NEWPORT--Sunset Gap welcomed a dozen volunteers from Resurrection Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Ill., to Newport this week.

For the sixth year, the adult group returned to Cocke County to work on homes in the community. This year's project consisted of one residence off Woodlawn Avenue.

Rich Biesterfeld explained the group would spend Monday through Friday working on the residence. He said duties included painting the trailer, building an addition of two bedrooms, replace and build a new front porch, and sealing the roof.

"This is really a neat form of ministry. We enjoy coming to this area and meeting new people," Biesterfeld explained.

Sunset Gap Work Camp Supervisor and Facilities Manager Josh Dunn described the group from Resurrection Lutheran Church as "one of our best groups, and we're happy they keep coming back."

He explained that same church would send a group of about 45 youth this summer to work on projects.

"We are definitely looking forward to a big summer here," he said. "We plan to work on 40 homes with about 800 volunteers from all over the country."

He said anyone needing home repairs should contact Donna Riley at Sunset Gap by calling (423) 623-4313 to request a work camp application.

According to Dunn, the application will be mailed out. After Sunset Gap receives the completed application, he will go out and take photos and evaluate the situation.

Homes selected for repairs are organized into files. The groups then look through the files to select the home they will repair. He said decisions are based on the group's abilities and finances.