[amc] yea BETHEL!!
- From: "Bob" <rkoehn1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Austin mennonite Church" <amc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2006 09:38:04 -0600
STUDENTS AND STAFF SPEND SPRING BREAK DOING HURRICANE CLEANUP
Fifteen Bethel students and three staff members spent spring break doing
hurricane cleanup in New Orleans from March 20-24 through Mennonite Disaster
Service (MDS).
The group worked 8- to 9-hour days, carrying unsalvageable household belongings
from damaged homes; removing carpet, insulation, floor and ceiling tile,
shelves and bathroom fixtures; and stripping the interior walls of plaster and
drywall to prepare for future restoration. The homes belonged to individuals
and families who did not have flood insurance and anticipated little if any
financial support for rebuilding.
The workers also removed refrigerators from the upper floors of a six-story
housing complex for senior citizens. The eventual goal is to clean the
apartments and permanently restore electricity so residents may return.
The students who went were Jerel Fast, junior from Boulder, Colo.; Adam
Gaeddert, junior from Hutchinson; Peter Goerzen, junior from Newton; Heidi
Johnson, junior from Topeka; Aaron Linscheid, junior from North Newton; Joel
Linscheid, sophomore from North Newton; Lindsey Miller, senior from Haven;
Peter Miller, sophomore from Partridge; Jonathan Nathan, sophomore from
Moundridge; Miriam Regier, sophomore from Newton; Jess Rempel, junior from
Denver; Tobias Ruhle, junior from Wuppertal, Germany; Bryce Schmidt, sophomore
from Freeman, S.D.; Tina Schmidt-Tieszen, junior from Newton; and Robert
Weaver, junior from Wichita.
Bethel staff members Erin Schmidt, Brian Stucky and Melanie Zuercher
accompanied the group. Among others assigned to the MDS unit that week were
eight Amish and Mennonite men from Ohio, and 10 volunteers from Eden Mennonite
Church, Moundridge.
The volunteers heard many stories of peril, rescue and heartbreak from
appreciative homeowners, relatives or neighbors.
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