I guess I didn't experience this following my mission because I served in Spain where they are comparatively well off. This Christmas I understand what Scott meant. The only thing I want for Christmas is to help the people in New Jersey and New York who have lost so much.
Last Sunday I led a crew of 11 over to Keansburg, NJ to help Lucille, Jean, and Julio. We started out at the Morrisville meetinghouse in our stake where we received the sacrament, our assignments, and the "Mormon Helping Hands" vests. We had a short sacrament meeting with all the other teams from our stake that were headed out that day. It was a unique experience to have priests blessing the sacrament in jeans and hoodies with the congregation dressed in work clothes.
Our first work order was for a lady, Lucille who had a tree down in her yard. I thought we would have it cut up and cleared in no time. When we got there, it had already been cut up and we just carried the pieces out to the curb. Quick and easy job. Then she mentioned she couldn't get into her shed. We looked inside and saw that several items had fallen over. On top was a rubber tote filled with water that was very heavy. We moved the tote and started removing the water logged items from the shed. It was difficult to discern what was salvageable and what was best tossed out. Before setting out on our quest, I had received instruction to keep everyone in my crew working. As we brought items for Lucille to determine keep or toss, there was a lot of standing around. I felt stressed that I wasn't keeping my crew working. Then I stepped back and thought about it. She was sorting through Afghans she had crocheted for her children, supplies she had used for her catering business, water logged drawers of craft supplies. It was a very difficult thing. She needed time, patience, and love. We emptied her shed, left the contents in the yard to air out in the sun and told her we would come back in a few hours to put whatever she wanted back in the shed.
Jean examining his giant fish tank.
Next we went to Jean's house. The water had risen half way up the walls in his front room leaving behind water marks and mold. We carried his couches out to the curb. We cut out his dry wall and insulation and carried it out to the curb. We saw his wife and daughter. They seemed like they were still in shock. As we finished up, Jean said he wanted to take us to Burger King to thank us. We explained that we had brought our own food and that being allowed to help him was thanks enough. He started crying and told us he really wanted to take us to Burger King, at least for coffee to thank us. Finally he understood that we had other people to help. He gave us all hugs as we left.
The curb in front of Jean's house when we left.
When we arrived at Julio's house, his dry wall had all been removed and his house was empty. Lucky for me their plumbing still worked and I could borrow their toilet; unluckily, the walls had all been removed. Luckily, there were only guys around. Julio thanked us for stopping by but said all the work was done that we could do. Then he told us the people that needed our help were his next door neighbors. He and his wife led us over there and told his neighbors who we were and that they needed to let us help them. They did need our help. You could smell the wet mold when you walked into their house. Julio impressed me as the kind of neighbor I would like to be.Adele is Julio's neighbor. He and his wife are from Egypt. They had no where else to go, so they were in their home through the storm. They were in their house talking; Adele's wife turned to hand him his shirt, and the next thing they knew they had 2 feet of water in their house. They didn't know what to do. They didn't know if the water would rise higher. They spent all night worrying. While the water finally receded, they didn't get electricity back for 10 days. I can't imagine what they did for 10 days in a house that's been ruined by flood with no where else to go, and no television or computer to access the outside world and find out what is happening to get them out of that mess.
Tail-gating for lunch.
After lunch we did another room in Adele's house. The house smelled much better when we left; though it was still unfit for living. I considered inviting Adele and his wife to come stay at our house, but being two hours away would prohibit them from working with insurance agents and contractors to improve their situation. I hope we gave them hope.
Room after we "finished"
We returned to Lucille's house. We put things back in her shed. Lucille asked who to make a donation to. I told her not to worry about it.Being there makes it personal. Seeing it on the news, you feel bad for the people and you pray for the people. Having been there, I think about Lucille, Jean, Julio, and Adele and their families every day and pray for them specifically. As I thought about them during my scripture study last Monday I read this scripture in 2 Nephi 8:3 "For the Lord shall comfort [the people in New Jersey] he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody." My Christmas prayer is that it may be so.
Lucille and the crew.
Stay tuned to read about my trip to Seaside Heights yesterday.
1 comments:
This is really neat. How wonderful to be able to participate in something so amazing!
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