Wrap up for this transforming venture on Sand Mountain

Jay, Cathie, and Bob woke up to a quiet church.  Thoughts of all we had shared this week settled in.  After breakfast, we cleared out the pantry of VIM food leaving some condiments that the church could use.   We headed for the Henegar Baptist church to offer the unopened food and a monetary gift. 

We met with Maxine who was in charge of feeding the volunteers and their food pantry.  She showed us the food pantry and introduced her staff and customer.  She described how God helped them feed so many people for such a long period of time.  People just keep bringing food by.  God does provide.  We also think it might have something to do with how gracious and well organized Maxine is.  Our circle of friends is broadening.

On the way to Henegar, we found that the Henegar Nursery was opened.  We stopped and purchased a Knockout rose bush and a gift certificate for Jeremy and family.  Jeremy was at his home with Uncle Bobby.  They were getting started on the finishing vinyl work.  We explained that we thought the rose bush would winter well because there were lots of them around Sand Mountain and we had them at home in the Northeast also.  In addition, we explained that the nursery gift certifcate could be used in the spring.  We also told him that we had the money available because Gary's TV and Appliance store gave us such a good price on the washer and dryer.  We wished them well and hoped that he was able to move home soon.

Our last stop was the Sand Mountain UMC Parish Center.  Tanya Rains was out visiting one of the local families but her Administrative Assistant, Kristi, helped us.  She gave us a tour of the thrift store, food pantry,  and project area.  There was a group of UMW volunteers from another Asbury UMC in Alabama.  Kristi explained that there was plenty of volunteer work to do at the USMP Center.  The center reaches out to the community of people in need and helps to support 8 small local United Methodist Churches.  We left a donation with Kristi and look forward to tasting the blueberry green tomato jam or relish.
Now we must move on and cherish what we have learned and the people we have met.

We hope you have gained from our journey of faith with UMC Upper New York Volunteers in Mission.  Please share this blog with others as a way of  knowing how God's love is alive and well in the world.  The blog will continue as we get back home and continue our work for flood relief in Middleburg, NY. 

Last Day for the team in Upper Sand Mountain Parrish

Early in the day, Jan and Cathie met Misty and Lydia at Gary's TV and Appliance store.  Misty picked out a washer and dryer that would be energy efficient and large enough to handle the laundry for her family.  Misty thanked the team.  She and Lydia went back to their home to see the progress.

 






 As it was a rainy day, the team at Jeremy's was awaiting the insulation.  Roger and Jeremy worked together to get another supplier to deliver the insulation.

Since the plumbing was mostly done, by the "Upper New York Professional Pipefitters Ministry"(Pete and John), everyone there worked on the insulation.  The outside walls were insulated upstairs and down by Bill, Carol, John, Pete, Jan, Bob, and Cathie  Jeremy will do the the interior walls and ceilings after we are gone.

We shared lunch inside, sitting on steps and chairs that Jeremy offered.
It dawned on us that it was a good thing that the insulation had not come before because we wouldn't have been able to move around the house.  Insulation takes up a lot of space.

Jeremy also shared his light.  Randy, his brother, stopped by most every day to provide support and see what was going on.  He expressed concern, because medically, he was not able to help.  We reinforced with him that the support he gave his brother was just as important.

Roger found a weather appropriate job for our special team of "highly trained professionals from New York State"  They learned alot during the week.  Jay, Peter, Brian, Bernadette, and Phillipa worked together to install sheetrock on ceilings.  What fun to get to use the lift and power tools.  It makes the job a whole lot easier.

At 3:30 pm we all met at Jeremy's house to have our closing.  Carol presented the prayer blanket from the Burnt Hills UMC.  Jeremy expressed his gratitude for all that had been done for his family.

