I really don't know where the last month of my life went! It seems like everything has been so busy lately. I haven't even had time to sit down and write a blog entry. So I'm going to try to briefly recap the last month of my life. Let's start with the fact that I had the opportunity to go home and visit my family back in CT for about 5 days. It was a short visit, but a very nice one. Especially since I was able to surprise my sister. She had no clue that I was coming home for a visit and when she walked up the stairs and saw me she had a mini freak-out. It was priceless and very well done, since she is impossible to keep secrets from. During my visit home I got to see lots of family and friends and catch up, which was nice since I hadn't been home since Christmas. It's crazy how much things change in just a few months. So I returned to Kentucky on Sunday evening and Tuesday morning I was off again to Alabama.

Due to the recent tornadoes in Alabama CAP's Disaster Relief program responded to help the people of Marshall County, Alabama. I was down there for about a week and most other people were there for a week and a half. I have never seen the devastation of a tornado firsthand and it was unbelievable. The spots that the tornado hit were very random. One house could be destroyed while their neighbors were untouched. The most devastating area we went to was a neighborhood of about 7 homes that were completely destroyed and severely damaged. Many of the families didn't even know where to start. So a group of about 100 CAP volunteers helped to clean up trees and sort metal from wood and try to salvage any valuables or personal items still left. Many of the stories that we heard from the families were unbelievable, such as one gentleman said that his son-in-law and two grandbabies were in the house when the tornado hit and crawled out a hole about 3 feet wide. His house was completed destroyed and to see it and know that three people crawled out of there unharmed is certainly a miracle.  After working for about 7 days I headed back to Kentucky.

We arrived back in Kentucky around 3 in the afternoon and then planted our whole garden for the volunteer house (We, being Bethanie and I). Which by the way I told Bethanie I despise gardening so she was really lucky to be able to drag me out there to help.

The next week I was back in my program, housing, but my crew leader was out of town for most of the week so Bethanie and I were running around to different job sites. And then to conclude our week we headed off to Camp AJ on Thursday afternoon for the Spring Volunteer Retreat. After all the new renovations Camp AJ looks great and we had awesome weather this past week to enjoy the scenery. My favorite being the small waterfall that is tucked away in the woods. The theme of this retreat was Revealing Your Vocation. There were a lot of great activities and discussions that were had over the past weekend and it was great for me to see some of the other volunteers that live in the Cumberland Valley that I don't get to see too often.

Well that was the short version of my last month at CAP. And sadly my service is coming to an end in the next few months. I still can't believe that I've been here for almost 2 years now. Eastern Kentucky is a beautiful place and it has truly changed me for the better.

Kate Stefanowicz is a long-term volunteer in CAP's Housing program. She lives in Floyd Volunteer House.