Minot 2- Recruiting participants and support

Hi all!

We are gearing up for Minot 2.  There are a lot of displaced people who want to get into their homes, and we are going to help them.  

The dates are April 15-21st.  I'm asking $200/person.  

I have been told that we will be doing reconstruction as opposed to deconstruction.  

I signed us up for 15 slots.  I currently have about 10 of them still open.  :-)  

If you want to go, please let me know and we'll get you the info.  There will be two planning/team meetings.  Dates and location are still tentative for that meeting.  

As always, if you want to go and money is the barrier to you going, talk to me about it and we will figure out a way to work it out.  

Ways to support us if you want to be involved but can't go-

1-  They are still asking for quilt donations.  

2-  Pray for us.

3-  Read our emails and look at our pictures while we are on the road

4-  Donate money-  read on...

I'm working recruiting "The Nifty Fifty"

The Nifty Fifty are fifty people that will donate $100 towards this trip.  

People in the Nifty Fifty Club will get:

                     a picture book of our trip, 

                     an opportunity to "skype" in (Google video chat,actually) to our devotions while on the road, 

                     something special to be determined at our thank you dinner

                     will learn the secret handshake.  (That's a joke.  We don't have a secret handshake.  Yet.)  

  

Feel free to share this with anyone you think is interested.  

And let me know if you're on the bus.  

R

--
True faith is never found alone; it is accompanied by expectation.  --C.S. Lewis.

Minot 2- April 15-21, 2012

Get on the bus!  (Let Rod know if you're interested.)

Why Not Minot 1- October 2011- Epilogue

In the Spring of 2011, right around Memorial Weekend, the residents of Minot, ND were told that the Souris River was going to flood and an evacuation would be required for those in the flood zone.  The water rose, but no disaster.  People went back to their homes

On June 21, 2011, the Minot Daily News reported that an "unstoppable, historic" flood was imminent in the Souris River Valley, largely due to large dam releases upstream. Around 12,000 people were evacuated. On June 26, flooding exceeded previous records when the river crested at 1,561.72 feet above sea level, three feet above the previous record set back in 1881. It is estimated that 20 percent of Minot sustained damage from the flood. This figure includes over 4,100 homes which were someway affected, 2,376 extensively damaged, and 805 damaged beyond repair. The nearby town of Burlington was also severely damaged during this time.  (This is from Wikipedia)

I was told a lot of things about the flood.  I was told that the damaged house count was 4411.  I was told that it was caused by human error.  (Canadians letting more water out of their reservoirs than was supposed to be "allowed.")  I was told that the flood was caused by an excessive amount of precipitation and other unfavorable climatic conditions.  I was told that UMCOR (United Methodist agency) was not accepting volunteers in October.  I was told that UMCOR needed volunteers.  I was told that John Doe's house was in the "Green Zone" (?) and would be bought out and torn down.  I was told that nobody knows when they will decide those kinds of things yet.  I was told that next year they may be expecting more flooding.  

Lutheran Disaster Response told me that they were almost "done" with their caseload of homes when they got a call from another agency in town that was pulling out.  That agency asked LDR if they would take the remaining of their caseload which comprised of 120 "low priority" houses.  LDR agreed, and then went in to look at these "low priority" houses.  It turns out they have a different definition of "low priority."  Many of the houses from this other agency were still in need of being mucked out.  They were considered low priority because the home owners hadn't decided what they were going to do yet.  The five houses we worked on came from that category.  (three of the five houses still had wet basements, but two were dry.)  We met two of the home owners.  One knew he was going to rebuild on the same spot and one didn't know yet if he would be allowed to rebuild because of zoning changes.  

If you've never mucked out a basement, you can read here what our experience was like:  

http://rodscof.blogspot.com/2011/11/mucking-out-basement.html

Someone told me that there were only 8 United Methodist teams that came out to help out.  I was skeptical of that number. But then I asked Lorna from the United Methodist Volunteers in Missions North Central Jurisdiction Coordinator and she thought that sounded about right.  

Lutheran Disaster Response were amazing to us.  They found a church that would house us for free and feed us breakfast.  They packed us lunches for free.  They fed us dinner for free.  Sometimes things seemed a little "up in the air."  But one has to remember that you are there for them, not them for you.  And just because I couldn't see the whole picture didn't mean they didn't.  And if they didn't, it may be because the whole picture is just too big to see.  

Which brings me to this.  Any thinking person should ask the question, "Why rebuild in an area that floods?"  Why not tear down these houses and put in a park or something that doesn't have such dire consequences if it floods again?  I don't know why.  I think Minot, ND is a lot different than Fargo, which seems to flood every year lately.  The last time Minot flooded was 1969, and it wasn't nearly as disastrous.  (from what I read).  But it comes back to, this:  The picture is too big to see.  

