After dedicating themselves to 16 years of missionary service in Japan, the Gray family—mother, father, and four children—returned home to Virginia.

Their oldest daughter, wheelchair-bound and determined to succeed, dreamed of attending high school and college in the United States. And her parents set out on a new mission: finding a home that was both affordable and wheelchair accessible. The Grays found few options, deciding at last on the house they could afford. A caring community stepped in to take care of the rest.

Richmond television station WRIC chose the Grays for their TV8 Decorates program, a local version of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Several local businesses, including Ditch Witch of Virginia, eagerly pitched in. Thanks to the volunteer construction team, the Gray's home is now completely wheelchair accessible. And the three younger Gray children were certainly not overlooked. They needed places to play in the great outdoors, and Ditch Witch of Virginia went to work. They brought in the XT850 to grind out old tree stumps. They supplied the SK500 to till the grounds for new trees and flower beds—and to make way for the grand new sandbox.

"This is a great cause and the Grays are a great family," says Ditch Witch of Virginia's Wyatt Nunnally. "They've been giving all their lives, and it's so rewarding to be able to give something back to them."

The inspiring before-and-after story was televised in prime time on Sunday, June 19 with an encore showing the following Sunday afternoon.

Published in the Summer 2006 issue of The Underground.