Extreme Home Makeover

Green Ridge Assembly of God Style

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Here is some great news out of northeast PennDel.
From the Times Tribune:

DUNMORE - Minutes before the Murray family pulled up after being sequestered in an area hotel for three days, their house was still a beehive of activity, swarmed by volunteers engaged in a last-minute frenzy of finishing touches.

"Ten minutes!" yelled the Rev. David Twiss, Assembly of God's lead pastor and coordinator of the Green Ridge church's project, a sort of local version of the hit television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Bill Yeisley, of Old Forge and an employee for C.A. Sileo Construction in Dunmore, volunteers his time to renovate a bathroom at the Murray home at 135 East Grove St. in Dunmore on Thursday, June 5, 2008. The home makeover was organized by the Green Ridge Assembly of God.

A human conveyor belt formed in the yard as kids and parents alike passed boxes of debris to be hauled away. Karen Liples adjusted the sash above a window in the master bedroom upstairs, and William McDonald was still smoothing the grout between new slate tiles on the kitchen floor while another man ran a sponge across the floor behind him.

What began as a simple bathroom renovation and ceiling repair for a family in need, morphed into a massive community undertaking as more and more people - many from outside the church - heard about the project and donated time, money and supplies, which, according to the Rev. Twiss, probably exceeded $20,000.

"People just kept coming," said Charles Sileo, a local contractor who had been working on the site with his two sons since 7 the previous morning.

A "before" shot of the home would have panned the ceiling above the front entrance, which was a gaping hole for several years after a leak in the upstairs bathroom, a broken twin bed shared by the two boys and wicker chairs around the dining room table with many of the seats smashed through.

The "after" version would showcase a new swirl-textured ceiling, a bunk bed in the boys' room, new carpet, new couches, reupholstered chairs, a refurbished kitchen, paint inside and out and a landscaped yard replete with a crimson maple sapling, geraniums and purple salvia in front and a "Serenity Garden" with lavender and a birdbath in back.

The volunteers, about 70 of them, gathered along the curb outside the Murray family's home at 135 E. Grove St., eager to see the family's reaction.

When Joseph and Lynn Murray and their five children pulled up and got out of the car, the crowd clapped and hollered and the family stood quietly. Courtney, 14, in her basketball jersey, brushed tears from her cheeks and one of her brothers, Matthew, 11 let out a "Yee-haw!" of approval.

"It's just overwhelming," Joseph Murray said. "All the people who helped, I just can't say thank you to everyone," he said.

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Kudos to Pastor Dave Twiss and the congregation and community of Greenridge! What a great way to spend a weekend!