Here's what I know (and some things I suspect):  The ten of us that went to Minot experienced something unique.  We grew closer to each other and closer to God.  We drove a long ways out of town each day to experience the hospitality of a beautiful church family.  Everyone we met at that church embodied the "cheerful giver."  They sincerely seemed to love having us there.  So we were blessed by this church, and this church was blessed by serving.  God works for the good in all things for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.   

The ten of us that went to Minot obeyed God calling us to go.  In a lot of mission trips or service trips, there is a tourism component.  If you go to work on New Orleans, you kinda HAVE to see the French Quarter and the Lower 9th and eat Southern Food, etc.  When you go to Minot, that component is much less prevalent.  Rod St. took a small group of people an hour or so away from Minot one night to see the geographical center of North America, (which happens to be in Rugby, ND.)  But other than that, there isn't much to do except work and rest.  We joked about going to a movie one night, but we were all too tired.  We seemed a lot more focused on getting the work done.  I think we even made Bob tired.  But it was a good tired.  A good sense of accomplishment, knowing that we have served Minot and helped them get to the next step. We were blessed by being able to serve.  And we were blessed by being served.    

Lastly, I am taking steps to give "River Bend Mission Team" a facelift.  Originally, River Bend was formed from the cooperation of five United Methodist Churches in Northern Dakota County.  Now, two of those churches no longer exist.  And really, it has grown beyond that.  I am starting grad school in the winter, taking a Masters of Leadership.  I have also spoken with a couple consultants, a branding firm, and another organization that does short term mission trips.  Soon I hope to have a new name, a 501(c)(3), etc.  I have talking about this for years and it's time to move on it.  I can use all the help I can get with this, too!

So what's next?  Normally, we have been taking a trip around Easter.  Next Spring, we are looking at April 15th-21st.  I would say for 90% sure that those will be the dates.  I am assuming we will go back to Minot.  There is a lot of need there still.  

Who's in?  Get on the bus.

R

--
The spiritual life cannot be made suburban.  It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed.
--  Howard Macey

Mucking Out a Basement

Mucking out a basement:  In case you've never done it, I'll tell you what it's usually like.  There is no power in the house, so the only light comes from windows or string lights that you bring in and hook up to a generator.  So the first time you go down there, it's dark and smells pretty strongly of mold.  You wear a respirator, but it's not easy because they fog up your glasses, and you can't breathe as well, especially after carrying an especially heavy bucket of muck up the stairs.  There are things that were in the basement that floated around and then settled as the water went down.  With the flood water comes a lot of sediment, so everything is dirty.  And usually, the sewer backs up.  So let's not think about what else is down there.  You have to carry everything out.  Sometimes you carry it by hand to an open window and throw it out.  Sometimes you carry it up the stairs and out the front door to a big pile on the curb.  You see what the homeowner had.  (In one house, there were something like oxen horns.  I think I would have liked that home owner.)  If there was a freezer, it floated and then tipped over and spilled everything out.  If there was anything like a bucket or a tote, it may have filled up with water, and still had the water in it.  That water smelled like raw sewage.  If there was carpet, it is still wet and muddy.  You have to cut it up to get it out.  All the drywall and paneling needs to be torn down and brought outside.  Usually, the mud and drywall particles and small things get shoveled into a bucket and carried out.  The furnace and hot water heater need to be drained and come out.  Sometimes you can get them up the stairs, but sometimes you have to cut them up to get them out.  Sometimes the duct work comes out.  Sometimes it stays.  It's up the homeowner.  Any insulation comes out.  Then you take a pry bar or a hammer and pull all the nails out of the studs and ceiling joists.  Every time you carry something out and breathe fresh air, you have to go back down into the basement.  In the end, you sweep up the nails and all the drywall and mud you can.  Scrape a layer of dirt off the floor.  Carry it out.  By then, the smell is not so bad.  There is more light.  There are no "unknowns."  It's pretty wide open with no walls. The next step is someone to come in and sanitize it.  We didn't do that part.

Wanted to get this out quick

Hi all-

I haven't written the Epilogue for the Minot trip yet, but wanted to let you know of a service opportunity in the Twin Cities this weekend, and a fundraiser for New Orleans rebuilding this weekend.

1-  Service:  My friend, Duane Lunsford is organizing a group of people to help finish an apartment building with units dedicated to helping people get out of an unhealthy lifestyle.  The work will be from 8:30ish in the am this Saturday until about 2:00pm.  The work will be possibly drywall, tile, paint, finish work, unknown for certain.  If you want to go, let me know and I'll tell where and when to meet.

