So there was this hurricane that hit Texas a while back. You might've heard about it </hipster>. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called for volunteers from around the area to drive down to Houston and other locales to help.
I went down two weekends ago with 10 other people from my local church and again last weekend with a new group of 10. Someone else was our team leader each time, but I served as assistant since I was going both times. We were joined by 150-200 others from our stake each weekend (that's the Weatherford area) and approximately 10,000 Mormons from Texas and other areas nearby.
We arrived to help muck out houses. Mucking out means we took absolutely everything that wasn't salvageable (just about everything) out of the house to be trashed, tore out the sheet rock and drywall and insulation, and left a barebones skeleton frame in the house. The first weekend we spent the entire time helping one lady, whom I will call "Mary" - about 73 years old, she's a diabetic widow with some pretty serious mold allergies. Mold is one of the biggest problems from this flood as absolutely everything gets thoroughly soaked. Because of the mold, the house smelled absolutely dreadful and I was thankful we had taken the time to buy an industrial grade air filter because of my mold allergies. In the picture you can see the water line that went up to about 4 feet.
But if the water is 4 feet high, then it seeped up the insulation to 5-6 feet and that meant all the walls had to be taken down completely. We couldn't finish her house in one weekend, so we finished the job when we came back the second weekend. We also got to help another couple where the water had only gone up 1-2 feet. It still meant they lost most of their things and we had to remove the drywall up to 4 feet.
The good news for the couple was that they had flood insurance, so the insurance company would pay for most of it. While Mary had hurricane insurance, she didn't have flood insurance; once the water hits the ground, it's technically a flood so the company is paying for nothing at all.
Driving up the road east of Houston, you can see the trail of devastation. Every house lost so much! Cars and motorcycles, tubs and sinks, all the wood furniture, the sofas, the beds, books, and so much more. Mary had baseball cards from the 40s and 50s. We did manage to salvage some World War II medals, some glassware, and a few clothes, but it was just heartbreaking to throw everything else out.
We slept in a civic center and a junior high gym on cots or whatever else we brought. Church was held there in the gym Sunday morning with 400-600 of us in t-shirts and jeans. Testimonies were born and gratitude expressed.
Some folks in the neighborhoods apparently asked if Mormons build houses too, or if we only tear stuff down. We reassured people that they didn't want us building their homes - professors of econ like me, retired folks, appliance repair technicians, lawyers, teenagers and college students, farmers, firemen, and soda bottlers, ... most of us aren't contractors, architects, or builders by any stretch.
Beaumont had arranged for two trailers to serve as hot water showers or we could use the more public, cold showers there. I was just thankful for AC and that our church was providing a hot dinner. We otherwise brought all our own food and water. For me, that was trail mix, wheat thins, carrots, celery with peanut butter, a little cheese for the morning driving down, pbj, and some fruits.
The first day, even though I had told myself to pace it out, I overdid it right away. It was hot and much more humid than I expected. It was hard to get enough oxygen through the mask. And then I discovered that my spare tire was hitting the grass! I don't know how far we had driven with my spare ready to scrape the road and I'm just thankful we made it there in one piece. I spent some time directly under the sun getting the thing out and when that was done I had some heat exhaustion. I had to lay down in the shade for a bit and drink a quart before I was well enough to get back to work. I felt quite ashamed and wished both weekends that I were stronger and more fit so I could have done more.
That's really the driving force, wishing I could do more. When Katrina hit 10 years ago, I was in grad school in upstate New York, newly married, and couldn't drive the several days down to help. But as I read the stories of Mormon Helping Hands in the yellow t-shirts and watched videos like this one, I longed for a time when I could don that yellow vest and help out. As horrible as this was for the people were hit, this was fulfilling a long-held dream of mine - to be in a position where I could just take off and help. There are plenty of times I wish I could do more and many people I wish I could help.
I spoke with Joy and the kids on the phone once or twice on break and had longer conversations at night. Princess missed me particularly and cried when we talked about Daddy leaving, even though it would only be Saturday 5am to Sunday 9pm. Joy reports she was okay while I was gone.
We were joined the first weekend by a nice fellow named Mohab, from a nearby town. He is Coptic Christian and just saw some people helping and thought he'd join in. We were delighted to have him. The second weekend another group of 6 or so from our church in Graham joined us as well, but I'm afraid I don't remember any of their names. We were a little busy hauling trash.
I am deeply thankful for this opportunity to serve. I was also thankful this weekend as apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ thanked the thousands of us who pitched in here in Texas, Florida, and other places. How thankful I am to be a member of a church that cares and gives so much - where so many people are willing to drive hours out of their way to help complete strangers try to put order out of the chaos and show some sympathy and love.
