So What is Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

                Growing up in a Presbyterian Church I had heard Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) mentioned many times but didn’t know more than that our church gave money to it and PDA helped people after a disaster. I had also never been to a place where I got to see PDA in action. So I wasn’t aware of what all they did and had no idea about the number of people who were involved in PDA.

About a year ago I decided to be a Young Adult Volunteer and through mutual discernment ended up being placed at Ferncliff Camp working with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. Part of my YAV experience has been learning more about PDA by meeting PDA’s staff and volunteer members of the National Response Team throughout the year.

PDA hosts a National Response Team meeting every year so the members can be retrained and can become informed about different things going on with PDA. Thanks to an invite from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) I was able to attend the 2015 National Response Team meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. Here I was able to meet almost every member of the National Response Team and was able to get a more in depth look into PDA. During the first meal I was introduced to the group. Several of them came up to me afterwards and made sure I was feeling welcomed or wanted to know more about the Young Adult Volunteer Program.

                The National Response Team is roughly 100 members from all across the United States. Each person goes through a discernment event and PDA decides if this person is right for their team. Each person must be willing to give at least four weeks a year in case they are needed. The National Response Team is then broken down into several teams with everyone being on at least one of these teams.

Sitting around a table discussing topics with members of PDA

The first full day we had a large group discussion. Most of the conversations revolved around deployment. I got to learn more about what it means to be deployed by PDA and the National Response Team was given a refresher. A deployment is when the office of PDA gets a call that their services might be needed somewhere. PDA then decides who would be the best people to send based on the nature of the call and who is currently available. There is a wide range of situations a National Response Team can be sent to from providing emotional and spiritual care to leaders of the community affected by disasters to evaluating and finding churches that could be host sites for groups to stay in and do recovery work.    

We talked about what makes a good deployment which usually means having a team that gets along, finishing the task that needs to be done and connecting to the local people. We also talked about what makes a bad deployment which included a wrong mix of people or not everyone on the same page, or getting sent in at an inappropriate time. An example brought up was getting sent in when there is already an urgent need for short term housing.  The results would be that the team uses space that could be used for a survivor of the disaster and the team doesn’t accomplish the goals of the deployment.

                 In the afternoon, PDA honored the people who had helped with Katrina and everyone was allowed to share their stories about Katrina. It was interesting to see how many people became part of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance because of the impact PDA had on that area after the storm. PDA is one of the last groups to leave New Orleans and is still there after 10 years.

                The next couple of days were spent mostly on breakout sessions. These were small sessions where people were asked to learn about topics they weren’t familiar with. I knew some topics better than others so I tried to find sessions I knew nothing about.

We had one afternoon off so a group of us went to the famous Gateway Arch. 

                One session I went to was Story-telling A &B led by David Barnhart. David is employed by PDA to do Story Ministry. In this we talked about the importance of stories, what they are all about and why we tell them. Most survivors feel the need to share their stories to help in their recovery. By recording these stories people can feel more connected to the survivors when they come to volunteer and it also gets their story out to people who might like to donate to the recovery effort.

Another session I attended was Human-Caused Disasters A &B. In this session we talked about what is a human-caused disaster which could include gun violence, a terrorist attack, an industrial accident, or any disaster that was directly caused by humans. One thing I learned was that it doesn’t have to be a big story that gets national attention to get PDA called in. An example they gave was a time when someone had broken in to a church during a shootout with police or a congregation where a leader of the church was killed by gun violence.

                There was one small group session that got turned into a big group discussion because of the interest level. This was PDA response to Refugee Ministries focusing on the ones in the United States. The speaker was Susan Krehbiel , who is a part time employee of PDA and the expert on this topic. She told a story of a young adult who had married young. Her husband became abusive and was also part of a drug cartel. She feared for her life so she made an attempt to escape this life and start over in the United States. Due to the lengthy time it takes to get a visa she came to this country illegally. She was detained however and if the US deported her back she would almost certainly be killed. Susan then talked about what churches near the border have been doing to help with the overflow of immigrants and what’s being done by PDA. PDA is trying to figure out the best way to go with this current problem.

