Final BBQ!

Nearly 30 people from Oak Park, IL, Burlington, IA, and Cedar Rapids gather for hotdogs, laughs, and a cool spot out the muggy heat.

Six flood recovery groups and five celebration cookouts are now in the books. Tonight marked our last night to roll out the red carpet, or at least the red-and-white checkered tablecloth. for an old fashioned Iowa picnic. Other commitments in the church building pushed our celebration picnic up to Tuesday which means unfortunately for our flood groups it's back to work tomorrow! At least the forecast calls for dry skies after a couple of unpleasant wet and muggy days. These two groups have been extremely productive. The Chicago-area group has nearly completed a privacy fence and the Burlington group has swelled in numbers during the day with a couple of people driving in for the day to work.

I've immensely enjoyed blogging over the past two summers and I've been blessed by all of your wonderful feedback. God has done something great through this format. Anytime someone Googles "Flood Recovery" and "Cedar Rapids" and "Lutheran" my blog pops up. This has led a number of people coast-to-coast literally to our doorstep. I am so grateful for the work of the Holy Spirit through you all. It has really touched my heart. This will likely be my last blog of the summer, but as you know the old news reporter in me may catch fire if anything develops. Thank you all again and God bless you in your continued work in your corner of the world in Jesus Christ.

Setting Their Sights High

Kelly O'Meara from Oak Park, IL points out the high water mark just under the window at the house where they are working. An unbelievable 31 feet of water swept through Cedar Rapids in 2008, leaving 1 in 5 people homeless.

It was an eye-opening and productive day one for our groups from Burlington and the windy city. They got a quick visual tour of the devastation and the mountain of work yet to climb for our community to make a full recovery. The Chicago group spent the day putting in a privacy fence on 10th Street in NW Cedar Rapids while the group from Burlington worked on a porch, some landscaping, and cleaned out a basement to paint later this week. Check out more photos by clicking the slide show in the upper right hand corner of this blog.

Land of Lincoln Melds with the Hawkeye State

Youth and Adults from Oak Park, IL and Burlington, IA pose for a picture just hours after meeting each other.

It was a little bit of country and a little bit of rock'n'roll. Bethany Lutheran Church near the cornfields of Burlington, IA and United Lutheran Church near Chicago. Two towns and one purpose: help the people of Cedar Rapids get back on our feet after the floods of 2008. Our final two flood recovery groups of the summer asked to stay with us on the same week and we said, "What the heck!" They come from different backgrounds but they are all sure to have the mission trip of a lifetime this week. Tonight I showed the youth and adults from the two churches around the building and told them a bit about the tragedy that struck our town two years ago. We capped off a wonderful night with a pizza party and had a few laughs together. I am just overjoyed they have come to help us and I'm as excited as they are for them to get to work tomorrow.