2.-  Fundraiser:  At our Silent Auction just before NOLA 6, there was a guest from New Orleans that is connected with Hamline University and a service group that goes from Hamline.  They are having a Mardi Gras Fundraiser this Saturday evening at Hamline.  Let me know if you're interested and I'll fwd. you the email they sent me.  It would be nice for the NOLA team to show up and support this group since they supported us last trip.  

Let me know if you're in on either one of these events.  

R

--
The spiritual life cannot be made suburban.  It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed.
--  Howard Macey

RE: Minot- the Last work day

Dear Rod,

I am always amazed as to the depth you and your team will go to help clean out or to build up.  You are all doing the call of God and I pray someday we can just sit and share how good God has been when we have been about His business, and as He was also about ours!

 

May God richly bless your team and all the people you were involved with and all the homes that received attention and all those who still need attention.  May He empower this community called Minot.  May the Holy Spirit come and fill them up and may miracles happen in spite of what people see or believe.  May the Mennonites be covered with the Lord and may many people’s homes, lives and relationships be healed and prosper all for the glory of God.  And may all the plans from heaven happen on earth into this place called Minot. 

 

Touch them Lord, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth!

 

Amen and amen

 

 

 

From: Rod Scofield [mailto:rodscofield@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 1:47 AM
To: Rod Scofield
Cc: Erin Clayton 2; Howard Newton; Kristen Butler; Lewis Whitehead; Matthew Sanderson; Pastor Rod Stemme; Robert Newton; Shirley Smith; Sue Letourneau; Wendy Clayton; Of Course it Quacks
Subject: Minot- the Last work day

 

Today's house had a dry basement.  Hallelujah!  We knocked our goal out of the park.  5 houses in 5 days.  We were actually done around lunch time today.  We just had to remove a lot of nails and drywall pieces, a couple ceilings, etc.  In the basement, we had to take out a furnace.  It was pretty big.  We had to disassemble it.  (By "we" I mean Bob and Howard.  I carried parts outside).  Howard found some holes on the inside that he said was kind of a good thing the flood happened because they would get worse and cause a carbon monoxide problem.  God works for the Good in All things...  

 

More observations after I get back.  

 

Pictures are here:  https://picasaweb.google.com/rodscofield/Minot1October2011

Blog is here:  www.rodscof.blogspot.com  I know Kristen posted tonight.  

 

Or find and "friend" or "fan" or "like" or whatever you do these days on Facebook under "River Bend Mission Team"

 

More upcoming... 

 

--
The spiritual life cannot be made suburban.  It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed.
--  Howard Macey

Minot- the Last work day

Today's house had a dry basement.  Hallelujah!  We knocked our goal out of the park.  5 houses in 5 days.  We were actually done around lunch time today.  We just had to remove a lot of nails and drywall pieces, a couple ceilings, etc.  In the basement, we had to take out a furnace.  It was pretty big.  We had to disassemble it.  (By "we" I mean Bob and Howard.  I carried parts outside).  Howard found some holes on the inside that he said was kind of a good thing the flood happened because they would get worse and cause a carbon monoxide problem.  God works for the Good in All things...  

More observations after I get back.  

Pictures are here:  https://picasaweb.google.com/rodscofield/Minot1October2011

Blog is here:  www.rodscof.blogspot.com  I know Kristen posted tonight.  

Or find and "friend" or "fan" or "like" or whatever you do these days on Facebook under "River Bend Mission Team"

More upcoming... 

--
The spiritual life cannot be made suburban.  It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed.
--  Howard Macey

End of the week thoughts...

This has been a very tiring week, as we have well documented.  However, sitting at this end of the week, it is a great feeling to look back and see all we have accomplished on this trip.  I daresay we have accomplished much more than we do on construction trips and you can tell by how we have interacted this week.  On these trips, we often get tired and one dynamic that often happens is being short-tempered with one another, but this week, we were so much more tired, that often we sat in silence, too worn out both mentally and physically to engage with one another.  I think as a group (or at least for myself) this week has been much more introspective as we process the despair that this area is experiencing, the difficulty and pace of the work we have been doing, and the vast amount of families whose lives will never be the same.  At the same time, I have noticed this community to be one of faith, that local people are talking about what G-d is doing here and how they've helped each other (friends and family taking flood victims in...).  The whole town of Minot seems to be aware of the volunteers and tonight we saw people out for a walk waving at us while we were driving down the road as if to say thanks for helping someone even though it was not them.  The organization that put us to work (Lutheran Disaster Response) gave us bright orange "VOLUNTEER" shirts and people stopped to speak with us everywhere we went today.  This community seems to have been brought closer together by this experience. 

