Service From the Heart...

There was a devastating flood in Eastern Kentucky. This area is mountain country with lots of little 'hollers'. In each of these there is usually a stream or creek. Normally, with excessive rain, one or two of these might flood. However, this time miles and miles of these streams filled way over their banks. Homes and vehicles and businesses slipped from their foundations and floated away. Some stayed firm but filled with mud and debris. Many lives were lost as this occurred during the night time. 

Our Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has an arm of it called Helping Hands, that is set up to provide help after a devastating event like this. There is a storehouse in Georgia filled with items needed to clean up after these events. This last weekend, several stakes (groups of congregations) in the Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana areas, volunteered to provide people to clean up some of this mess. There were several hundred volunteers. Claude would be one of them. Claude has a new calling at church as a communication specialist. He went to take pictures, interview people, get authorization forms signed to use the pictures taken of people, and fill in as needed at the command center.

I was blown away by all the preparation to be able to do this. The week previous there was training of some sort or other that Claude participated in via Zoom every night. There was an app everyone loaded to their phones to track what would be done and by whom it would be done. There was the ability to send group messages outside of normal social media methods. Each ward (congregation) was asked to provide a leader with 10 volunteers from that ward. There was training for each of these leaders in what they could and could not do. A command center was set up in Hazard, Kentucky at the branch building there. A grassy area was divided up for people to put their tents. Another area was set up with covered tables and chairs for computers. These would received the work orders for people living in the area. Then the work orders would be divided up so teams could work at several homes in a small geographical area. Temporary showers were set up as well as port-a-potties. People were originally asked to bring their own food for the weekend. Then other plans were made to provide food and water for everyone. It was amazing the background work that must be done to help these people. 

Everyone was to arrive Friday evening, if possible. If they could only help Saturday or Sunday, that was okay. Claude loaded his Jeep with two tubs of things, a small tent, sleeping bag, cooler with food and water, etc. He left our home about 1:30pm. I set his Google Maps so I could track where he was while he was gone. 

I takes a little over two hours to get from our home to Hazard. Once there Claude set up his camping area. We were concerned about him being able to walk the next morning. It was not at all comfortable for him in that little tent. But he made it okay. 

These are pictures of the command center area. 

And this is a picture of the camping area. It turned out there was a hotel right near and it was full. 

There was rain Friday night. This made Saturday morning a bit foggy. One of Claude's tender memories was watching the teams gather in circles to prepare for their day of service in the area they were assigned. 

Marissa Noe, a friend in the Georgetown Ward, took pictures of their team's work on Saturday. I will share some of those pictures here. When you talk about 'mucking' out a place, I believe that is a very appropriate term. Marissa's husband, Adam, is a woodworker. He makes lovely things out of wood. One of their assigned homes was a man who had a workshop that they had to completely empty. It tug at the Noe's heartstrings to have to tear out and throw out cabinets and equipment from this man's workshop that will all have to be replaced and rebuilt. 

To say the work is dirty is an understatement. There are hundreds of homes like this that need this kind of work done before they can rebuild. The gratitude for this service was exemplified by Mr. Happy, the mayor of Hazard, Kentucky. He is also the high school principal. Saturday evening he provided 200 pizzas to feed the volunteers. Here is what Mayor Happy had to say, "There are too many groups and individuals to thank for their selfless work and generosity over the last month. One group from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints brought 300 folks, two weeks in a row, to clean and rebuild. Thanks to them, and to everyone who has contributed. God bless you!"

Sunday afternoon late, my hubby drove back into Georgetown. I sat in our living room and listened to him share his feelings and experiences. The tears welled up many times as he described the feelings they were all having, the devastation they saw, the lessons they learned. Claude was one tired fella. He would do it again. He was grateful for all he and I have been blessed with in our lives. 

As he drove the highway between Jackson, Kentucky and Hazard, Kentucky, the creeks were filled with buildings and vehicles that still need to be removed. So much devastation. So much still to do. We are grateful for the things the Church does to help in these events. A truly humbling experience.