After posting 422.5 volunteer hours for the week, most of the team left from Jeremy's so that they could start their travels.  Four were heading into probable snow.  Carol, Bill, Jay, Bob, and Cathie returned to Asbury UMC to stat the clean up of the kitchen.   Bob, Jay, and, Cathie had to move their sleeping quarters so that the Fifth Quarter event at Asbury UMC could happen in the Youth area where we had been staying.  Fifth Quarter is an event that happens on Friday nights at different venues in Fort Payne after the football game. We were invited to have supper with the bands and their families.  The Christian rock band, Ohio Avenue, and Pastor Johnny's band performed.  We offered a monetary gift from the team to Asbury UMC to be used at their discretion.  Pastor Johnny accepted it with thanks and said it would be put toward their Bread of Life program at Asbury to feed the hungry.
Kay and Debbie our Southern Breakfast cooks stopped by to say Good Bye.  Hugs were shared around.  Sooo many new friends.  God's love is everywhere on Sand Mountain.
Since we weren't going to be sleeping any time soon, we went to the concert for a while and enjoyed the gathering and the music.

Day 4 with Jeremy and Bobby

Peter B., Bernie , and Brian made a delicious French toast casserole for breakfast.  We started the day with the team at Bobby's home for morning prayer.  All of the team members got to meet Bobby and Max.  Bobby accepted the prayer blanket for his family.  God is so evident in the way He gives these families the courage to rebuild amongst the destruction.

Bill and Bob finished the j channel for the ceiling of the porch and the soffit.  Bob encouraged Bill so that they could finish the last strip of siding over the window.  Jeremy talked about his vision of how the porch would look with the railings, swing, and pots with flowers for Misty.

  Jeremy, John, and Pete H. continued to work on the plumbing.  The clean water as well as waste water pipes were becoming visible.

Lydia helped Jan fill in the trenches for the exterior pipes running to and from the house.  Lydia did not want to have her picture taken.  We also had to break up a lot of clumps of dirt at Lydias direction.  She had specific ways she wanted the work to be done. 

Lydia told Bill that he had to smile for pictures when he worked on the dormer siding which was mostly done.  Carol and Bob provided the siding pieces for Bill.  Pete H. talked with Jeremy who accepted the idea of our team purchasing a washer and dryer for his family.  He said that Misty would be off work on Friday and would be glad to go with us to the store.  Roger said that Gary's TV and Appliance store had been very helpful to the victims of the tornados.  Jan and Cathie continued to play/entertain with Lydia.  She used short scraps of rebar as drum sticks on the bottom of a plastic waste basket.  In addition, she used some 2x6 boards that were stacked unevenly as a teeter totter.  We had her stack piles of wood scraps on the other end and jump on the near end.  She loved watching the blocks fly.  When her brother's got off the bus, she had directions for them also.

Bobby and Max joined their team at the Henegar Baptist Church for lunch.  The rest of the team was there also. This church supplies lunch every day for workers that have come to help out in the area.  It was great food and we got to talk to people from different parts of the country. One group was from Pennsylvania and another from South Carolina.  Both of these groups were United Methodists.  We arranged to have dinner with the group from South Carolina tonight.  Ellen Ditto suggested Katy's Katfish.   

The number of teams working simply underlines the willingness of so many people in this country to help out whenever and wherever there is a disaster.  With faith, rebuilding is possible.

 Back at Bobby's home the team of Bernadette, Phillipa, Brian, Peter, and Jay continued to put up the hardie board siding.  There was much merriment along with the work.  Phillipa continued to be the quality control person with gentle persistance and her team continues to lovingly call her "annoying".   The siding on the back was level also.  Brian and Peter B., and Bernie worked on the second story scaffolding while Jay and Phillipa provided the correct sized hardie board.  Phillipa developed another skill, cutting hardie board with the "nibbler".  Bernie also worked with Bobby to do some of the prep work.

After work, the group at Jeremy's returned to Asbury UMC and cleaned up for a trip to Little River Canyon on the mountain east of Sand Mountain.  It was peaceful and quiet there.  The colors and trees were beautiful.  Jeremy said that we were going to the beautiful mountain.  He was saddened by the loss of the beauty of his mountain.

Jeremy and Bobby lost their houses and are slowly rebuilding with help from all over the country.  They talked of Muscatine vines, pecan trees, fir trees, a weeping willow, a rose bush all destroyed but waiting to be replaced. In the description of the plants and trees that used to be, we hear the belief in a rebirth of life as cuttings are taken, vines re-grown, and families finding home in a strange and new landscape, but home nevertheless.
 God’s grace at work is a marvelous thing to see.  