                Another breakout meeting I went to was Care for Caregivers. This was a ministry PDA puts on to help those people who are the leaders after a disaster to de-stress and learn more about self-care. We only got to go through a small portion of it because it’s an all-day program but I felt very relaxed afterwards. * After the conference a group of PDA National Response team members were deployed to the Little Rock area to do a Care for Caregivers for the leaders of Mayflower long term recovery group and I was invited to go through the whole program and it was awesome. If you are ever are in a situation where Care for Caregivers shows up do it is very relaxing.

              Some other meetings I didn’t get to included Congregational Preparedness. See previous blog if interested in the subject. Long-term Recovery A&B which is also something I talked about in previous blog. Hosting which is a big part of PDA. This means that National Response Team members will go to churches after a disaster and do assessments to see if they could house volunteers. Two staff members run the call center and set up groups up to stay at approved host sites.

                This is just a summary of the things PDA does. If you want more information go to the PDA website or see if you can contact a National Response Team member. I would like to thank PDA for inviting me. It was a lot of fun; I learned a lot and felt very welcomed. PDA does a lot of fantastic work and is something members of Presbyterian Church (USA) should take pride in and feel great about. 

Responding to Gun Violence Camp

Responding to Gun Violence Camp

Introduction to gun violence

                Greif, anger, survivors guilt, postpartum depression, these are just some of the many emotions survivors and families affected by gun violence have to deal with long after everyone else has moved on. Anyone who has been directly impacted by gun violence especially while at school will never be the same. The survivors and parents of the Jonesboro school shooting were no different.

After the 1998 Jonesboro School Shooting, Ferncliff Camp saw that this community was in distress and wanted to put on a week of camp specifically for the survivors. Ferncliff knew that this wasn’t going to cure the kids of their emotions or make them forget about the shooting. Instead it was designed to be a camp designed to help the kids learn how to deal with their emotions and to support them. They worked with their contacts in the Jonesboro area to put on a camp that would meet the survivor’s needs.

                The camp was a huge success and they continued putting on these camps for the Jonesboro survivor’s for many years afterward. They have also put on this type of camp for other school shootings including the Columbine school massacre. These camps have helped many kids try and deal with what has happened to them. Ferncliff has seen the good these camps can do and are actively trying to expand the use of camps like these to other camps around the country.

Responding to Gun Violence Training

                A few weeks ago a Ferncliff in a joined partnership with Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center (PCCCA) and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) put on a training seminar for other camps to learn how to run a week long camp if there was ever a school shooting in the respective camp’s area. In attendance at the event were leaders Ferncliff had brought to help with the camps after the school shootings, representatives from PDA and PCCCA, camp professionals, gun safety advocates, survivors, and families of victims of school shootings.

                To start out with we were welcomed to the training and then given a history of Ferncliff and responding to school violence. We learned about how after the Jonesboro School shooting Ferncliff worked with locals to figure out something to do for the survivors that would be beneficial to them. This including using buses from other schools to transport the kids so they weren’t followed so they could have a sacred place to deal with their emotions. They also brought in spiritual leaders to.  After that we talked about the different activities they used that the survivors felt were beneficial and we learned things that many people may not think about that might cause the survivors to have and people trained to deal with post-traumatic stress to give the kids someone to talk to if they wanted flashbacks or that might create panic.

                The next day we got to hear from the survivors themselves. The first two to talk were survivors from Jonesboro and Columbine. They told their stories in grave detail and then shared how their lives have never been the same since. They also told us their experiences with school violence camps. Both of them talked about their feelings before and after camp and how their lives are still being affected by the school shooting.

Next up was another survivor of Jonesboro and her mother, the daughter shared her story about the shooting and her experiences with camp and dealing with the post dramatic stress. Her mother talked about not knowing the fate of her daughter and the pain of seeing her daughter in so much emotional pain and being able to do very little. They then talked about how Ferncliff Camp had helped them both out. The quote that stuck out to me the most from the mother who said “More than anything else Ferncliff Camp helped me get my daughter back.”   

After that we got to hear from the dad who lost his son in the Isla Vista shooting and the daughter of the principal at Sandy Hook. They talked about the day they lost their loved ones and about the pain they have felt every day since losing their loved one and the stress that comes with dealing with people especially the media. 

Everyone who attended the conference was incredibly moved by these people’s stories and how open they were. It wasn’t easy to share about their experiences and how they are still dealing with these issues. I don’t think most people have any idea about the impact that school violence can have and how long-term it can be.    

