What are we gonna do when we get there?

My real life job as a village manager in northwest OH gave me a gentle reminder of what rains & storms can do. 3-1/2 inches of rain in under 45 minutes let the the phones ring off the hooks, radio traffice from the service crews & police services were almost non-stop. The sewer construction project for the day floated to a stop, and an impromptu monster-mud-pit developed, as did a new fishing hole at Main & Locust.

Looking back to what our YSP mission trip to Cedar Rapids held in store for us, this is what one of the local residents had to say:

Flood Recovery Story by Erica Zito and Melisa BW The June flood destroyed Robin’s two-bedroom cottage in Czech town when her first floor took on 38 inches of water. “Even my picnic table jumped the fence and floated away,’ she said. But thanks to countless hours of volunteer labor coordinated by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), Robin will move back in her home at the beginning of April.

“There’s no way I would have been able to redo my house with the FEMA money without all the volunteer labor,” Robin said. “They’ve done everything. My house is beautiful.”

Immediately after the flood, Robin stayed with her sister in Swisher for three months. She mucked and gutted the house herself. “I didn’t have any problem gutting it,” she said. “I was so mad!” She moved into a FEMA trailer at the beginning of October. “I adore my sister, as she does me, but God doesn’t mean for us to live together,” she said, chuckling. Robin praised Project Manger Curt Liscum for his time and patience with rebuilding her home. “Curt is a wonderful man,” she said. “He handled everything. I’m not a boss person. I don’t like to ask for anything.” She especially liked the fact that Curt gave her the opportunity to choose her cabinets, countertops, and more. “I got a black sink,” she said, “Which is so cool!” Robin also had volunteers install a shower, instead of a bathtub because she is getting older and will be less able to get in and out of a tub.

“The volunteers were so sweet,” she said of the teams from across the country, including Michigan and Upstate New York. “They even pulled weeds up in front of my house. “I will be forever indebted.”

The verse Philipians 4:13 comes to mind. If you feel the ability to help sponsor a sink, a shower or even a weed-puliing youth for a day, please contact Shawn Harris at sharris@mentorumc.org.