Especially as I am as tired as I am, I empathize with how these people must be feeling.  The emotions are still very raw and you feel the tears in their eyes as they describe their losses and how little help they are receiving from various agencies.  Not only that, but the national news has not covered the damage here the way other disasters have been covered and the season to be able to work here is much different than other locations because of the weather.  The snow will fly soon and reconstruction will nearly cease until March and April.

Thanks to all who were praying for our safety and strength to continue to do the work that these people so desperately need.  I'm certain your prayers are what kept us upright!!  As you think about the work that we did here in the upcoming months, pray for the Mennonites coming down from Canada that have made a 2 year committment to this city to helping them rebuild.  They will be staying at a church (that they are also rebuilding) and working on approximately 5 homes throughout the winter while it is the off season for farming.  It is touching to see the Mennonite community empathizing with this community and making the commitment to be a presence in the rebuilding.

Enough of my rambling thoughts, Thanks for partnering with us by your thoughts and prayers!

-Kristen-

Why Not Minot? Day #4

Four up.  Four Down.  A house a day.  

Today's house was easier.  It was about 10 miles out of town.  The basement was dry.  There were still a lot of things to take out.  - insulation, drywall pieces, duct work, the furnace and hot water heater, and we pulled a lot a lot a LOT of nails and screws out of the boards.  

We are all talking about how working flood relief in Minot is a lot more strenuous than rebuilding in The Gulf.  We are all tired, and so I'm not going to write much, hoping to get to bed soon.  But we are all well.  (Lewis said he feels MUCH better.-  Thank you for your prayers!).  And we are all working well together.  It's a very cohesive group.  

I continue to be amazed at the hospitality here.  When we work on these houses, there is no plumbing or power.  Bathroom breaks are usually at a port-a-potty which are strategically placed so that usually, you are within a block or two from one.  The one today was a little further away.  The lady next door left her FEMA trailer open for us to use her bathroom while she went to work today.  And when we got back to the church we are staying at, there was a pan of bars and a package of muffins for us.  

Finally, while I was pulling nails out of studs in a bathroom, I was thinking about the spiritual parallels between reconstructing and deconstructing.  At first, I thought of how reconstructing a house had a spiritual comparison with the renewing your spirit and at first thought that deconstructing didn't correlate.  But then it occurred to me that deconstructing was just as vital process in our spiritual journey also.  When our souls are damaged, God has to muck out our spiritual basements.  (This comparison is particularly vivid after this week.)  And when there is something there that might later cause problems, that should be dealt with as well.  This work is sometimes harder than building up because it's usually more painful, and sometimes brought on by disasters of judgement or sometimes just because bad things happen that affect us.  But the Carpenter is at work.  And we can trust Him to continue to work on our houses until they are "done."  Again, I thought of this while I was pulling nails.  The comparison breaks down somewhere, I'm sure, but I didn't get that far in my thinking because I had to go help Howard with the furnace.  

We took some pictures and even shot some video today.  But this kind of stuff takes time to download and post and edit and upload on Facebook and etc.  And I am really tired and want to go to bed early tonight.  So I will put them up tomorrow-  or maybe I will get up early and do it.  For now, thanks for your prayers and thoughts and well wishes and support.  

Peace!

R

--
The spiritual life cannot be made suburban.  It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed.
--  Howard Macey

How Ali responded to something I said:

Here's what I said:

Every house in the neighborhood we worked in today was badly damaged. Some people are waiting to see what the City and the engineers decide about rebuilding. It's possible that the house we worked on today will be razed anyway, and the home owners bought out and not allowed to rebuild there. The people are hearing a lot of different reports and rumors about what is going to happen to their property. They are also saying that 2012 is supposed to be a pretty wet year also. Which begs the question, "Why are we gutting this house when it's possible they are going to tear it down anyway, or if it's going to flood again?" And I guess the answer is, "What if they don't tear it down? And what if it doesn't flood?" Nobody knows for sure what is going to happen. There aren't answers today. But we have hope. And we know that God is still God. And we believe that God directed us to come to Minot. And the agency that was still working was Lutheran Disaster Response, so we are working for them and are under their authority. And if they say, "Gut this house," then we will gut this house. 

Ali highlighted the text above and responded like this: 

Amen! I often feel like the answer to these "questions" you have about the process that is in place on these mission trips is kind of "worldy".
God called you. You went, You worked, You brought a glimpse of the kingdom and if you remembered to bring your "eyes open to see" saw a glimpse of it as well. If mucking out a basement isn't the perfect "solution" to get your homeowners back in their home, you didn't lose much. In fact - you gained fellowship, followship, a little more Christ and an avenue to put those hands and feet work. As someone who doesn't like to gamble, that is a pretty safe bet.

