The bustle of people, laughter and plenty of sawing and hammering following the arrival of Habitat for Humanity workers has interrupted the once eerie silence after a deadly tornado struck Joplin six months ago.

And they weren’t just from the area — volunteers hailed from coast to coast, from Michigan to Arkansas to the United Arab Emirates. The Tulsa Habitat for Humanity and Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity were both present as part of the “Ten for Joplin” mission.

A total of 10 homes will be built in two and a half weeks, which would allow homeless residents to have their homes before Thanksgiving.

“It’s great to see a continuation of the volunteer efforts with the folks from Habitat for Humanity here and others,” Gov. Jay Nixon said during a news conference onsite Sunday. “As I said all along, this is going to be a long process, but for these 10 families, all of these families from across the heartland are helping them get a home before Thanksgiving. And that’s just another solid sign about how steps forward are going to be made and Joplin’s going to be re-birthed and rebuilt even stronger than before.”

Nixon spent about an hour talking to workers, coordinators and some of the families that would be moving into the homes onsite this past weekend.

Keith Kolodosick, Habitat for Humanity volunteer from Detroit, said he decided to come to help in Joplin after he got an email soliciting volunteers. Kolodosick is retired and decided to take part. He has volunteered with Habitat for eight years.

“The devastation here from the tornado is phenomenal,” he said. “The people are great, and we’ve been working with the Tulsa Habitat and Joplin Habitat and they’re fantastic. And we’re from Detroit, we’re used to having big events like this, and this one is the first one that Tulsa has done and it’s been fantastic.”

Kolodosick is a crew leader for one of the ten houses the Habitat organizations are constructing.

The sponsor of the house Kolodosick and others continue to build is T.D. Williamson Inc., a pipe company that also contributed to the effort by bringing their own volunteers to help out as well. Companies and organizations could donate money to build a full or half of a house or make a basic donation.

“We train them on the job and no skills are necessary,” Kolodosick said. “They’re warm and welcoming and glad that we’re here.”

Those selected to live in each home had to apply and meet specific requirements. Some of the houses’ future families spent their time helping build their new homes onsite.

Ten for Joplin has raised $789,000, the majority of its goal of $800,000, according to a Habitat news release. Donations can be made any time throughout the two and a half weeks, and any leftover money will be used for Joplin project by Habitat groups later on.