Hi everyone!!
I'm back in Denver now, and patiently waiting for 3:30 am to roll around so I can hop on the shuttle to the airport and go home for Christmas!! I am SO ready to see friends & family!!
The last few days of work in Joplin were definitely bittersweet. We finished up a lot of projects, which I think made my team feel pretty good about being there. We completely finished clearing out all of Twilla's house...which was a HUGE accomplishment. The pictures on my previous post were of her house. On the very last day we got to work out at Scott's house and help him finish his chain link fence. He really wanted to complete that so that we could get his dogs back in his yard. It made me a little sad though because Scott was worried about his dogs not remember his yard! We assured him though that they would be fine. We also helped him organize some things in the different sheds he has. He is the only homeowner on his block that has begun rebuilding..all the other lots that surround him are empty. In fact, while we were there a newscaster came out (he had been following us for the past couple of weeks). In an interview, Scott pleaded that people do not forget the community of Joplin because it had been an incredible, progressive 6 months, but it was going to take more like 6 years or more to truly be finished.
Across the street from his property is the Joplin High School, "Hope High School". After the storm, only the "OP" from the word "JOPLIN" was left on the sign in front, and someone added and "H" and an "E" to make it say HOPE, and the community has kept it ever since. The school was completely demolished and it is painful to look at. Only recently have they begun moving heavy machinery in for clean up.
Round 1 proved to be quite an experience for me. It was extremely powerful and rewarding. Some moments were devastating and almost too much to handle, but others were undescribably amazing. The unyielding spirit of that community is something I will never forget. The people there are so thankful and so positive that I truly believe they will get Joplin rebuilt. There are so many good things happening there, and I wish them the absolute best.
Love,
Abby
Friday, December 16, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Winding down!
Hey everyone!
Things are winding down in Jopling...in fact, only 4 more days of work left! We have today (Wednesday) and tomorrow off! Then we work Fri, Sat, Sun, and Mon...maybe a half day Tues..and Wednesday we leave again for Denver! Crazy how time flies!!
As I said in my last blog, we really don't get volunteers anymore so we've been doing things ourselves instead! I've had quite a few powerful experiences since I've last posted. One morning we came to the office and we were told that a family needed moved out of their FEMA trailer and into their new home. We were really excited to help this family out. When we got to the FEMA trailer park, the mom seemed extremely overwhelmed. She had three kids there screaming and crying as she was telling us all that needed to be done. We got things packed up and moved to her new house, which was one given to her by Habitat for Humanity. She explained to me what a big deal this was because this was actually teh first house she's ever owned!!! She was eager to get everything settled because she planned on being there for a LONG time. It turns out that she was a single mother with 4 kids and 1 grandkid. She was so thankful for her help, but I could definitely see the desperation in her as she explained to me her situation. As we moved her in to her small, but beautiful new home, I realized something I never thought of before. Yes, her home was brand new, well built, sodded and everything...but the surrounding neighborhood was still terribly depressing. Diagonal across the street from her was a standing, destroyed house that still needed demo'ed. Right next door to their house was a giant hole in the ground from a house that had already been demo'ed....pretty much wreckage surrounded her house. It reall opened my eyes to all that still needs to be done here in Joplin. Nevertheless..I was so thankful for this lady and her kids to get to move into a real home and out of the FEMA trailer.
Yesterday (Tuesday) I worked at one of the saddest property's I've ever been to...Twilla's house. The house was destroyed, the roof was off...and all it's contents have been weathered for the past 6 months. When we got there yesterday morning, the mold, insulation, and debris was all frozen together. She was still trying to salvage things like her refrigerator, washer and dryer. The washer was full of water which we dumped and then began gagging at the smell. The walls and floors were just rotting away...we found pictures, books, dishes, computers, pool balls, and so much other stuff. All we could do was shovel it into wheelbarrows and take it to the curb. For some reason, this property had pretty much not been touched yet. Even more unbelieveable, I found out that Twilla was going to try to rebuild as is! Without demo-ing! I was blown away and then felt even more compassion and motivation to help her remove the debris. We made some progress at that property, but there's still so much to be done..just as there is everywhere.
With 4 more days of work left, it's hard to say what we'll be doing. Each day's an adventure. Some days are spent moving conrete in the rain, or trying to fill holes in people's yards with dirt (Missouri's dirt is horrible, by the way..full of clay and ROCKS!). No matter what we do though, we know we are making an impact. I'll try to post once more before we leave. But this is definitely a place I will never forget!!
moving concrete in the rain! you cant see it very well, but there is not one dry spot on my pants and I am full of mud!
before picture of the garage
after picture of the garage!
katy getting attacked by the puppies at the humane society!
mural painted after the tornado went through
Things are winding down in Jopling...in fact, only 4 more days of work left! We have today (Wednesday) and tomorrow off! Then we work Fri, Sat, Sun, and Mon...maybe a half day Tues..and Wednesday we leave again for Denver! Crazy how time flies!!
As I said in my last blog, we really don't get volunteers anymore so we've been doing things ourselves instead! I've had quite a few powerful experiences since I've last posted. One morning we came to the office and we were told that a family needed moved out of their FEMA trailer and into their new home. We were really excited to help this family out. When we got to the FEMA trailer park, the mom seemed extremely overwhelmed. She had three kids there screaming and crying as she was telling us all that needed to be done. We got things packed up and moved to her new house, which was one given to her by Habitat for Humanity. She explained to me what a big deal this was because this was actually teh first house she's ever owned!!! She was eager to get everything settled because she planned on being there for a LONG time. It turns out that she was a single mother with 4 kids and 1 grandkid. She was so thankful for her help, but I could definitely see the desperation in her as she explained to me her situation. As we moved her in to her small, but beautiful new home, I realized something I never thought of before. Yes, her home was brand new, well built, sodded and everything...but the surrounding neighborhood was still terribly depressing. Diagonal across the street from her was a standing, destroyed house that still needed demo'ed. Right next door to their house was a giant hole in the ground from a house that had already been demo'ed....pretty much wreckage surrounded her house. It reall opened my eyes to all that still needs to be done here in Joplin. Nevertheless..I was so thankful for this lady and her kids to get to move into a real home and out of the FEMA trailer.
Yesterday (Tuesday) I worked at one of the saddest property's I've ever been to...Twilla's house. The house was destroyed, the roof was off...and all it's contents have been weathered for the past 6 months. When we got there yesterday morning, the mold, insulation, and debris was all frozen together. She was still trying to salvage things like her refrigerator, washer and dryer. The washer was full of water which we dumped and then began gagging at the smell. The walls and floors were just rotting away...we found pictures, books, dishes, computers, pool balls, and so much other stuff. All we could do was shovel it into wheelbarrows and take it to the curb. For some reason, this property had pretty much not been touched yet. Even more unbelieveable, I found out that Twilla was going to try to rebuild as is! Without demo-ing! I was blown away and then felt even more compassion and motivation to help her remove the debris. We made some progress at that property, but there's still so much to be done..just as there is everywhere.
With 4 more days of work left, it's hard to say what we'll be doing. Each day's an adventure. Some days are spent moving conrete in the rain, or trying to fill holes in people's yards with dirt (Missouri's dirt is horrible, by the way..full of clay and ROCKS!). No matter what we do though, we know we are making an impact. I'll try to post once more before we leave. But this is definitely a place I will never forget!!
mural painted after the tornado went through
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