Why Not Minot? Work Day 2-

It was a rough day.  Our 2nd house was a tough one.  When we first walked in, I walked around and said, "piece of cake."  But once we got going on it, it was more than we thought.

The basement was brutal.  They had a kitchen down there with a freezer overturned, shelves with canned goods and all sorts of yummy goodies.  For people that do this all the time, or compared to doing it in the middle of the hot humid sweltering summer, this probably would have been a piece of cake.  Parts of the basement had dried out some.  This one had a lot more mold in it than the one yesterday.  You could almost taste it when you went downstairs.  

But we worked hard and at the end of the day, we got everything done we were supposed to do and more.  And we met three new friends.  -  Partway through the day (Howard and I were working on unhooking the furnace-  I'll tell about the air conditioning in a minute)-  three people that were originally working for the Baptist agency in town came over.  I don't understand the circumstances exactly.  Something about a subfloor and being sent to the Lutherans, who sent them to our team.  But Mike from Delaware, Bob from Pennsylvania, and Varina from Pennsylvania joined us and helped with this project.  They were all hard workers and helped a lot.  I am told they will be joining us again tomorrow, and we are happy about that!

We are all a little (a lot) tired and ready for some sleep.  We are working hard.  Tomorrow they are giving us another "muck and gut."  We think it would be awesome to be able to knock out 5 houses while we are here.  1 each day.  

Oh yeah, the air conditioner.  Apparently, you have to be able to drain the coolant from them before you take them apart.  We did not have the means to do this, so we had to hang it from the ceiling when we took the furnace out from underneath it.  You'll have to ask Howard for more info if you want it.  But I thought it was amusing....  

We are a pretty cohesive group.  

Lewis is starting to feel better.  Thanks for your prayers.  

I posted pictures on our picasa website today.  You can find them here:  click here for picasa site

Kristen also posted to the blog today -  besides what is on here from this entry.  click here for the blog

I put a bunch of pictures on our Facebook page also (Search for River Bend Mission Team- friend or fan or follow or whatever they call it these days)

Pray for our continued health and safety as we wrestle with this mold and nails and other such hazards.  

Thanks to everyone that wrote to us and letting us know you are following our adventure in Minot.  

R

Minot1 Work Day #3

Another "muck and gut today."  This one was a little easier.  We were done by about 3:30 pm.  

The same story as yesterday.  -  Arrived at the house.  Some worked in the basement, some mostly upstairs.  We were joined by our friends from yesterday, too.  They are HARD workers!  We got done a little early, went and cleaned up before dinner, and were served dinner at a Lutheran church in town.  French toast and sausage! 

Then Rod St., Erin, Kristen, Matt, and Shirley went to the Geographic Center of North America.  (Rod has some pictures).  On our way back to the church, the rest of us stopped at the grocery store and bought a few things like vegetables and eggs to hard boil for breakfast.  We have been so blessed by the hospitality of Lutheran Disaster Response, and the people at the church we are staying at.  When we got back to the church, some of the ladies were there and dug into our groceries and started boiling our eggs and cutting up our vegetables for us.  They take their hospitality very seriously.  

Which kind of brings me to something I was thinking about.  

This morning, Bob's devotion was about "What is a Christian?"  (It was an assignment I gave him on the last trip which he took seriously)  He talked about an aspect of Christians being able to follow the "Golden Rule" and also the reciprocal of that-  Being able to receive from others as we want others to be able to receive from us.  And this evening, it was a little hard to do that.  The people in this church we are staying at are very giving and loving.  This is their ministry.  They open their church to groups from all over, and are glad to do it.  They seemed a little bit disappointed that we felt like we had to buy anything.  On the flip side of that, I try to not be a burden on anyone.  So I was sitting there telling them everything was fine and good and what was already here was great and more than enough, etc.  And they are looking at me with my bags of vegetables like I'm crazy.  I guess I have something to work on.  

I don't like mucking out houses.  But experiencing the People of God doing what He has called them to do makes it all worth it.  Whether that person is called to  making sandwiches for volunteers or joining a group of strangers to serve with, or carrying pails of muck up the stairs out to the junk pile, we are the People of God doing what God has called us to do.  And it's good.  

There are some more pictures posted on our Picasa website.  (click here)

And to see our blog or send it to a friend-  (www.rodscof.blogspot.com)

Or search us on Facebook, search for River Bend Mission Team.  

