Friday - We're Home!

This morning Wendell, Rod M., John, and Rod S. traveled to "our" house one last time to work. John and Rod M. put the finishing touches on the stair we built and tore out the outdated stair in the house. While Rod M. and John were busy with these tasks, Wendell and Rod S. tried to figure out how to remove a 12' section of wall in the living room of the house that just happened to be holding up a portion of the second story. As with everything in the house this support wall was severely bowed and had questionable structural support from below. With help as needed from John and Rod M., Rod S. and Wendell jacked up the second story, removed the wall, and installed a header; it's better now than when we began. When Eric, the construction manager, visited the site his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He had thought there was no chance we would be able to complete the task list he had given us on Monday. Not only had we completed everything, but he said the quality was better than he ever could have expected. He also asked us if we could come back next month for another week of work.  

I have mentioned previously in the blog that a youth group from Pennsylvania was installing vinyl siding on the house while we were working on the inside. Over the course of the week we got to know them pretty well; and found them to be great people, eager to help and very skilled. They literally transformed the exterior of this house. When we packed up to leave this afternoon they insisted we get a group photo. Following the photo, Bryan, one of the adult leaders, presented me with a 6 foot level of his that I had been admiring. Also, Rod M., Wendell, Rod S., and John each were given a cross necklace by one of the members of the Pennsylvania group. They received the necklaces at their mission trip orientation and were told to give it to someone they had come to know while on the mission trip. What a cool gift!

Sandy, Mary, and Becky went to Azure, a site where Marion Cares holds after school meetings during the school year, the FLY program hands out lunches, and where there are some summer activities. Sandy and Vicki had painted the floors in the two bedrooms and bath earlier in the week. Today we laid some carpet pieces and put the furniture back in place. It is ready to go for fall. Then we were off to the Marion Cares office to work with Marion Moms on packing backpacks. We packed over 130 back packs in 2 hours. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for the few missing items for the backpacks. We asked Pastor Melisa how many backpacks they hoped to fill. She told us 350; what a project! They will have special events like ice cream socials at each of the eight sites to hand out the backpacks. We felt like we accomplished a lot for Marion Cares this week.

We left Cedar Rapids for home about 5:00. We stopped in the Amanas for dinner and arrived at Immanuel about 8:30 pm.

Thursday - And Then There Were Seven...

Well, today we're down to seven servants. Rod M., Wendell, John, and Rod S. were joined today by Wendell's childhood friend and Cedar Rapids native: Ron Henderson. It was another hot, very humid day with very little air movement inside the house as we worked. It was a challenge, but by the end of the day the new stairwell between the first and second floor was nearly complete. Now, this might not seem like such a major accomplishment, but the building codes are very specific about how the stair must be built and we ran into some significant structural challenges that we had to resolve. Attempting to insert a square, straight, and plumb stair into a house where nothing is straight, square, or plumb and getting it to line up with a second floor which sagged about two inches across the opening took a great amount of "ciphering" and trial and error. Rod M. managed to occupy his time by performing another task no one else wanted to do – painting primer on the inside of the walls. It was a long, hot, sweaty day for the construction crew, but we ended the day with a feeling of accomplishment

Well, Sandy, Becky and Mary got to spend most of their day in an air-conditioned Wal-Mart buying school supplies for 38 children. We spent over $2000.00. Thank goodness that did not go on my credit card. We have everything organized for tomorrow when we will hopefully fill about 60 back packs in two hours. The Marion Moms (whoever that is) will help us. For a midday distraction we went with some elementary school girls to the small Marion airport for a tour. Melissa has discovered what good workers we are and has made a list of things to keep us busy for another week. Unfortunately, tomorrow is our last day.

Wednesday - Our Third Day of Service

This morning Rod M., Wendell, Chuck, John, and Rod S. went back to the house to continue their work. Rod M. and Wendell got the last window replaced (yeh!). A group of youth from Pennsylvania is putting vinyl siding on the house, so getting the windows installed allows them to keep working. They are a great group and we've developed a good relationship with them; sharing tools, space, and good-natured digs back and forth.

Rod S., Chuck, and John continued to work on the new stairway in the house. Inserting a stair in an existing home is always a challenge, but this house where nothing is square, straight, or plumb presents even more "opportunities". We have to carefully think everything out before doing anything. We were able to get the support wall for the second story installed today and get part of the hole for the stair cut in the floor; a dirty, noisy job. It didn't rain today, thankfully, and it's not as humid as it has been, but working in a pretty much closed up house has verified that all of us have fully functional sweat glands.

Somehow Rod M. also got to help carry building materials from a house across the street into "our" house. Monday and Tuesday, we didn't have sufficient lumber for our tasks, today we were stumbling over more than ample materials.

This afternoon was a free half-day. Most of the guys (Rod M., Chuck, Wendell, and John) took the opportunity to play the Amana Golf Course. Rod S. chauffeured Becky, Mary, Sandy, and Vicki to Amana, IA where we had a wonderful lunch followed by shopping at various shops. Surprisingly, somehow Becky was able to find the quilting store, purchasing a couple of patterns and some additional fabric.

Chuck has been bothered by pain for most of the week and after discussing it with his dentist today; he has an appointment for an emergency root canal tomorrow morning. So, he and Vicki left for home tonight.   It's been suggested that this is an elaborate scheme to get out of helping figure out how we're going to finish the stair in the house, but I am fairly certain that's not the case. We will miss them and wish Chuck a speedy recovery.

