HGTV celebrity appreciates the good in youth Workcamps

[July 30, 2021]    Tim and Lora Eichel have lived in their home in Lincoln for two years. Lora’s mom has not been able to visit in their home since a stroke left her unable to manipulate stairs.

The Eichel’s needed help with a handicap ramp and this week their prayers are being answered.

Feeling blessed by the Workcamp experience they said, “We don’t have a lot of money and we needed to make improvements to the home and it’s a real blessing from God. We didn’t know how we were going to get (these improvements) done, but God is good, and He has answered our prayers.”

An all-girl youth team from Lincoln Christian Church with the help of Karen E Laine from HGTV’s “Good Bones” is building a ramp so Lora’s mom can maneuver into the house for a family gathering.

The all-girl group of teenagers includes Lacy Buss, Maura Gowin, Claire Kuhlman, Mattea McFadden, Charlie McFadden and Caitlin Otey.

Lora shared her thoughts on the girls helping this week saying, “It is a bit overwhelming. I don’t know what I expected but this is just amazing.” Tim added, “It’s pretty awesome to see these young people working hard AND wanting to do it.” The Eichel’s were really impressed that the crew at their house is all girls.

Karen E Laine is a star on the HGTV show called “Good Bones.” The show is filmed in her hometown, Indianapolis, Indiana. Todd Henry, 21-year-veteran leader of over 50 workcamps, invited Laine to Lincoln to do “Workcamp for Lincoln,” which is a young people’s mission to improve people’s lives by doing things in their homes.

Henry reached out to Laine on social media. When she gets a request that she finds interesting, she asks for the request to be changed to email so she can chit chat with the requester.

After chatting with Henry through email and understanding what it was, she responded, “I have a little bit of Midwest fame from the show. People know me and if being on the show allows me to get this kind of invitation, I’ll be on the show for the rest of my life.”

Laine is excited to work with the girls expressing, “I am working with an all-girl group, and they are fabulous. They genuinely want to learn about this stuff. They genuinely want to do a good job for the person they are helping this week. Watching how careful they are in the construction is so encouraging. A lot of kids don’t get this support and encouragement. They don’t get this hug from Jesus on a regular basis. And it makes me think, ‘How can I do more of this?”

On Tuesday afternoon Noah Henry and Zac Lukken, working on a video promo for Workcamp for Lincoln, interviewed Laine to get her perspective on the week. “What I am doing today is helping build a ramp. Why I’m here is more than Henry’s invitation. God works in all our lives all the time and we just need to be aware that He is working on us. He is working hard on me this week. He put me in the right place. It’s transformational. That’s what I’m doing here . . . I’m being transformed.”

Continuing she said, “We are all called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We can all do something. An opportunity like this when I was younger would have changed my life. I would have gone down a different path. The opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus to someone, to give selflessly and be helpful and be cheerful about it, is transformational. It’s where you really meet God.”

Laine wants everyone to understand the importance of a workcamp to a small town like Lincoln. “Workcamp is important to a community like Lincoln or any community because there are lots of people in need: all the time, everywhere. To take young people and teach them a skill to meet a need creates this benign cycle where everyone feels better. If you’re in a bad mood, help someone. You will feel better! The people who need the help feel like they are helping kids learn a trade, so it doesn’t feel so much like charity, so they feel like they are helping. At the same time, a need that was previously not getting met is getting met. It’s magic!”

Laine and her daughter, Mina Starsiak, have recently signed a contract with HGTV to continue with new episodes of “Good Bones.” While excited, Laine will not be on every episode. She is hoping to be able to take time off to do more workcamps and pursue some other interests. If you’re a fan of hers, don’t worry. She’s not walking away from the show anytime soon. Should Laine be invited back to Workcamp next year, it’s quite possible we’ll see her helping another all-girls team.

[Lisa Ramlow]