Lewis didn't say anything about his cold to me today.  No news is good news, right?

Thank you for praying for us-  our safety, and health (team vs. black mold spores), and that God would reveal to us what He wants us to see, the wisdom to understand it, and the courage to respond in a way the brings the Kingdom closer.  

Peace!

R

--
The spiritual life cannot be made suburban.  It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed.
--  Howard Macey

Thoughts from the worksite...

Yesterday we were given a house to finish up tearing out drywall and wet moldy insulation whatnot. We knocked that out rather quickly and were given another house today that is so much worse. There is the obvious concern of black mold, so we are wearing masks as we work,  bit the basement seems to also have raw sewage that Shirley was hauling out in buckets. As it's been stated, "she's a better man than I! " 

Those of you praying for us can be mindful of the mold, petitioning for our health and safety. These people are in the stage of grief of disillusionment where they are hearing all the bad and the problems are compounding... it is disparaging and these people need hope.

A comment on the cell service: I wrote this post at 9:30am and there wasn't enough coverage for my data to work. Only now am I able simply because of the wireless network here at the church ... as an end of the day perspective,  we did twice the work we were assigned and the house looks more like a construction project than a disaster zone. How fulfilling!

-Kristen

Why Not Minot? Work Day 1

Today we got up and the church we are staying at provided breakfast.  (Thank you!)  Lewis did devotions this morning about always sharing your faith.  Always being ready to share it.  It was a very good way to start the week.  

We drove from the church we are staying at, which is about 30 mins north of Minot, to the church where they are basing Lutheran Disaster Response.  We were a few minutes late, but the people there didn't even bat an eye.  They gave us our work assignment.  That's right.  Just one.  All ten of us went to work on gutting a house on the northeast side of Minot.  It was right by the river.  There was some junk in the basement, but we hauled it out and started tearing out drywall and insulation, etc.  With Bob's leadership, we got into a pretty good rhythm and flow with people carrying stuff outside while nobody was blocking the door.  Then Howard showed us that we could fill a bucket and just push it out the window in the basement.  Matt and Erin and I took turns emptying the buckets into a pile on the curb.  Shirley is like the energizer bunny. She just keeps going and going and going...  They told us this job would take about 2-3 days.  We finished it by 4:45.  

Ok-  I want to back up just a little bit.  -  The weather.  We are absolutely not in New Orleans!  There was frost on our windshields this morning when we went to leave.  And when we were getting supplies at the base church, I thought I didn't have enough warm clothes.  It was COLD!  But once we got out of the wind, and started working, we warmed up.  

A few years ago, Howard and Ali and three other people and I went to Mason City, IA to muck out a basement for a friend from Mount Bethel UMC, (one of the original River Bend Churches) when Mason City and surrounding cities flooded. The difference between that house and this one is that on this one, it wasn't so much mucking as it was just demo-ing.  There wasn't much down in the basement that was soaking wet, and there wasn't that swampy, hot humid jungle damp smell.  But after a shower, I still feel like I smell like mold.  

Every house in the neighborhood we worked in today was badly damaged.  Some people are waiting to see what the City and the engineers decide about rebuilding.   It's possible that the house we worked on today will be razed anyway, and the home owners bought out and not allowed to rebuild there.  The people are hearing a lot of different reports and rumors about what is going to happen to their property.  They are also saying that 2012 is supposed to be a pretty wet year also.  Which begs the question, "Why are we gutting this house when it's possible they are going to tear it down anyway, or if it's going to flood again?"  And I guess the answer is, "What if they don't tear it down?  And what if it doesn't flood?"  Nobody knows for sure what is going to happen.    There aren't answers today.  But we have hope.  And we know that God is still God.  And we believe that God directed us to come to Minot.  And the agency that was still working was Lutheran Disaster Response, so we are working for them and are under their authority.  And if they say, "Gut this house," then we will gut this house.  

Tomorrow we have a new house to gut.  

Please pray for Lewis.  He has a pretty bad cold.  He is trying to make sure none of the rest of us get it.  Also please pray for our health as we work in these moldy houses.  

Thank you to the people that wrote a little note.  It's encouraging to know you are cheering us on from afar or "anear"

I haven't posted any pictures on our picasa site yet.  But Matthew took a bunch of pictures today with my camera.  I think Kristen has posted on our blog (www.rodscof.blogspot.com).  And you can see a few pictures on Facebook of you're on there.  (Search for River Bend Mission team-  and "like" us or be a fan or whatever the latest thing is.)

Peace and joy to you!

