The residential house on the grounds has come a long way. The framing went up, the sheetrock went up, and now it's finally time to paint! This has been a long process, but things are starting to shape up and you can truly see how far we've come. After the walls are painted, there is still much to be done. Floors and appliances still need to be installed, but we can't help but be excited that the end of this particular project is near. 

There are still buildings on the grounds that need work. What used to be the catering kitchen has gone untouched since demolition, the basement of the school has sheetrock but has not received much other attention. Please continue to lift up our mission and all of the work that surrounds it.

 Now that construction is (mostly) finished over at Juniper's, the focus will once again be on the CCO grounds. Volunteers from Pennsylvannia are back, framing & installing dry-wall. We will share photos of the process as it occurs, as well as stories and testimonials. Please continue to keep this re-building in your prayers!

If you've ever stopped in at Juniper's, maybe for a delicious sandwich or a scoop of home made ice cream, you'll remember the old space. Yellow walls, black booths & tables...Well, things are going to be much different when we re-open. We're not ready to give anything away just yet, but that doesn't mean we can't tell you that the new wall that separates the kitchen from the dining roomhas already gone up, insulation is starting to be put in, and interior design plans are heavily underway. We can't wait to unveil the new Juni's! Here is a picture of the progress.

In other news, an incredible testimony was given on Sunday at mass. Karen (pictured below), who had been diagnosed with cancer which doctors said would never go away, went in for a test last week and was completely CANCER FREE! Amazing miracles are happening in this time, if you have a testimony feel free to send it to us!

In the mean time, here are a few of the many inspiring flood stories we've witnessed. These particular stories come from Sr. Ruth Young, teacher at Precious Moments School, Resident and Wife of assistant-pastor Fr. Steve Young.

•For the past several days, our church community has been receiving meals from the Waterbusy Flood Relief Center. Last week I spoke with Maime - the woman in charge of organizing the meals, and she said the following: "You folks at the church are always on the front lines, helping out whenever there's a need, so we want to make sure that you are taken care of first." What a blessing!

•I wrote a letter to everyone I could think of to let them kno wwhat had happened to our church and restaurant, asking them to pray and help us to get back on our feet. I heard back from a mother of a former preschooler who now lives in California. She told me that he r son, (now 11) was thrilled to know that his old preschool was "Command Central" for flood relief efforts at the church, and that he wanted to give his Christmas money to help us re-build! He also went online and made a contribution through paypal with his own money. Now that is a giving heart!

•The preschool at Moretown Elementary School was flooded along with most of the school last weekend. I approached the (new) principal and new preschool teacher to see if they wanted to share our preschool space until their classroom was ready, and although they were very excited at the prospect of taking the children on a pre-pre-school field trip of sorts, they decided to get their room cleaned up and delay the opening of the preschool instead. However, the preschool teacher came to visit last week and asked if we could collaborate this year - doing pen pals and taking trips to each other's classrooms etc. It just goes to show that something good can come out of terrible circumstances.

Thank you, Ruth for sharing these inspiring stories with us. If you have a story or testimony that you'd like to share about the flood, please please contact us.

Above is an arial photograph of the CCO grounds taken on Thursday, September 1st. 

Tonight at dinner, we had an announcement: As a group, approximately 1,300 hours have been worked in the past 5 days between the CCO grounds and Juniper's Fare. 1,300 HOURS! We've come a long way. The trash and debris that was once scattered around the property is almost gone. The dishes are all clean. All of them!

The resident house and school basement have made good progress, also. Drywall is being torn down, floors are being pulled up, things are really starting to look different. 

The situation over at Juniper's Fare is similar. The restaurant is gutted and plans are in the works for reconstruction. We will post more information as those plans develop.

The main project on the CCO grounds today was uprooting and composting of all organic materials. Sadly, Franciscan Farms (an on-site organic garden run by both locals and volunteers) was flooded and as a result, condemned. This meant that every vegetable, fruit and herb plant effected had to be torn up and disposed of. It also meant that all dried and canned goods being stored on property needed to go. Grow Compost of Vermont graciously provided us with a large receptacle to dispose of these things, and in exchange will be delivering fresh soil next spring for us to use as a fresh start for our gardens. 

Thankfully, smiles are easy to come by around here and happiness seems to be contagious... making our work days that much better.

Tomorrow is Saturday, and that means BUSY. Juniper's Fare will be selling delicious food at the Waitsfield Farmers Market as usual, as well as selling hot dogs and hamburgers at the Waitsfield Craft Fair. We encourage you to support the local community... stop by one or both of these events and get some grub to help us support our mission.

Pictures and words don't do justice to the works being done here at CCO. More people show up every day, ready to tear down walls, wash hundreds of dishes, or shovel garbage into wheelbarrows. Today a group of mennonites came by to help, pulling walls down in the basement of the school. All of our volunteers are such a blessing! People can't seem to stop smiling, even though they're surrounded by all that mud.

Food and cleaning donations have been pouring in from both locals and out-of-staters. The overall goodness and generosity that we've all witnessed is unbelievable. Our 'theme-song': "Beautiful Things" by Gungor (Listen to the song here!) has been playing in all of our heads on repeat... The chorus "You make beautiful things out of DUST" could never be more appropriate. Or how about the repetitious line that ends the song: "You are making me new."

The Lord keeps all of us going strong, even 4 days in. Thank you for all of your prayers and donations!

Inventory & trash piles keep getting bigger, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel. All of the damaged buildings have been emptied and are starting to be gutted. Juniper's interior walls are already coming down, and the inventory is almost complete there. Once the mud is removed from the interiors, the damage can be assessed and plans can be drawn up for construction. 

It should be pointed out again that the CCO sanctuary, as well as Precious Moments School, did not have any water damage! 

Volunteers continue to show up every day, putting in full 9 to 12 hour work days. Thanks again to all.

A new day, a new task. Now that a good amount of the garbage has been removed, we have begun the daunting task of inventorying EVERYTHING. The process is to clean, sort, photograph, document and find an out-of-the-way place for every single item on the CCO grounds and at Juniper's Fare. 

Again, spirits are high and new faces & old friends are showing up at both properties to help out. Once everything is removed from the buildings, pressure washers are brought in and the interior is hosed down and the mud & residue is shoveled out. 

The community effort is breathtaking and uplifting. Everyone is smiling, and thanking God for their lives.