For July Stay:
To show our appreciation for the improvements to our home and all the lawn and garden work Hans Wernecke has accomplished, it is difficult to find the words to describe. Upon his arrival he asked what tasks we needed him to do.
His first project was such a challenge that we had been putting it off for 15 years being unsure of
… read more whether it would even be possible to achieve. Our backup power generator was housed in a structure attached to a corner of the house and needed to have increased roof slope for shedding snow. The task was complicated since one board-and-batten wall was attached to a roof rafter. Hans employed proficient expertise in carpentry skills to ensure the construction was safe and secure and widened the roof to prevent a higher roof’s snow shed from building up in front of the entrance way. What we thought would take at least two weeks, Hans completed in two days. The end result was like a completely new and perfect, eye pleasing shelter. In addition to completing the first challenging job, he—in only five days—also completed the following:
Cleaned the chicken coop, fed grain and watered the 34 layer chickens each morning and evening and cleaned beneath perches daily. He mowed between rows in the garden and black/red current berry patch; did lots of weed whacking; cleaned the power saw equipment after use and always put tools away; thoroughly cleaned our car; helped in the kitchen cooking some of our meals and made brownies.
Hans phoned his family daily and explained to his parents how awesome it was to be here. Then the unbelievable happened: On the spur of a moment his parents and sister came to Canada. We invited them to our home. Hans and his father completed another major improvement to our home: they selected logs, cut and peeled bark, and constructed a beautiful porch railing which now matches our existing deck railing. We’re so pleased!
Hans and his family enjoyed some well-deserved trips to the surrounding, Canadian Rocky Mountain sites. We felt wonderfully united and like-mindedness with him and his family as they decided to come from Germany to Canada to see what Hans was talking about. We shared and appreciated absolutely beautiful waterfalls, mountains and wildlife which our God created with His mighty power. He and his parents and sister truly became permanent friends and are like family with us.
Shortly before his scheduled departure, we had an unexpected trip to Oklahoma. Hans, by himself, and with his trustworthiness, took care of our home, property and animals. Hans is observant, confident, dependable, and is an excellent listener. He offered suggestions—which we accepted—to improve our original ideas. He took the time to evaluate and prioritize the differing jobs to ensure he was fulfilling our requests.
We sincerely respect and appreciate Hans for his initiative, hard work, and integrity.
We highly recommend him for future endeavors.
For August Stay:
Hans was scheduled to be with us for only three weeks. However, we had so much gratitude for what he had done for us, and he enjoyed being with us and working for us, so we kept him on, and he stayed with us for an additional month!
Hans finished the outer wall on our 28 foot long green house shed with beautiful “reverse board and batten” siding; and built a shingled wall matching the front of our work shed. He also took on the challenge of restoring an outdoor picnic table resulting in it being better than it was when brand new. He gave it a wooden, green table-top that is more eye-pleasing; and, since the table is portable, much easier for two people to move to and from its storage place and the front lawn. In addition, he continued taking care of our 34 layer chickens and cleaned their 8ft by16ft chicken house (a second time). Hans mowed garden edges and walk-rows helping us keep our place neat and tidy. He helped with other garden chores and with cooking and other kitchen work.
Our neighbors learned of Hans’ skills as well: He helped troubleshoot and discover the problem with a large “round hay bailer;” he operated a large tractor to rake several mowed rows of hay and drove the farm truck from fields to barn with a long trailer full of round bails. He also repaired a broken window latch, and restored a broken shelf for the neighbors.
Hans pleasantly entertained us from time to time as he loves to sing and play guitar. With his phone he had made a video of himself playing guitar and singing; it is like the professionals do when advertising a new album. He has a wonderful voice, he’s talented with guitar, and he’s practicing and doing quite well on the piano.
It’s difficult to find the words to describe Hans’ initiative, reliability, and high level of skills. He gives credit to his father and grandfather, but it certainly appears that he is “gifted”. We rewarded him with several hiking trips to three of the Canadian Rockies National Parks. To further show our appreciation for his initiative and the improvements to our property, we remain earnestly motivated to highly recommend him for whatever work he endeavors in the future.
Mike and Elfriede