With members of their church and the community watching, the Fisher family view their renovated east Bend home for the first time Saturday. The remodel took four weeks and added more than 700 square feet of space to the home.

Debbi Fisher gasped and hugged her children Saturday afternoon as the big rig that hid their newly remodeled Bend home from view pulled away.

A crowd of roughly 75 people, who also had been hidden behind the rig, cheered and clapped as Debbi, 45, her husband, Kent, 40, and their five children walked up the driveway of their house.

The unveiling was the end of a four-week project dubbed “Operation Inspiration,” a remodel and expansion of the Fishers’ home on Cutlass Place near Ponderosa Park on the east side of Bend. Builders volunteered their talents, vendors donated materials and members of Westside Church contributed willing hands to give the home a face-lift.

Kent Fisher said there is no way that the family could have afforded the remodel if they had had to pay for it.

Although he works at Cascade Auto Glass, he said he has been on medical leave. Fisher said he is battling lung cancer and more than one brain tumor.

Debbi is a stay-at-home mom, caring for Kyle, 16; Kory, 15; Dakota, 12; Kolton, 9; and Kaden, 6. Kolton has been diagnosed with autism.

The house was built in the 1970s, Kent Fisher said, and it showed. “It was just kind of falling apart,” he said. “We were having problems all the time.”

The electrical system was prone to power surges, which killed a few videocassette recorders. The insulation wasn’t the best, particularly around the windows.

In fact, the entire remodel effort began after the family’s plumbing went out, said Mike Patterson, a design engineer and builder who helped coordinate the project. Patterson said a friend who knew the family through Westside Church came to him to ask if he could help with the plumbing problem.

Patterson said he saw it as a sign.

Six months to the day before his friend approached him about the Fishers, he said, he had prayed for a project that would put his talents to use, to help others.

After getting the approval of his bosses at Building Solutions, a Bend construction company, Patterson enlisted co-workers, other local builders and a variety of vendors. About three dozen members of Westside Church volunteered to provide the labor.

The family moved into a place owned by the church for the duration of the project, about four weeks.

“The city gave me a permit in 24 hours,” Patterson said. “(And) we were off and running. June 18 we started that project, and Saturday we (finished) it.”

He said they added slightly more than 700 square feet to the house, expanding the master bedroom and adding a laundry room and office. The kitchen was redesigned with a breakfast counter for five, and hardwood floors were installed in the kitchen and living room. Two working fireplaces went in and the garage was expanded. The remodeled house has five bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms. The half bathroom was added during the remodel.

Patterson and many others said they felt God’s hand at work throughout the project.

Phil Kooistra, a member of church who worked on the project, said it went off without a hitch.

“Nobody has gotten hurt, the materials have shown up on time, the volunteers appear when we need them — things just happened one after the other,” he said.

Kooistra said his son, Todd Kooistra, owns an electrical company and devoted both time and materials to the remodel.

BJ Fisher, the owner of BJ Fisher Construction in Redmond and no relation to the family, said volunteers came out of the woodwork.

A neighbor who owns a painting company volunteered to paint the house. Someone with connections to a football team brought the players down to lay sod in the yard. People showed up with coolers full of drinks or trays of sandwiches for the workers.

“There’s a lot of people that showed up because they heard about it — nobody asked them,” Fisher said.

Fisher said he joined the effort after he learned about it from Building Solutions, his main supplier. He said that while he essentially put all of his business projects on hold to volunteer, he knew of several other people who devoted time after work.

Patterson said some people took time off to help, while others would show up after work and stay until 2 a.m. Many took weekends or Sundays off.

“It was a team that God put there for a reason that got this all done,” he said.

While he didn’t keep track of the amount of labor or the value of the donated materials, Patterson said that if the remodel was a job, he could have easily made $45,000 to $50,000 in profit.

Kent Fisher said the house before and after the remodel is like night and day.

“Before, it was just a plain-Jane white house, built in the ’70s. Now, it’s modern, probably the best house on the block,” he said. “The difference, there’s no comparison.”

He said he was touched to see new appliances in the kitchen, as well as new furniture.

“We know it was a big effort, and (we’re) just so thankful for everything that’s been done,” he said.

But Patterson said the volunteers have gained as much from the project as the family.

“If somebody could put that into words, I’d guarantee you’d see more people doing what we’re doing, trying to make a difference.”

Yet, he said he hopes the project is just the first of several.

“Maybe we can do another one next year,” he said. “There’s a lot of less fortunate people in this world that need a hand up. Not a hand out, but a hand up,”

On Saturday, the volunteers who poured their time and energy into the project were glad to relax and welcome the Fishers home.

After the family took their first look inside, they gathered in the front yard in the afternoon sunshine while a member of the church blessed the home.

Debbi Fisher, her voice thick with emotion, thanked the crowd of volunteers for all their efforts.

“You’re welcome in our home anytime,” she said. “Anytime.”