The group at Bobby's wanted to stay and finish the siding on the back because rain was expected Friday.

We all met at Katy's Katfish in Rainesville with Ellen Ditto and her husband, Buzz.  We also met the team from SC.  It is great to share mission experiences.  Brian shared his humorous story of the day.  The owner of Katy's Katfish related the story of how all of his employees waited out the tornado is the bathroom at the restaurant.  They all survived without injury.  The restaurant was built with three log cabins (logs joined by cement).  The roof was destroyed.  

Ellen thanked us all for our service to Upper Sand Mountain Parish and explained the services offered to the local families year after year.  She was happy to be assigned to Tanya Raines because of Tanya's committment to her home community.  Ellen offered devotion and prayer.  Back at Asbury UMC the team gathered for sharing.  There was talk of how the week affected us as well as the families.  We began to say our farwells as a group and plan for how the monetary gifts would be distributed.  Most of our team had plans to leave from Jeremy's tomorrow.  Snow was expected on the way home....in October.   

The week was amazing.  The team had gathered from 6 churches and did a lot of work at the different sites.  It was a blessing to know that we could do something for those families.  Though they might think that all the blessings were from what they received,we received as much back.  The willingness to share with us about the losses in their lives and where it had brought them was humbling.  Could we face as much adversity and still maintain faith and hope in the future?

Day 3 at Jeremy G.'s and Bobby A.'s

At Brian's suggestion, we did our prayer to begin the work day at Jeremy's so that we could share it with him. We thanked God for the priviledge of being able to work with a family of their strenght and unity in response to their challenges.  The team members were sad to split up but understood that we were God's hands and needed to do his work.  Seven went back to Jeremy's and five went to Bobby A.'s.

At Jeremy's, the j channel for the porch siding was going up and the press board for the porch ceiling.  The plumbers were running pvc pipe.  John was drilling big holes in the joists.  Pete H. tried to convince us that he was just taking a nap in the crawl space, but we had proof he was working.  Pipes showed up through the floor.

Jeremy was regularly consulted about plumbing design because the design of the house did not allow for straight runs.  Jeremy went out and bought a hot water heater an plumbed it in.  You could see that he was seeing progress and getting excited.


The porch ceiling was installed with the help of the lift borrowed by Bill.  Cathie and Carol assisted with the lift while Bill and Bob installed the press board.

One of the big treats of the day was Lydia Taylor G. as she proudly called herself.  She is a friendly, outgoing, 4 year old, who liked to play in the sand.  She introduced her dog, Gunther.  The team members traded keeping an eye on Lydia so that her dad could focus on his team of volunteers.  Lydia had plenty of ideas about how we could keep her entertained.  We also came up with a few.  The hot water heater box made a great hideout for hide and go seek.  Lydia did not want us to leave at the end of the day.  We told her we would be back tomorrow. 

The boys David, 12, and Dally, 10, got off the school bus in the afternoon.  It is a blessing to know that life goes on in this tornado ravaged community.  All 3 of the children wanted to verify the whereabouts of a parent.  Safety was not a given for them.  They were all interested in the progress of their home. 

Ellen Ditto, our UMCOR volunteer, brought doughnuts and then was led over to the home of Bobby A. where we saw the hardie board siding in progress.  We met Bobby and Max the "mayor".

                                         

Bobby told us the story of how he and his family survived.  The two grandchildren were on either side of the toilet in a bathroom on a level of the house that was partially under ground.  His wife and daughter-in-law were covering the children.  His son was also in the bathroom.  Bobby had stepped out back because he thought the tornado was going to miss them when he saw the F5 bearing down on the house.  He turned to run into the house.  As he grabbed the door knob the wall caved in and an old refrigerator that was used to store canned goods fell across his legs pinning him to the ground.  He proudly showed the dent on the back of his legs because that is how God saved his life.  A 500 gallon propane storage tank fell to the ground about 40 feet from him.  He also showed us the storm cellar he was building in his new home.

There are bible verses on the headers and other places.