Sandy, Mary, Vicki and Becky returned to Marion Cares today. They helped unload the Hy-Vee van that was delivering supplies for FLY. Then we went to their community garden to dig potatoes. After some discussion and digging one bunch of potatoes up it was decided they should grow more. Cara, the intern, has never gardened before so we are trying to give her some hints. We weeded and then toured a garden area that the Linn County Extension Service had planted. It was beautiful. Our morning was not too taxing but we enjoyed the afternoon off to have some fun in the Amanas.

Tuesday - Our Second Day of Service

Today, Cheryl and Nancy joined the construction crew of Wendell, John, Rod M., Andy, Kristen, Chuck, and Rod S. at the house at 403 6^th Avenue NW. Nancy and Cheryl spent the morning painting sealer on the inside of the walls of the first floor to contain the "flood smell". Rod S. and Wendell finished the window installation they began on Monday. The rest of the crew finished the flooring project they began yesterday, too. Wendell, Rod S., and Andy spent considerable time figuring out how to install a new stairway to the second floor of the house and ended up getting a good share of it built. Wendell got yet another window framed and installed.

The Marion Cares team (Becky, Mary, Sandy & Vicki) started the day sorting school supplies for an upcoming backpack event. We had to stop, mid-sort, to help load the food for the FLY (Feeding Lunch to Youth and families) sack lunches into a truck so they could be assembled at an alternate site. FLY distributes free sack lunches, Monday through Friday, at eight sites around the city of Marion. From there we went to their Azure site where they operate out of 3 apartments in a large complex. Becky & Mary cleaned 2 of the apartments. Sandy & Vicki painted the floors in 3 rooms and a hallway of the third apartment, where the carpet and subfloor had been torn out after a "sewer malfunction". While Sandy and Vicki finished painting, Becky & Mary, joined by Cheryl & Nancy went shopping in search of more school supply deals.

Tonight we were treated, and I mean treated to a home cooked dinner at Ellis Park courtesy of Dewey and Lois McMillen.  We were not only delighted by the wonderful food provided, but we were thrilled that we didn't have to cook and clean up for ourselves. The evening was full of good conversation and some of us were treated to a show in the nearby Cedar River by the Five Seasons Water Skiing Team.

We said "good by" to Andy, Kristin, Cheryl, and Nancy and thanked them for their service. Some indicated they might be in for the whole trip next year.

Monday - We're Here!

Well, thanks to our send off committee-Anna Marie. We left Immanuel this morning only 15 minutes late for Cedar Rapids. After driving through pouring rain most of the way we finally arrived at Living Water United Methodist Church. We are sharing the facilities with a group from Jackson, TN, whose host church backed out on them at the last minute. Since the church is really only set up for one group we're dealing with a few logistical challenges.

After getting settled Wendell, John, Andy, Rod M., Kristin, and Rod S. went to St. James UMC for construction orientation with Block by Block. Block by Block is a group that has only been in existence for about a year, involving the United Methodist Church. A $2 million anonymous grant helped get them started. Flood damaged homes are purchased from the owners at the pre-flood assessed value, rehabbed using volunteer labor, and sold for no profit or a small loss. The goal is to repopulate the neighborhoods with affordable housing; just as they were before the flood. The conference pays the salary of two members of the staff; the rest comes from other support agencies. We were told that about 5,000 houses were originally damaged beyond habitation by the floods and about 1/3 of those are now being lived in. Driving though the neighborhoods supported that fact. We worked on a house today that is stripped to the studs; we could spend several weeks there. Wendell, Rod S., and Rod M. spent the afternoon rebuilding an upstairs opening and replacing two windows. Andy, John, Kristin, and Chuck spent the afternoon installing the structure for a floor in about 1/3 of the main floor of the house. It rained off and on all day and was not particularly hot, but very humid with, of course, little air movement in the enclosed house.

Sandy, Cheryl, Nancy, Mary, Vicki and Becky worked with an organization called Marion Cares. We weeded in a very sad community garden this morning. In the afternoon, we worked at First United Methodist Church in Marion packaging carrots and cereal for sack lunches for the FLY program. We also spent time shopping for good school supply deals at various stores in the area.

Tonight a local woman who was flooded out of her house in 2008 spoke to us. It was very informative and uplifting. The community spirit she described brought on by the flood was amazing. 

We're Getting Ready to Go!

Plans are in the final stages for this year’s mission trip. A total of 15 people are currently in the process of figuring out where they “stored” their air mattress, water jug, etc., etc. Rod Musser, who is in charge of devotions, has proclaimed he’s “as prepared as he gets”, a truly scary thought.   Back Home Buddies are putting the finishing touches on their packets. Rod Stevens is in a constant state of worry about what he’s forgotten to do, organize, or include. In short, everything’s pretty much normal for this stage.

The group will depart from Immanuel on Monday, July 19, at 7:00am and head east towards Cedar Rapids. We will be staying at Living Water United Methodist Church in Marion, IA >>. About half of us will be working with Block by Block >>, an organization formed to rebuild Cedar Rapids neighborhoods damaged by the floods of 2008. The rest of us will be working with Marion Cares >>, a local community service agency. We’re not sure what we’ll be doing yet, but we do now from past experience that it will be out of the ordinary, challenging at times, and very fulfilling. We will learn a bit about ourselves, each other, and come closer as a group.

We will return to Immanuel Friday, July 23, in the evening exhausted, but exhilarated as always.

Feel free to send some prayers our way as we put our faith into action.  Check back to this space as we are planning to post daily updates. Thanks in advance for your support.

Volunteers in Mission Trip 2010

Immanuel's tradition of service was again renewed July 18-23, 2010, with the annual Volunteers in Mission Trip.  The trip had a local flavor as IUMC members travel to Cedar Rapids, IA, to participate in ongoing relief efforts from the great Iowa flood of 2008 through the United Methodist Church-sponsored Block by Block program, as well as community improvement efforts through Marion Cares.

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