                The day finished up will a group called Mom’s Demand Action who talked about what they are trying to do to put an end to gun violence and promote gun safety. After that we had a beautiful worship service where we added rocks to the collection of rocks from previous school shootings to the labyrinth.

How to not add to the problem               

After a shooting there are several things that can make things even worse for survivors and those who lost loved ones. One is donations. Each person talked about receiving so much material possessions that they became overwhelmed and just added the problems they were dealing with. An example of this was one of the people said she was given a horse after her experience. She didn’t own a farm or have much experience riding on a horse but someone thought it would help. Instead of giving in-kind donations to survivors, monetary donations to organizations that provide emotional and spiritual care to survivors would be more beneficial.  

                Another thing is media. Most people like to know what’s happening but the media can be very detrimental when they don’t give the survivors and family members of victim’s space. Each person talked about how the media didn’t give them the proper space to grieve. One person said she received a bouquet of flowers from an anonymous person. A nice gesture if the bouquet hadn’t been bugged most likely from a media person who was trying to find out where things might be happening. Also they weren’t fond of certain media outlets that focus on the shooter and in away getting what the shooter wanted, attention.

Conclusion

                Gun violence is nothing like I have seen before. These people have very deep pain and emotions. Even though the events happened when they were 11 and it happened 15 years ago they still have to deal with these issues almost every day. They were brave though and were very open about their experiences. These camps can be a difference maker in helping survivors live get back to living as normal lives as possible. The hope is that the camps in attendance never have to use this training at all but could put the camp on if need be. Let’s hope and pray we find a way to stop the violence and promote peace.  

*There were two more sessions the next day. However because of a YAV retreat we were unable to attend.

Christian and Other Faith's Response to Disasters

Christian and Other Faith's Response to Disasters

                This year I have been immersed into the disaster assistance world.  I have been to Point Pleasant, New Jersey and Jamaica, New York to help with the Hurricane Sandy recovery (see previous post about that trip if interested). I have also spent a lot of time this year going to Mayflower, Paron, and Vilonia, Arkansas to help with the long term recovery efforts after a tornado hit these three towns on April 27, 2014. I have heard stories from the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance National Response Team members about disasters they have helped with. I have also heard stories from other disaster recovery officials and other people who have helped out after a disaster. So I have definitely learned a lot from talking to these people.   

                The thing that I have found both encouraging and positive is how the Church as a whole and other faith communities handle disasters. Even though there is a lot of theological difference between a lot of the churches involved they manage to put aside these difference to help people who are in desperate need. What’s even more encouraging is that each group has found its niche in the disaster recovery process. Some groups have more glamorous jobs than others but all stay until the work is done.           

Helping fix a trailer that was damaged by the tornado. 

                I have also been encouraged by the attitude of the group. My favorite quote came from a discussion about helping people in a largely Hispanic community. There were several people who had not received FEMA funding. It was pretty obvious that a lot of the community was in the country illegally. However has one member said “That doesn't matter they are people that need help.” There were a lot of people on the committee that applauded this statement. This has been the attitude of the committee they are going to help anyone that is in need.

Alex and I being shown around a rebuilding project in Vilonia  by one their long-term recovery coordinators.
         The long-term recovery effort I am most familiar with is the Mayflower Arkansas Interfaith and Partners Disaster Recovery (IFPA) has several different churches involved. There are Baptist, Lutherans, Methodist, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Nondenominational, and others who make up the committee. What is significant is the work each group has done to help make the long term process faster. At Mayflower the Methodists have put in the money to hire a full time person to help coordinate the effort and another part time person who probably puts in more hours than that for construction management. A Lutheran denomination gave the long-term recovery effort a grant to rent out a warehouse to house materials, tools and anything else that might need to be stored. The Presbyterians have been busy looking for churches that can host volunteer groups and have several other contributions. They also handle spiritual care which includes visiting with survivors and hearing their stories. The Catholic Church has paid for case management workers who help the long-term recovery committee find the needs of the people. Other members have brought their own talents to the group and others have donated a good portion of money to specific houses for people in the area.

                This is fairly common for Churches and other faith communities to work in long term recovery efforts. Several big denominations have some sort of disaster assistance ministry and they all do something a little different. There are several reasons why this is a good thing. One is by having one big effort instead of each group trying to do everything they can save money and give it to people who really need it. Second reason is that when people work together more gets done faster. There are several other advantages to working together including the ability to pool money together when no one organization has the resources to fund a project but to avoid this blog becoming too long I won’t list them.