Joy: "We held some Family Home Evenings with the children to help them understand our sacrifice for helping the people in Houston was a time that we wouldn't have Daddy. It was our chance to help the people in Houston, anything we were giving up without him here. We planned a local service project to clean up our neighborhood around here too. At least one person in General Conference talked about being willing to sacrifice and serve where we are. I really appreciated that."
I gotta say, the youth who came with us did a stellar job. Hardworking, uncomplaining, and not only as diligent as anyone else but sometimes they had to be sent away from the work to get some rest so they wouldn't tire out. It was a great, uniting experience for the people in our church. After hearing a 10 year old joined us the first weekend, Superstar was a little worried I'd drag him down the second weekend, but he isn't quiiiiite ready to put in that kind of labor unsupervised and I knew with how exhausted I was throughout that I wouldn't be able to take care of him properly.
I went down two weekends ago with 10 other people from my local church and again last weekend with a new group of 10. Someone else was our team leader each time, but I served as assistant since I was going both times. We were joined by 150-200 others from our stake each weekend (that's the Weatherford area) and approximately 10,000 Mormons from Texas and other areas nearby.
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| No. I AM your father. |
But if the water is 4 feet high, then it seeped up the insulation to 5-6 feet and that meant all the walls had to be taken down completely. We couldn't finish her house in one weekend, so we finished the job when we came back the second weekend. We also got to help another couple where the water had only gone up 1-2 feet. It still meant they lost most of their things and we had to remove the drywall up to 4 feet.
The good news for the couple was that they had flood insurance, so the insurance company would pay for most of it. While Mary had hurricane insurance, she didn't have flood insurance; once the water hits the ground, it's technically a flood so the company is paying for nothing at all.Driving up the road east of Houston, you can see the trail of devastation. Every house lost so much! Cars and motorcycles, tubs and sinks, all the wood furniture, the sofas, the beds, books, and so much more. Mary had baseball cards from the 40s and 50s. We did manage to salvage some World War II medals, some glassware, and a few clothes, but it was just heartbreaking to throw everything else out.
We slept in a civic center and a junior high gym on cots or whatever else we brought. Church was held there in the gym Sunday morning with 400-600 of us in t-shirts and jeans. Testimonies were born and gratitude expressed.Some folks in the neighborhoods apparently asked if Mormons build houses too, or if we only tear stuff down. We reassured people that they didn't want us building their homes - professors of econ like me, retired folks, appliance repair technicians, lawyers, teenagers and college students, farmers, firemen, and soda bottlers, ... most of us aren't contractors, architects, or builders by any stretch.
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| Week 1: Max, George, Scott, Sam and son Andrew took the pic Me, Kyle, Mary, Ryan, Nathan, Rachel, and Bethany |
The first day, even though I had told myself to pace it out, I overdid it right away. It was hot and much more humid than I expected. It was hard to get enough oxygen through the mask. And then I discovered that my spare tire was hitting the grass! I don't know how far we had driven with my spare ready to scrape the road and I'm just thankful we made it there in one piece. I spent some time directly under the sun getting the thing out and when that was done I had some heat exhaustion. I had to lay down in the shade for a bit and drink a quart before I was well enough to get back to work. I felt quite ashamed and wished both weekends that I were stronger and more fit so I could have done more. |
| Morning of the second weekend |
I spoke with Joy and the kids on the phone once or twice on break and had longer conversations at night. Princess missed me particularly and cried when we talked about Daddy leaving, even though it would only be Saturday 5am to Sunday 9pm. Joy reports she was okay while I was gone.
 |
| Week 2; Me, Juan, Sonia, Domingo, Seth, Vic, Julie, Greg, Kyle, Noah, ..., Keldon, Francisco, and Noah on selfie plus a few people from another town. The couple was in bed from the heat and complications. |
I am deeply thankful for this opportunity to serve. I was also thankful this weekend as apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ thanked the thousands of us who pitched in here in Texas, Florida, and other places. How thankful I am to be a member of a church that cares and gives so much - where so many people are willing to drive hours out of their way to help complete strangers try to put order out of the chaos and show some sympathy and love.
Joy: "We held some Family Home Evenings with the children to help them understand our sacrifice for helping the people in Houston was a time that we wouldn't have Daddy. It was our chance to help the people in Houston, anything we were giving up without him here. We planned a local service project to clean up our neighborhood around here too. At least one person in General Conference talked about being willing to sacrifice and serve where we are. I really appreciated that."
I gotta say, the youth who came with us did a stellar job. Hardworking, uncomplaining, and not only as diligent as anyone else but sometimes they had to be sent away from the work to get some rest so they wouldn't tire out. It was a great, uniting experience for the people in our church. After hearing a 10 year old joined us the first weekend, Superstar was a little worried I'd drag him down the second weekend, but he isn't quiiiiite ready to put in that kind of labor unsupervised and I knew with how exhausted I was throughout that I wouldn't be able to take care of him properly.
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