Volunteers land in right place, right time after drawing directions from a hat

Volunteers swarm over the Southwest Nebraska Habitat for Humanity Maywood home Saturday. A surprise visit from members of the Oakley, Kan., Christian Church contributed to a productive day. (Courtesy photo)

MAYWOOD -- Volunteers working on the Southwest Nebraska Habitat for Humanity on behalf of the Anders family received a welcome surprise and willing hands to help with Saturday's labors.

According to an e-mail from Habitat volunteer Jeff Stone, a mission group from the Christian Church in Oakley, Kan., gathered at 8 a.m., in Oakley, intent on fulfilling a mission.

With no destination in mind, and no clear idea of what that mission was to be, they reached into a hat and withdrew a slip of paper directing them to travel 100 miles north of their location. A map indicated that their destination would be Maywood, Neb., and they pulled into town a couple of hours later.

Upon their arrival, they asked a Frontier County deputy, who had closed a street in town for a controlled burn, if he knew of anyone in town in need of assistance.

He directed them to the Habitat build a couple of blocks away.

"They showed up with 11 volunteers, two vans and a trailer full of tools and supplies," Stone wrote. "It was the most awesome thing ... tell me the Lord didn't bless us."

By the end of the day the exterior walls were all sheeted and covered with house wrap, the trusses were up and the east side of the roof was sheeted. The unexpected volunteers from Oakley spent the night at the Vineyard Church in Curtis and on Sunday morning, reached into the hat to pull out a new adventure.

All told, according to Stone, 20 volunteers worked on the house, "not counting the ladies from the Curtis Methodist Church who brought coffee and rolls and provided us with a great lunch."