Helping hands

About 150 students on a mission travel to Valley to build homes.

By Valerie A. Avalos / The Bee

Youths from La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church in Scottsdale, Ariz., erect a wall frame on Tuesday for a home being built in Lindsay through Self-Help Enterprises. Christian Parley / The Bee E-mail This Article Printer-Friendly Format Receive the Daily Bulletin Subscribe to Print Join a Forum New:   Search News  | Search Local

LINDSAY — This week, teens Kalli Butters and Paige Coty prayed to God as they always do.

But this time, they made an unusual request: They asked for "double sleep."

They knew they had six hours to sleep but wanted to wake up feeling like they had slept 12. They said it worked, as they smiled and looked perky Tuesday during a break at a construction site in southeast Lindsay.

The two hammered all morning as part of a volunteer church mission.

"It's definitely harder than it looks," said Kalli, 14. "We're down to five to 20 hits per nail now. We're never going to get down to one to two hits."

This is the first mission for Kalli and her friend Paige, 14, who are members of the La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church youth group in Scottsdale, Ariz. The volunteers take a mission every summer to various locations.

Every four years, they come to this area for about a week to help build homes with Self-Help Enterprises, said youth pastor Neil Gatten.

The teens will load into 13 vans today and head to Magic Mountain as their end-of-the-week treat. The volunteers paid about $360 to go on the mission and volunteer their work.

"It's rewarding to be able to help others build these houses," Coty said. "They will be able to use them for the rest of their lives." The teens work from 8 a.m. to noon: painting, hammering, putting up walls and roof sheathing. Volunteers are shown how to do the work by group leaders. The leaders are taught by Self-Help Enterprises construction managers.

"It's just hard to get started," said Blake Reading, 17. "Once we get rolling, we're OK."

Volunteers stayed at the Visalia First Nazarene Church and showered at the College of the Sequoias.

"They sleep on the floors and use the kitchen to cook in," said Liz Wynn, assistant program manager with Self-Help Enterprises.

"They're a joy to have around. It gives you hope for the next generation."

The teens spent their afternoons bowling, going to a movie, roller skating, and going on a scavenger hunt.

This year's group included about 150 students — ages 14 to 18 — and 30 adults. They were divided up to work on subdivisions in Lindsay, Fresno, Earlimart and Del Rey. About 60 students were at the southeast Lindsay site Tuesday.

Lindsay is the largest of the four projects, with 34 of 54 homes still under construction. Ten homes in Fresno, 10 in Earlimart, and 20 in Del Rey are also under construction.

The teens' work puts the building phase ahead by about a month.

"It's nice when we get these big volunteer groups because it really gives these families a boost, and it's an encouragement for them," Wynn said.

Home buyers, who must work on building their homes 40 hours a week, welcomed the assistance.

"It's good to have these types of volunteers," said Loisa Quezada Sanchez, who plans to move into her new home in November.

"It's nice to see there are still human beings in the world. It's so hard to find good people."

Jeff Francis, 17, of La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church, nails a roof stud on a Lindsay home. Christian Parley / The Bee

The reporter can be reached at http://www.fresnobee.com/local/sv/story/"mailto:vavalos@fresnobee.com" or (559) 622-2421.