                I will also say that this blog has focused on the Christian response after a disaster because that is what I am most knowledgeable about. Several other faiths have disaster recovery agencies that also work with others to speed up the recovery process. We have had a group of Muslims and Jewish people have come and worked here in the area. They knew that this wasn't going to be an area where there were a lot of other Muslims and Jewish people but they came anyway. These groups and other faith backgrounds play a big part in other long-term recovery efforts.

                Seeing this process has been encouraging. In a time when a lot of Christians and other faiths can’t agree on things it’s nice to see they can come together and help people out. While this disaster was an awful thing to happen it has been a good opportunity to meet people and to show people Christ’s love through the rebuilding process.

Picture of a housing dedication in Mayflower. Four deserving families were given a new house. 

                

If a Disaster Happened Who Would be Ready?

If a Disaster Happened Who Would be Ready?

                A few weeks ago I had the privilege of attending a summit put on by the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA). Their goal was to create a training seminar for Presbyterian Women (PW) to use to get churches to create an emergency or disaster plan. This training would be taught by PDA members who would teach interested members of PW who would then have the option to train whomever they felt needed the training. This partnership was a good match because PDA wanted to extend to local congregations and PW wanted something new their members could get involved with. It was also a good fit because as one member of PDA put it “At seminary they told us you can influence the session the deacons just don’t get in the way of Presbyterian Women” so their members are highly motivated.

                A few disclaimers, my last posts have been more about what I have been up to while in Little Rock. This post will be more of a call to action. In this post I want to start conversations about how the reader would handle a disaster not to supplement the training. I would recommend the training to anyone who wants to make sure their church is ready in case of a disaster or emergency.  A good thing to know while reading this post is the difference between an emergency and disaster situation. An emergency is situation that calls about local responders and a disaster is a situation where local resources have been exhausted and outside help is needed.  This is something I learned from the summit. Both of these can be man created, like a school shooting, or a natural disaster.

Most people assume a disaster can never happen in their community but that is what most people say before a disaster happens to them. The best time to plan how to handle a disaster or emergency is before it happens not during or after. A proper plan in place cannot stop a disaster from happening but can decrease the damage. While it is impossible to plan for every disaster situation some are more likely than others depending on where you live. For example it wouldn't make much sense to have a plan in place for a hurricane in Iowa but having a tornado plan in place would be more logical.

                The first step in any disaster preparation is taking care of yourself and then after that your family. Anyone who has travelled by plane can probably tell you that you secure your own mask before assisting others. The same holds true for disaster situations. If you want to help others after a disaster you have to take care of yourself during the disaster. To do this you have to make sure you know what to do in case of a disaster. Do you know where to go in case of a tornado or any other disaster that might affected your area?

                The topic that the summit focused on most was church preparedness. Many churches do not have plans in place for a disaster that takes place at their facility or how to handle an emergency or disaster if it happens in the community at large. Some churches might have the plans in place for a disaster or an emergency but how many people in the congregation actually know it. Churches aren't exempt from an emergency or a being part of a disaster.

                One thing a church should have is an emergency plan in place if something happens when there are people at the church. If a fire broke out how does the church evacuate people especially the elderly? What if during a youth group night the tornado sirens go off where is the safest part in the church to go? How about if your church has an intruder during a youth group event? These are questions that a church should have a plan in place.

                Another topic a church might want to talk about is the role the church plays after a disaster if something happened in the community. Does your church become a short-term housing option for people in the congregation that lose there house or for everyone who needs a place to stay?  What if your church is damaged or destroyed? Where does your church meet?  How about communication how does your church figure out the current conditions of the members. Does the church have phone numbers for the members of your church? Is there a backup plan in case the phone lines or cell phone towers also get knocked down? These are some questions that should at least be discussed and talked about.

                Another level of the Presbyterian Church we talked about at the summit is having a plan at the Presbytery level. For those who aren’t familiar with the Presbyterian Church the Presbytery is the governing office for churches in the same area. Some Presbytery’s have disaster committees others do not. We talked about what role the Presbytery take on after a disaster and how they should do that. Do you know what the Presbytery or if you’re not Presbyterian the larger church office role is after a disaster is, and how to contact them to see the resources they might have?

