Volunteers Excite New Flood Family

"I'm surprised how much you all got done!" exclaimed an excited Darla Boardman as she and I stood in her driveway and waved goodbye to the final volunteer, Kris Cleveland, who left with her trademark smile on her face. This morning more than a dozen volunteers from First Lutheran wrapped their loving arms, the very arms of Christ, around Darla, her Mom, Laraine, and her 4 year-old son, Brayden. Today marked the first step of our long journey together towards recovery.

Nancy Hinrichs, Karen Shaw, and a few others helped Laraine go through box after box of keepsakes that were in the flood, salvaging what they could and saying goodbye to the rest. Meanwhile Tom, Dixie, and Sarah Olmstead formed a bucket brigade with Pat & Tina McCollough, Kandy Sands, Mark Scheumann, John & Karen Shaw, and Larry Johnson. The crew passed down boxes from upstairs into people's pickup trucks and vans, which were then driven out to a secure storage unit. Larry Muters and Lou Banker joined in when they finished their work at the Gruhn's about mid-morning.

Today's hard work will clear the way for us to come back to the Boardman's next Saturday (Aug. 1) to prime and paint the upstairs. The boxes filled with personal items were put upstairs by the Boardman's before flood water surged into their home last June. The Cedar River broke into their house located near Interstate 380 and consumed up to about two feet on the Boardman's main floor. Walking through their home today, it was hard to believe the river could run that far geographically from it's source. You can't see it, hear it, or smell it from the Boardman's home today.

We had a prayer to start the day and a few tears were shed. Today I think we brought a little bit more hope to the situation. Next week I pray to God we can do a little more of the same.