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.

Pirates Take Over Cedar Rapids

Youth from St. Louis sport pirates eye patches in their fun closing worship after a productive week doing flood recovery.

It was a great way to wrap up a spirit-filled time with our new friends. We had a celebration BBQ tonight complete with cheeseburgers and hotdogs on the grill, Bill's famous peach cobbler and ice cream, capped off with a unique worship planned by the youth themselves. We watched a bit of Johnny Depp's "Pirates of the Caribbean," sported eye patches, and gave thanks to God for transformed lives in Christ.

In perhaps their most challenging day yet, the youth broke up concrete with sledgehammers and shovels. They are paving the way for a new sidewalk to be poured which will beautify the formerly flooded neighborhood. Tonight they got to meet some of the people who have been helped by their type of work in the neighborhood and celebrate with food and fun. At last check well over 50% of homeowners are back into their homes; more and more continue to come home every day. Our community continues our journey on the mend and it's thanks in part due to the hard work and Christ's compassion of our new friends from the south.

Action Photos Requested!

You asked for more action photos and we answered! Check out more photos like these on our flickr site. You can click on the photo slide show playing at the top right or click here: action photos. Check back again later today & tomorrow as I'll be adding more as the week goes on. Today doesn't look to be quite as hot as yesterday. I think more yard work is on tap. I'm off to pay them a visit right now.

Taming the Jungle

The youth group from Lutheran Church of Atonement near St. Louis prepares for a blistering hot day two of flood recovery.

The heat index is supposed to flirt with 100 degrees today but that didn't seem to damper the spirits this morning of 13 young adults and four fearless leaders. Our friends from the Show Me State are doing more yard clean up today. Deb called a few minutes ago to say they are busting through what appears to be a junge with a home somewhere in the middle! It's hot, backbreaking work to be sure but it is SO much needed all throughout all the flood plain. Houses quickly turn into eyesores after a disaster. Think how much your lawn would grow after just a few months without cutting it; now think about not tending it for two years! The vines and weeds may be tough but they will prove no match to the power of God's love through these kids.

Missourians Invade Iowa!

Girls from Lutheran Church of the Atonement in Florissant, MO near St. Louis get ready to get squeaky clean after a busy and dirty day one

There are here! Our fourth flood group looks to be a lot of fun. They invited me to dinner with them Sunday night. After gulping down some of Bill's spaghetti, I rapped with them a bit about the upcoming week and my experience with the 2008 Flood. I told them they are an answer to our prayers; now it turns out they may be the answer to someone else's prayers. They worked on gutting out a basement today and cleaning up brush from a couple of yards in Cedar Rapids. In the afternoon Block-by-Block officials asked them if they would be interested in driving up to nearby Lake Delhi which suffered devastating flooding this past week when their dam broke. Read that story here. Whatever the week holds, they are sure to be in for a spiritual education in showing Christ's love to others. I'm so glad they are here and it's nice to have some authentic Cardinals fans around. :)