Day 1-We started out at 8 a.m. trying to leave, but we had a delay. As we began to back out another member drove up and advised that the van we were driving had experienced problems the day before. The engine light was one and the car was jerking as gears shifted. After a lot of looking into things, we decided (with the approval of Pastor Dave) to go on a leap of faith and a prayer that we would make it to our destination safely. (We did!!!) After a rocky start we made great time as we went towards Joplin. After several hours in the van we drove to the arch in St. Louis. We rode in the very small and claustrophobic pods to the top. One of the group members faced fears of confinement and heights to go up with us, we were very proud of her. After our pit stop we finished our trip and arrived at the home of Karolyn Schroage. I had made a connection with her through a member of our church, who worked at a Women’s Clinic similar to one in the Dayton area. Karolyn had offered her home to us, instead of staying in a crowded church, and we gladly accepted. We were warmly greeted by Karolyn and brought into her home. What a huge blessing it was that we were the only group in the home, we had shelter and air condition to come back to, and a warm and caring individual who was very concerned about our well being. We learned that Karolyn and her husband had been missionaries and that they spent 20 years in Kenya. After a long trip we were ready for bed, but I couldn’t sleep. My mind raced with what the next day would bring and how God would use me in this town.
Day 2-We started out at College Heights Church. Two of our team members were sent to get diapers from another church and bring them back to College Heights, which is a main distribution center in Joplin. The boys, headed to the ware house. Due to my background the members had me work registering victims in order for them to get items. The first day was slower than others had been, but I still spent three hours hugging individuals, praying with them, and attempting to uplift their spirit in any way possible. Lunch was provided by the church and we were thankful for the nourishment. After working with College Heights we headed to MSSU to work with the Americorps group. Two of our team members had experienced the devastation, but for five of us it was the first time. We were driving through a neighborhood and before our eyes it changed it to miles of nothing. Nothing, but large amounts of rubble. I didn’t know how to feel. I couldn’t imagine how anyone had survived. Homes were leveled to the ground and I could not figure out where people had been that they were able to live. The team got quite and took in the sight that was in front of us. At this site we worked in three different yards, in 97 degree heat. We took pride in getting the yards cleaned up and finding small treasures that the storm left behind. A glass jar, full of flour that was intact….a picture frame with the grandkids smiling faces in it……a gold watch, etc. How is it that homes could be totally gone, but these items remained, totally unscathed. It brought me back to the storms hitting our home, and my small family holding hands in the basement and praying that we would all be ok. Seeing these homes made me want to hug and kiss my husband and baby till my lips couldn’t handle kissing them anymore. More small blessings came by way of the Salvation Army and their refrigerated truck….it was full of Klondike bars, bananas, and best of all ICE COLD GATORADE…..we had water that was cold, and some luke warm Gatorade, but in this heat that ice cream and cold beverage was enough that we were able to work for over three hours in the blazing sun lifting, digging, and being hit with dust due to high winds. The end of our day with Americorp allowed us an opportunity to meet a world Jambalaya making champion and learn how to make a huge batch of rice. We finished with Americorp and headed to Life Choices, and clinic for individuals who need medical assistance and sometimes a little guidance. Karolyn is the executive director and she needed some help with medical supplies. We loaded the van with gloves and antibacterial hand soap and moved it to the storage area. When we finished our task at the clinic we drove some supplies to a local nursing home. We were hot, covered in dust and dirt, exhausted and most of all excited about how much our small team accomplished in such a short amount of time.
Day 3- Our entire day was spent working with College Heights. Everyone, except myself, went to work in the warehouse. I spent the day registering victims. I had a hard time keeping my emotions in check listening to the stories of survival and true strength. Their lives were destroyed, but their spirits remained. I was honored by meeting a lady who was lucky enough to have a small basements. We had found out many didn’t due to the expensive cost of digging for them. She had befriended her younger neighbors and spoke of how she sat in her basement worrying that they wouldn’t make it out. She and her husband were trapped in the basement, and he had a gash on his leg, but they managed to dig out of the rubble and see the devastation before them. Without thinking the husband ran, injured, to the neighbors house and helped save them from a home that was crushing into them. She held on to me as she spoke, and for the first time tears came out of my eyes. This lady’s home and her young neighbor were in the Joplin story featured in People Magazine. We prayed, hugged, and held hands as I walked her around to help get supplies. That same day I also met a woman who was stronger than the rest, because she survived not just one, but two natural disasters. She told me how she had survived Katrina, but had lost everything and how she was restarting all over again in Joplin and now again she is without. She told me that those objects were nothing, but her life and the lives of her loved ones were everything, and they had all survived. These two women’s faces will never leave me. I wear the weight of their loss, and love for others in my heart, and can only pray that I can be as strong as they both are. That night brought us time for fun and rest. We spent time sharing a good Italian meal and watching the new X-Men movie.
Day 4-This was our last day to work, so we wanted to spend it working as hard as we could. We decided to spend the entire day with the Americorp group. We were taken to a site and began going through the debris. This site was so different in that the debris was so small it was hard to get through it. Our group found pictures, a butt of a gun, and a diploma. The family came to the site and were grateful and full of sadness over the site of their home, and the loss of several treasured family items. A group leader came by and was looking for a few people to help at another site, cleaning up tree debris so a house could be demolished. We agreed to go. We spent time moving heavy branches that our sawyer cut for us. One of the team members got a piece of saw dust in her eye, which meant she and I had to head back earlier than the rest so she could see a medic and they could get it out. After the week we had it was time for us to spend time as a team. We bought stuff to make ice cream sundaes and ordered pizzas. We laughed, played cards and listened to music preparing for our long trip home. That night as I laid down to sleep I could hardly believe the week I had and how Joplin had changed me.