We were grateful for the sunny weather and especially for the skill and camaraderie of this team.  During devotions and team planning, we decided to have the team morning prayer at the home of Bobby the next day so that all of the team members would have a chance to meet this second special family.  Carol said that she had two prayer blankets from her church, Burnt Hills UMC.  She offered one to be given to Bobby's family.  The team was becoming it's own family.  At the same time we were realizing that there were only 2 more days to help these families.  The team was reminded that we are God's hands and that he will provide more help when we are back home.  The team wished to give Misty and Jeremy a washer and dryer.  We decided that one of the male members of the team should approach Jeremy.  Pete H. offered to talk with Jeremy.  Everyone slept well.

Day 2 with Jeremy

Another glorious day in Alabama - We started our day with a delicious egg sausage square casserole breakfast prepared by Peter B. and Brian.  We were ready for another day.

We caravaned to Jeremy's house to continue with the work on plumbing, siding, and clean up - still no insulation which the supplier was supposed to deliver Monday.  Randy, Jeremy's brother, stopped by.  Although he is not able to labor, he has been very supportive to Jeremy.  He said that Jeremy, Misty, and the three children are living in an apartment in Fort Payne.  The plan is to have the house completed in two years because Jeremy has been doing most of the work in his spare time.  We hope we can shorten the time considerably.  Roger Haney explained that Jeremy has had a hard time accepting help because he is able to do the work.  Gradually he is openning to help.  We are careful to explain that we are helping with his project.  The team defers to him for direction.  He is seeing progress.

Jeremy shared his story.  He had secured his family in a central closet with a matress on top as the F3 tornado came from the left.  It lifted their roof in place and destroyed the neighbors mobil home and killed the couple.  They were relieved that it hadn't been worse.  When he looked out the door, he saw the F5 tornado bearing down from the right over the rise.  He dashed back to secure the family again.  Seconds later, he and the two boys were flying 20 feet in the air for about 100-250 yards into the back yard and then they dropped as the tornado passed.  They only had scratches.  Misty and Lydia were trapped in the destruction of the home they had built.  When they were freed, Lydia was unhurt but Misty "was wearing a window like a hula hoop".  She had 3 broken ribs and a collapsed lung.  In order to get help for her, Jeremy had to drive their van with four flat tires across a field to get to the fire station.  She was transferred to Huntsville for medical care (60 miles away).  Misty spent 4 weeks in intensive care.  Now she is back to working 12 hour shifts at the local sock weaving factory where she has worked for many years.   Notice how the story needs to be retold.

We joined other Methodists from PA and SC at the Henegar Baptist church for lunch.  The soups, corn bread, and desserts were the highlights.  Maxine and her volunteers have been putting on lunches for the relief volunteers everyday as needed for the last six months.  They plan to continue.

The siding progressed to the point that could be done without the front and garage doors. 

 The plumbing progressed more slowly. 

Ditches were widened outside to connect the clean water line from the well and to connect the waste line to the septic line. 

The clean up of the yard and the organization of materials was impressive

Jeremy was available for questions and went for supplies as needed.  His Uncle Bobby came in the afternoon and was helpful with a technical problem with the siding.  Otherwise he let the volunteers do their work.  By the end of the day, Jeremy and the crew were more relaxed with each other.

During the sharing time in the evening, Brian offered devotions and the work plan for Wednesday was changed as the insulation for Jeremy's house had not arrived.

Sorry for the interruption.

Now that our VIM experience is over this blogger will have a little more time and a better connection to continue with the blog.  The 6 of our team members who had to travel home through the snow storm made it home safely.  Thank you for the prayers for our team.
The link below was shared with us by Ellen Ditto, the UMCOR Missionary assigned to the North Alabama Long Term Recovery.  It is a song and video done by Willee T. who came to volunteer and was so moved that he wrote the song.  The background shows one of the sites our team worked at.  The victims and neighbors in this area mourn the loss of their family members, friends, homes, businesses and the trees on Sand Mountain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAYCze1oSdQ

Our first day at the home of Jeremy and Misty

Roger, our host project leader, led us out to the home of Jeremy and Misty and introduced us to Jeremy (suspenders).  He shared his story about how he and his family survived a direct hit by two tornadoes.  The first, an F3, and the second, an F5, which destroyed their house on April, 23rd.  He and his two sons, 12 and 10, were blown from the house and remembered falling from about 20 feet when the wind stopped.  His wife and 4 year old daughter were caught in the collapse of the house.   Misty spent 4 weeks in ICU after sustaining fractured ribs and a punctured lung.  She protected her daughter.

