Mission Trip 2009 Review . . .
Eleven members of our church, along with four of my nieces, were "Active in Mission," during the week of June 21, 2009. We went to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to participate in clean up from the flood of 2008.
The Iowa flood of 2008 was a natural disaster most of us had never heard of. The Cedar River, which runs through the middle of Cedar Rapids, flooded 1300 city blocks in Cedar Rapids. Four thousand homes were evacuated after the river crested ten feet above its previous high. Once the water receded, the clean-up began. The need will continue for years.
Our work assignments were coordinated through the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Organization and AmeriCorps and Vista. They must have been fairly happy with our work - - they checked on us a total of one time through the course of the week.
On the basis of prior experience, our work crew drew a dry walling assignment. We were lucky -- we didn't get to do any mucking out (as bad as it sounds), tear out, or roofing. The home we worked on was owned by a young lady named Yancey. Her boyfriend, Matthew, worked with us all week. They are currently buying the home. It's 100+ years old, has lath and plaster walls and square nails and real 2x4's and hardwood floors, and it presented some architectural challenges.
We spent the week tearing out and dry walling the entire first floor of the house. It was hot, and noisy, and everybody was pretty well worn out at the conclusion of each day. By the end of the week, 95% of the first floor was ready for painting. By the end of the week, 100% of our crew were ready to come home.
We were hosted on our trip by the Westminster Presbyterian Church. They provided us with lodging, showers, towel service, and a complete use of their kitchen facilities. They hosted a dinner for us the second night we were there, and the accomdations were as nice as any we've ever experienced on a mission trip. They've committed to hosting mission trippers for a full two years after the flood. I know our church would extend the same hospitality to any mission trippers coming in from out of town to clean up Joplin.
This trip wouldn't have been possible without the support and prayers of our membership.
Thank you.
Yours in the spirit of things,
Greg Carter