                I hope this post gets you thinking more about disaster planning. The best time to plan for a disaster isn't during and after its before. Having a good plan in place can lessen the blow of a disaster or emergency and could save lives. Many people, churches and Presbytery’s aren't prepared. I encourage you to take the steps to create a plan in becoming more prepared for a disaster or an emergency and if you are interested taking the training seminar the Presbyterian Women will be putting on. Let me know if you have any questions.

Bonus Photos

I realized that I haven’t posted any photos recently here are some random picks. 

A picture of me leading 2nd Pres. of Little Rocks youth group. 

The YAV's at a retreat with members of Ferncliff's 2015 Summer Staff

Alex and I planting during one of our community days. 

Sam Love’s Toy Drive

                The past two and a half months have been very busy meeting people going to events and exploring the area. So busy that I haven’t really had a chance to update my blog or send a newsletter. Sorry about that. Throughout the year I have been going to Mayflower, a town close to Little Rock that was devastated by a tornado this spring, to attend long term recovery meetings. On December 22, I was able to attend a toy drive put on by a partnership between Mayflower interfaith long term recovery, Vilonia's , another town hurt by the tornado, interfaith long term recovery group and Samuel Love’s Annual Toy Drive.

                The idea for the toy drive came from Samuel Love. Samuel was 8 years old when Hurricane Sandy hit. After it hit he wondered how the kids in the affected area would get presents. He asked his dad this question and they decided to put on a toy drive for the children in the affected area. It was so successful that he put it on the next year for the same area. This year he decided to put a toy drive on for the children affected by the tornadoes in Arkansas this spring.  

                At the fundraiser I was put back in the toy room. What I expected to see was a room filled with McDonald’s Happy Meal toys and other low cost toys. However, I was surprised to find that many of these toys were more expensive toys that lots of kids would like to receive. There were remote control cars, helicopters, Barbie Dolls, footballs, basketballs, board games, action figures and several other different toys.

                The kids would come into the front desk and register. We would get the age and gender of the kid. After that we would search the room to find an appropriate gift. We were hid away in a corner from the crowd on purpose so people couldn't come in and pick out their gifts. This also made so we couldn't see their faces when they opened their presents so it seemed like a thankless job. We did however get some presents sent back for various reasons some included kids who had special needs, but other were the kid didn't like it and wanted something else instead. This made the job frustrating because we only got negative feedback and we weren't being told of positive feedback.

                At the end of the day we had handed out over 200 presents to kids at the event and that was just a dent in the number of presents we had available in the toy room. The case workers knew of several families that didn't attend the event for various reasons so we got presents for them. The rest of the gifts were taken to the children’s hospital in Little Rock.

There was also food, games, bounce houses, face painting, and Santa himself decided to show up. I was told by Liz and Nancy, the two other volunteers I went with, that the parents told them that they loved it that they could take their kids to a safe spot where the kids could run around and the parents could take a break.  They also reported that the people there had a great time. The couple of times I got out of the toy room to use the bathroom and eat lunch it was obvious that everyone was having a great time.

What I took away from Samuel"s Toy Drive

Just because you’re young doesn't mean you can’t do big things.. Samuel reminded me of a verse in the Bible. 1 Timothy 4:12 “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” Samuel is only 11 and they are probably thousands of kids who have had Christmas presents because of Samuel. Samuel Love doesn't let being young get in the way of showing strangers love and doing big things for people.

                Not everyone will be appreciative of your work even if they are receiving something for free. It’s unfortunate probably 98% of the kids who received something probably really enjoyed it but it was the 2% that didn't that made the people in the back with me feel really frustrated. God wants us to do things without expecting things in return like a thank you but it’s still a real hard thing to do.

                After a disaster even simple things like a safe place for kids to play can really help lift someone’s spirits. It was a good family event that many people could come to and forget their troubles even if it was for just a few hours. 

New Jersey to New York and Back Again: The YAVS Journey to the East Coast

New Jersey to New York and Back Again: The YAVS Journey to the East Coast

What an adventure! We recently made it back from one of the most memorable trips that I have taken. The trip was two weeks long with one being at Point Pleasant area of New Jersey and one week in Jamaica, New York.  We worked under Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) at both sites. Both sites had a different group we worked with and had different responsibilities.  