 As the men started the vinyl siding with Jeremy's input, the women began to pick up the debris in the yard.  Bits of plastic, pieces of glass, chunks of wood, etc. from all over the neighborhood...county.

 When Misty arrived to bring her husband a beverage, we stopped to listen to her story.  The strength and courage of this couple as they take one step at a time to rebuild their lives was amazing to our team.

The team, men and women, developed a working rhythm so that by the end of the day 1/2 the house was sided.

Pete and John worked with Jeremy to plan the plumbing for the house.  That included a trench that was dug by Pete, Bernadette, John, and Cathie.  We were pleased that our family and Jeremy's family were comfortable together.

At the end of the day, the team met to share experiences of the day and where they saw God.....everywhere.  Our evening devotion was offered by Jan focusing on Faith in Action from The Message , James 2:14-25.

Arriving at Asbury UMC in Fort Payne, AL

The team arrived safely by 5 pm when the pastor's wife, Kay, and a friend Debbie served a Southern breakfast for supper.  This wonderful meal included biscuits, grits, eggs, sausage, bacon, fruit, and muffins.  We shared a prayer and enjoyed their company for the meal.  We found that our churches share many of the same joys and concerns.

Pastor Johnny Jordan stopped by to welcome the group.  He shared a prayer while holding hands.  After the prayer, he taught us how to "shake a little love".



Roger Haney stopped by to talk about our work projects for the week.  Today is 6 months after the tornadoes ripped through Alabama.

We have been properly welcomed and are excited about the week ahead.

Jackie receives her large print bible

Jackie had been distressed because she couldn't find her large print Bible.  We knew that it probably wasn't salvageable because of the flood and subsequent mold.  Today she received her new Bible thanks to the donations from SUMC.  Jay and John met with the building and electrical inspectors.  John took notes.  There is still much work to be done.
Jackie is a blessing to Cathie, who lost her mother this summer.
God works in mysterious ways.

Mike and Pat, from Burnt Hills UMC, brought 2 more friends, Owen and Holly.  Jackie's circle of friends is broadening.  They finished cleaning out her basement today.

The inspector determined that the sheetrock was damp higher than expected, so that at least 18 more inches had to be removed.

Removing the mud and wet insulation from between the studs is a never ending battle.  We'll keep working at it. 

 Join the fun and meet a wonderful lady.  Contact Jay Dunkleberger at jdunkleb@nycap.rr.com or 518-371-7071.

Our Hands4NY went to Middleburgh for Flood Relief

Ten adults and six youth spent the day in service to our neighbors in Middleburgh, NY.  We were sent forth by Pastor Alan at the beginning of the 9 am service this morning.  We car pooled to Middleburgh to find two projects awaiting us.  We returned to Jackie's house and sang Happy Birthday to her and gave her a birthday card.  She was overwhelmed at the number of people who showed up to help.  She was especially pleased that the youth would spend their day with her.  As she requested, we cleaned up the door yard and the front porch while the weather was good.  We continued to take down molded sheet rock and hard wood flooring.  Jackie helped the team as much as she could.

"It really felt good helping others and knowing that I was responding to God's call to 'love your neighbor".

"I could not believe how high the water was!"

Jackie recieved a lot of love from her new friends

Four of our team members went to another site to install sheetrock.  They joined the homeowner and his son who were already at work.  The home owner had already used up all of his vacation time to clean up after the flood. 

"The homeowners were so thankful for all that we did."

Middleburgh UMC was our host for the day.  As we arrived, the congregation was leaving and thanking us for coming.  We returned to the church to eat our lunches.  Thanks to Gladys Faulkner we had chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

It was a really good day.  Everyone was tired but satisfied with the work they had accomplished.  It was good to be able to connect with our neighbors in need.  We listened to their stories.  It is so difficult to comprehend the devastation.  There is so much more to do!!!!!  Please consider joining one or more of these teams.  Contact Jay Dunkleberger at jdunkleb@nycap.rr.com or 518-371-7071.