R

--
The spiritual life cannot be made suburban.  It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed.
--  Howard Macey

Re: Why Not Minot? Day one on a new mission adventure

Paul and I are holding all in prayer! Thank you fo doing the Lord's work in a much needed way. We pray for safety, productivity, the spreading lf the gospel and changed lives!

Please also hold us in prayer as today we continue to meet,  fellowship and feed homeless folks in the Washington DC area. We will be working with 2 different food shelves/soup kitchens located in the heart of the city. Weather has been unusually warm here and DC law does not prohibit the homeless from sleeping in public areas so there are lots of folks in need and in plain site.

Peace and blessings to all!
Pastor Deb

Connected by DROID on Verizon Wireless

D.C. - New York - Day one on a new mission adventure

Dear Rod,

Greetings in Christ!  Thanks for the Missions update.  Our group and staff will continue to keep you in our prayers.  Mission Immersion DC-NewYork left Friday night.  We had one person cancel last minute so we drove by Eko-New Market and picked up an intern Jeremy Morris to take her place.  He has been a real God send with his guitar and worship leading skills. Thus, Pastor Paul can preach, bus drive and not have to play guitar as well.  The 24 hour bus drive went well and we are staying at a Lutheran Church in downtown DC. We worshiped today at “Luther Place” and enjoyed the music and message.  We spent the day touring the Capital on foot and were blessed to see the Martin Luther King Memorial dedicated today.  We enjoyed the music of Steve Wonder, Cheryl Crowe, James Taylor and others.  For supper we ate Pizza in the park and fed homeless persons nearby.  An interesting side note is the DC revolt taking place similar to the one on Wall Street. We ate lunch with the protesters and listened to a variety of speakers discuss anti-war and other  issues.  At 8:00 tonight we went to the women’s shelter nearby and played BINGO with them.  Our kids learned that homeless persons come from a variety of backgrounds.  One was a teacher who lost her job and another one was homeless because of a divorce and her husband did not pay support like he promised.  Tomorrow we spend the day making food for the homeless and learning more about why systemic poverty exists.  Pray for us in DC as we pray for those serving in Minot.

In Christ’s Love and Service,

Pastor’s Paul and Deb Marzahn

Why Not Minot? Day one on a new mission adventure

Hi all!

First let me start the same way I always do.  If you are new to getting this, I added you because I thought you might be interested or at least willing to pray for us.  If anyone, new or old, would like off this email distribution list, let me know and I will do so.  

Today, the River Bend Mission team started out for Minot, ND to help with flood relief.   

Why Minot?  -  Last Spring, over 11,000 people had to evacuate as water topped the levies on the Souris River in Minot, ND.  This wasn't as sensational as the hurricanes of the past six years, but devastating to the people directly affected.  Last Spring, when we were in New Orleans, we felt like we have done a lot of good things there, but that it was time to move on.  This was hard because there is still a lot to be done in New Orleans.  When the tornados his Joplin and Tuscaloosa, we wondered if that's where we were supposed to go next.  The more I prayed about it over the course of the summer, the more I got "Minot."  

So here we are.  There are ten of us on this trip:  Me, Howard N., Lewis W., Bob N., Matt S., Erin C., Kristen B., Rod St., Shirley S., and Ron C.  

We left Inver Grove Heights this morning right after church, just before noon.  We are driving a rental van and Howard's truck.  Rod St., and Shirley left from Pipestone around the same time.  (If a little white van with two people leave Pipestone, MN around 12:30pm, and a big white van with five people accompanied by a small blue pick up with three people leaves Inver Grove Heights at noon, what time will they get to Fargo?)  

We read on the United Methodist website for North Dakota that they wanted donations of blankets and quilts.  One of the churches in Pipestone donated 13.  And Rob W.'s (has been on three previous trips) church from Bemidji donated 14.  Rob met us in Sauk Centre to hand them off.  (Thanks, Rob!)  Plus there were a few donations from our church in Inver Grove Heights.  We have 30 quilts to deliver to the United Methodist Church this week.  

Now having said that we are giving quilts the the UMC, we are actually working for Lutheran Disaster Response.  They are housing and feeding us and giving us work assignments.  We are being hosted by Trinity Lutheran Church in a small town just north of Minot.  The church is very inviting and seems very open.  

So we get our work assignments tomorrow morning.  We'll tell you more about who we're working for and what we're doing.  

Please pray for our health and safety while we're here.  And for our finances.  It isn't a very expensive trip, but we didn't do any fundraising, just relying on donations that come in and the cost each person is paying to come, and the reserves we had in the bank.  Also pray for the homeowners we will be working for.  

