the kids stood in front of our congregation and asked us to do something about the flooding that occurred this summer just east and slightly south of us in the Susquehanna River Valley. We thought we would plan to go on Labor Day weekend instead of having our Church Family Picnic, but Greg Jenkins, the coordinator of the Conklin Presbyterian Church cleanup effort had another suggestion. He said he needed us the very next Saturday because the volunteers were going to be given a few days off over Labor Day weekend after working seven days a week since the floodwaters raged at the end of June. With no Sunday to make announcements before our work trip, our Sunday School teacher, Lynn Bailey, hit the phones, making requests for needed items, for willing workers, for money, and for prayers. The momentum built throughout the week.
When we left in the morning at 7:00 a.m. for the 1 1/2 hour trip, there were 14 of us, with 2 to join us later. Our ages ranged from 6 to 87. All we knew was that Greg would tell us what to do when we got there. What a day! The seemingly arbitrary destruction of the flood defied our attempts at reason. The X's painted on doorways were disconcerting. But the command center, which has been coordinating cleanup and tear-down projects and providing meals for the community, was cheerful, and very well organized. We were given two jobs, a lawn cleanup job for the little ones, and a "rip and tear" job for the rest of the group. When we met for lunch we shared our stories of what we had seen and what we had been able to do, and about how the families we met were coping. We all ended up at the same job in the afternoon, continuing the gutting of Pat's home on the riverside. Everything was gone. She had lived in her attic for several weeks before finally getting a FEMA trailer just a week before we came. She is still in a precarious position, waiting for plumbing and electricity to be restored. She said that the Mayor and his Secretary had been by during lunch time. We gave her the food we had that was non-perishable and she happily shared a sandwich with us as well. She said that Billy Graham Crusades had been there earlier that week and showed us the Bible they left, that indicated that she had accepted Jesus Christ on the day they visited, but, she secretly told me, the Moreland Church Pastor, that she had "done that a long time ago".
A poignant moment, when we were preparing to leave, came unexpectedly. One of our team was not going to be in worship the following morning and wanted to share with me some items to bring to church, including the first prayer shawls for our new prayer shawl ministry. Then and there we decided to give Pat our very first prayer shawl, as she was the person who we thought could most appreciate it, and we knew she was a woman of faith. We shared our hugs and said goodbye, with the definite plan that we will be returning another day. Even for a small church, mission work is possible. And even for Presbyterians, a spontaneous trip is possible! We thank God and the Conklin Presbyterian Church for this opportunity. |
