By Kate Stefanowicz

"The principle part of faith is patience"- George MacDonald

I've always thought that I was a very patient person, but then I came to CAP and discovered that I'm not as patient as I thought. Working in the housing program has taught me that patience is a very important virtue. There have been many times that I've been working on something and I've had to redo it 3 or 4 times and by that last time I'm usually pretty frustrated. Yet, lately I've learned to take that step back and remember why I am here. I'm here doing God's work and serving him and he will get me through this difficult task.

I probably discovered that I wasn't as patient as I thought when I met my crew leader, Tony. He is so patient with  Rachel (another volunteer) and I. Neither one of us really had any construction experience whatsoever. So you can imagine how patient Tony has to be. He never gets angry and is willing to explain the same thing 100 times until we finally get that confused look off our faces. Patience is definitely a good characteristic to have especially in housing when a lot of things don't go exactly the way you would like.

Besides learning to be patient while at CAP, I've also learned to take a step back and not rush so much. Back home in CT I was always running around and involved in many activities. After coming to Kentucky I was quite surprised at how laid back the people are here. While I've always been a laid back person my surroundings almost forced me to be doing something every second of every day. Therefore I've really been enjoying myself here because I can finally take that step back and do things at a slower pace, instead of at lightening speed all the time.

"Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself" -St. Francis de Sales

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