For the first week we stayed at Point Pleasant, New Jersey but worked at a house is Long Branch, New Jersey. We were picked up at the airport by a person who works with PDA, David Rauer, he took us out to eat and then showed us some of the damage the storm caused. There are several homes that have been repaired. Most of these were homes that belonged to people who had insurance or had the financial means to rebuild quickly. However there were also several houses with damage that hasn’t been fixed and empty lots where houses once stood.

After touring around we met the group we would be working with, Lend a Hand. This is a group from Central Pennsylvania that has a lot of experience in working disasters including the 2008 floods in Iowa. They had also been instrumental in setting up the Point Pleasant site after Sandy had hit and had sent a group every month for the past two years to Point Pleasant.

 The next day we went to our primary location, a house in Long Branch, New Jersey. The residences of this house were a young couple who were living in a camper on the front lawn. Their house had been destroyed by the floods Sandy had created. They also didn’t have flood insurance because the experts had said their house was not in the flood plain. During the storm Russ, the husband, had been checking on the generator outside when the house collapsed. If he had waited just a few minutes he would have been a victim of the storm. April, Russ’ wife, was a first responder who was working during the storm. After the house collapsed Russ took his two dogs and swam to safety.

The Two Home Owners are in front with the Lend A Hand group and us behind them.

                During this week we did a lot to get their house to the point where they could get a temporary occupancy certificate. We finished the flooring, put in counters and the appliances, just about finished the bathrooms, put insulation on the pipes (my primary job) and several other small jobs. It was great experience being there towards the end of the project because one could just see hope, optimism and joy return to them. They were very appreciative of all the help we gave them. They invited us to a barbeque they plan to have to for all the volunteers who had helped at their house this summer.  Another thing I really enjoyed about the sites we were at was the proximity to the beach. Only being a couple of blocks from the beach we ate most of our lunches there including the day of October 14^th which was my birthday.

My view from lunch that week.

On Wednesday we went out to a place called the Shrimp Box. This place had high quality foods and the meals were all around or over 20 dollars and with drinks the average person’s meal was probably around thirty dollars. Lend a Hand invited several people to join us at the site including the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance leaders of Point Pleasant, and a person whose house they had helped rebuilt on a previous trip. This lady was so grateful for all the work the group had done for her that she paid for all of our meals, which was about 20 of us, regardless if you had worked on her house or not. After the group had finished her house she had been given a grant and was looking for a way to repay the people who had worked on her house saw an opportunity and took it. This just shows how appreciative people are for the work Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and other disaster organization do in these areas.

                After the week was over we were picked up again by David and taken to Jamaica, New York. We took our time though and visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Both were great but I learned a lot from Ellis Island. Many of my ancestors had been through Ellis Island and the rigors of coming to America so they, their children and eventually me, could have a better life. We had the next day off so we went into New York City and saw Central Park, Times Square, Rockefeller Center and several other famous sites.

Picture I took of the Statue of Liberty
 The group we worked with at in New York was Southern Comfort Mission and Missionary Team from Upstate New York. They too had lots of disaster recovery experience including lots of work in New Orleans where they got the name Southern Comfort.

Me putting mud of the drywall.

Southern Comfort group picture with Don our site supervisor. 

                On Wednesday of that week we went to an opening of a house. Actually we got to two house openings. These houses belonged to friends and neighbors, Gerard and David who had helped each other get through the rebuilding process. David had had his house completely destroyed and Gerard had significant damage to his house. David moved into the damaged house with Gerard after the storm. Gerard didn’t want to do anything to his house because his wife had designed a lot of it and she had passed on before the storm. However, David and Gerard’s family encouraged him to get help. It was cool that these two friends who had relied on each other so much got their houses done at the same time and got to have one big celebration. This event was filmed and was on T.V. that night. Here’s a link to the video. http://7online.com/home/2-queens-men-back-in-their-homes-nearly-2-years-after-sandy/360061/.

                After the hard work we did during the day it was great to come back to and have a hot meal already prepared for us. Every meal excluding lunch, which was eaten at the work site, was prepared by Dora Sawh and sometimes she had help from another Dora. The meals were delicious and a much needed boost. Also after work we made it into New York City a couple of nights. I was able to go in and see my cousin. Molly was able to attend a Broadway play. We went to the 9/11 Memorial Site on the last night which was a very well done tribute to the people who had lost their lives that day.

