. He came up to us, shook our hands, and reaffirmed that he remembered us and the deal he had set up. Brad took us immediately to the flooring department, let us pick out the vinyl planks, and got it loaded on a cart while we grabbed various other supplies we would be needing to paint and touch up the walls. In the paint department, Brad found us as kindly told us to take all the time we needed and to find him before we checked out--he wanted to be the one to do it. Fast-forward to checkout: Brad took 50% off of EVERYTHING we bought. A bill that should've rang up to slightly under $900 only cost $432.03. This bought us 400 square feet of vinyl flooring and some other paint supplies too. Once he had scanned all of the items, he gave us the price and I handed him a packet of what I thought was $300; however, I had forgotten that I had cashed a $100 donation the night before, so I actually had $400 with me--almost enough to pay the entire bill! I payed for the remainder of the bill on my credit card, and Sadie and I walked out of the Lowe's proud owners of a trunk-full of vinyl flooring, 2 gallons of paint primer, and heads full of ideas of where these supplies could take us. In an exciting impulse, I called my Mom in the parking lot before we left to tell her the good news. (I also wanted to explain the $32 charge on our credit card too...) Right before I hung up with her, my Mom told me this news that nearly brought me to tears: "Right before you called, I got an email that told me that your cousin, Katie, donated $35 to our Venmo which goes right into our checking account." It wasn't that we needed the $35, but seeing God provide with an amount just exceeding exactly what we need broke me. With tears in our eyes, Sadie and I sat in the car in that Lowe's parking lot, praying and worshipping together, thanking God for His provision for our project. I know He will continue to provide, and I cannot wait to post the next update to prove just how good and generous He is. Thanks be to God! Once we pitched our project, then it was go time. However, with a project like this there are a million different factors that all have to work together to make this work, but we did know our first step...pick the room! We set up a meeting with the adopt-a-room manager, Lori, to select the room we would be renovating. After a few rooms to pick from we settled on room 1402. It had a cozy nook in the corner and lots of windows to let light in--it was perfect! Then, we stood around and did a lot of daydreaming about what we wanted to do. Some ideas were to paint arches behind the beds to use instead of headboards and incorporate LOTS o plants and natural ideas. Here are picture of ideas we found online: Then, once Sadie and I had some ideas we went ahead and created Amazon wishlist with some basic things from bathroom towels to air conditioning units (we thought we'd be brave and at least see if someone was feelin' generous). As of now, (we just posted it!) people have already bought some of the items and they are on their way here! In addition to the wishlist, Sadie and I took a trip to flooring/home stores around the Southport area to ask if they would be willing to donate the 500 square feet of vinyl flooring. Unfortunately, no one was able to give a 100% donation because of deals with the manufactures, but Lowe's was willing to give us 50% off which was HUGE and a discount on the hardware as well. I am beyond excited about my project this semester. Its fuel is rooted in a dream I have been passionate about for years, but this class has given me the opportunity to bring my goals into fruition. My partner, Sadie Miller, and I got together soon after the first day of class to talk about our values and passions in order to try to erect a project idea out of it all. What we discovered is as follows: both of us are deeply passionate about faith. Being the hands and feet of Jesus is priority number one for both of us. From there, I individually decided I was passionate about serving others and blessing them while Sadie wanted (in addition) to highlight mental health awareness. Above all, we wanted to put others first and use the resources/opportunities we have been given to help those who aren't as fortunate as us. That's when we landed on the Hope Center. The Hope Center is a voluntary rehabilitation facility, rooted in Christianity, for women who are escaping the sex trafficking industry. This was perfect! There are aspects of the center that directly address the different core values we established early on, and the organization is rooted in telling the women about Jesus. Now, all we had to do was figure out exactly what God wanted us to do there to serve this organization. Fast-forward a week. On project pitch day, we were beyond excited to tell the administrators and other peers about our project. So, we gave them the game plan we had created over the past week: go about our project with a wholistic service approach. This looks like donation drives, awareness movements, and volunteer days at the facility. Let's back up again though... a few days before we gave our presentation we were given the opportunity from a mutual friend that works at the hope center to "adopt" a room there. This would allow us to design, decorate, and furnish a room to house and bless the residents at the center. This could be a bedroom, a living room, or even a laundry room -- the only deadline was that we would have to be done by Christmas. This last minute change only minorly affected our presentation because we went from pitching a general idea of what we wanted to do to a specific project that had a deadline and everything. It felt sort of fancy and official, and Sadie and I were so excited. On pitch day, we breezed through the presentation and received a lot of good feedback on how to reach out to other schools, ask for donations, and suggestions in that general range of ideas. These are eventually going to affect our project later down the road once we figure out what type of room we will be furnishing and how much money we will need to complete our project. For now, Sadie and I have a great start, and we are absolutely thrilled to get the opportunity to serve and love those around in our community. **please check out our presentation below! |
AuthorMy name is Laura Estes, and I am a senior at New Palestine High School! I lead worship at a club at my high school. Some other interests I have are baking, singing, hanging out with friends, and watching movies. Archives
December 2021
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