If you would like to follow us on Face Book, search for "River Bend Mission Team."  Tell your friends!  Also-  We will put pictures on our picture website when we get some.  And Erin and Kristen and anyone else I can get to contribute will be writing for our blog- which I'll give you the link to when we've put something on there from this trip.  -  

Again, if you don't want this email each evening, let me know and I'll take you off the list.  

And thanks a bunch for those of you that are going to go along for the ride with us.  Let us know you're following along and praying for us.  We are glad to know!

Peace!

Rod

--
The spiritual life cannot be made suburban.  It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed.
--  Howard Macey

Hello Glenburn! (Where?!!!)

Today seemed like a VERY short trip in comparison to our 2 day trips to New Orleans in the past (and we're staying North of Minot in this tiiiiiiiiiny little town called Glenburn, where most of us don't have cell reception).

All this week I have been thinking about our departure and many things have run through my mind.  I kept coming back to a song by mewithoutYou (talking about us without G-d) and the lyrics, "I do not exist, only YOU exist..." kept floating through my mind.




**Disclaimer-- this music isn't for everyone, but the message that he is proclaiming is very powerful... 



As we step out this week, L-rd... remind us that we do not exist without you... only You exist and these people who have experienced disaster need your hope.

--Kristen

Two Mission to Minot Options

Hi again all!

Ok, we have two options.  

#1-  as previously emailed, we have been invited to participate in helping to gut Faith United Methodist Church in Minot.  We would be joining a team from Washington.  It would be leaving here on Tues, Sept. 20 and returning on Sat Sept. 24th.  

#2-  I found an agency that is not pulling out until November.  We would leave on Saturday October 15th, work Monday through Friday on houses-  gutting, getting some ready for winter, etc.  and come back on Saturday the 22nd.  So instead of NOLA7, we have MINOT1.  There are a lot of unknowns at this very moment.  But it sounds like there is a church for us to stay in and use for our cooking, etc, and showers available at the local Y for free for volunteers or soemthing like that.  I'll check into it.  

Cost shouldn't be much.  Not as far to go, cheaper to stay, etc.  

Let me know if you'll be getting on the bus.  

Rod

--
The spiritual life cannot be made suburban.  It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice that it remains untamed.
--  Howard Macey

Re: Mission to Minot

Hi Rod and Everyone
Thanks so much for considering a trip to Minot, ND. This is the town Vern and I call HOME. We already have our "I helped rebuild Minot" T-shirts after a 2 week stint of flood work in July.
I am sure you have all heard of the devastation the town felt. About 1/5 of the population was evacuated. 4000 homes had flood water problems, over 800 of them had at least 6 feet of swamp water on the main floor. 5 schools are totally wasted and many churches were affected.
The bad thing in the Minot area is that they need to get as much done as possible before the winter sets in. Unlike some of the southern areas, once November hits they are pretty much done until late March / early April. I'm sure that if the dates set don't work the area would accept help whenever you are able to go. There is a site that will coordinate people / churches that NEED help with people that are able to help.  You will also find that those directly involved will be there busting their buns to help.  One of the FEMA reps when we were there commented that he had done disaster work in 40 states and that Minot had gotten more done in 2 weeks than some places got done in 6 months.

What church are you looking at helping? I know that Christ Lutheran / Augistana Lutheran / and Faith Methodist all had at least 3 feet of water in the sanctuary. Several other churches had the basements full.
The housing issue is bad. Housing was in short supply BEFORE the flood with the influx of oil workers...now with 4000 homes unable to be lived in, it is even worse. In many cases, the pastors of the churches lost not only the church, but their own homes as well and many of the parishioners that would ordinarily open their homes to mission groups no longer have a home.
That said- if you are interested in going to the area, I may be able to help with some logistics.  We have made 4 trips to ND already this summer, so don't know if we would be able to do it again now.   I do have 3 sisters in town that all know lots of people and have a relationship with all three churches that were totaled.
*Christ Lutheran - my sister Verla is president of the church. She said they would be spending $250,000 just for cleanup - they didn't have a $$ for the rebuilding phase of it.
*Augistana Lutheran - my mom's pastor had her office there.  My Mom and sister Marlys's church, Faith Lutheran in Surrey ND, had been housing mission groups there. They have cots, bath-rooms, kitchen.  They had an agreement for the workers to shower in the school locker rooms.  Also the YMCA was offering free showers to workers.  Surrey is just a few miles from Minot.   Augistana is also currently partnering with my sister Jen's church.
*Faith Methodist was the church Vern and I attended when we lived in Minot.  They are currently partnering with the church my Father-in-law attends.

Let me know if you would like me to pursue more information or call on my sisters for their thoughts.
God Bless you all
Linda and Vern Emerson