Final thoughts

                Disaster assistance isn’t just about building homes for people. It is giving people peace of mind, hope and joy. Having a home again can bring all of these emotions. These people are very appreciative of the work we had done.  

                Physical labor isn’t the only type of job one can do after a storm.  There is a need for spiritual counselors and several other jobs after the storm. There is also a need for cooks. After a hard day it was nice to have a hot meal provided. At New Jersey it was groups from the area and at New York it was Dora. There are also several jobs that people can do at a work site. Some of the group we worked with had great carpentry and handy man skills while others were willing to learn and/or do the cleaning jobs.

                We should be more appreciative of our things. April told us that she had hated her old house before the storm. There were several spots that needed repairs and she complained about them a lot. Then the storm came and took out her house and she would do anything to go from the camper she lived in back to her old house. Luckily for them we were building them a nice house that won’t need any repairs for quite a while.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance offers some good mission trips. There are several sites around the country and the world. I would recommend this organization to anyone or any group that is looking for a trip to go on. 

                If there are any questions about these trips let me know. I took a lot more pictures and posted them on Facebook so check them out on my profile or the YAV-Little Rock Facebook Page.

                 

               

                

Six Weeks In…

I should have done this blog a long time ago but I have been busy (which is a good thing). There have been many challenges and also many real enjoyable times.  I will try to post more often about other events but here is what a typical week looks like so far. My placement this year is at Ferncliff Camp working with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA). Ferncliff is home to one of two Disaster Assistant Centers (DAC). I spend most of my time either working in the DAC or doing stuff for the DAC. 

Picture 1: The Three Little Rock YAVS. From right to left Alex, Molly and I.

A typical week

Sunday: Church at Second Presbyterian Church of Little Rock (Will have a blog all about my experience here later) I also try to make it to their youth group activities at night to help out with junior and senior high.

Picture 2 Heather, the Youth Director at 2nd Presbyterian, and I both supporting our Iowa Colleges

Monday: Work at Ferncliff and in the DAC. Volleyball at 2^nd Presbyterian at night.

Tuesday: Work at Ferncliff

Wednesday: Work at Ferncliff during the day. On Wednesday three men come out to volunteer. This really helps me out because a lot of tasks require extra hands.

Thursday: Work at Ferncliff part of the day. I have also gone to disaster cleanup meetings which I talk about below.

Friday: Community days. This is when our group goes out into the community and volunteers at a nonprofit or learns about different ways to serve. (I will post more about these at a future date as well)

Saturdays: This is a free day for us but I have never used it to sit at home all day. I will also try and post about some of the fun things I have been doing.

Picture 3: Me leading a group of senior high youth from 2nd Pres. in Little Rock

In this blogpost I want to talk about what I do the days I am at camp. There is no typical day here at Ferncliff or the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Center (DAC) but most of my job responsibilities lay under three categories.

1.       Working in the DAC to make sure everything is organized and making sure boxes that get sent into us are receipted and put into the right places. Many churches make boxes as a mission outreach read this website to find out more about these boxes http://pda.pcusa.org/page/kits/. I also am in charge of leading groups that come into the DAC to sort through boxes and/or make kits.

2.       I am also in charge of the Ferncliff Mission Team’s program. For this program we partner with local organizations. Groups will come in and spend time volunteering at the DAC and then they go to local organizations to volunteer. Here is some more about the program http://www.ferncliff.org/programs/mission-teams/.

3.       I am also coming up with program ideas for the DAC. I am currently working on a disaster simulation experience that will try and help people empathize with those affected by disasters.

Along with these responsibilities I have also been a part of two disaster rebuilding meetings. These two meetings took place in Mayflower, Arkansas which was hit by a tornado this spring. This meeting brought together several different Christian organizations. It was cool to see all of these organizations from many different denominations come together and work so well to rebuild these areas that were devastated by tornados. Many of these organizations have assets that when used with other organizations assets can really speed up the rate of rebuilding than if one organization tried to do it alone.

In the coming weeks my fellow Little Rock YAVS and I are going to New York and New Jersey to help with Hurricane Sandy Relief with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. I will make sure to update my blog with stories and pictures from this trip. I probably won’t be able to post anything until then unfortunately. Feel free to ask questions or to leave support just post in the comments section.