Construction Nearly Complete at Gilpins!

The Gilpin's newly poured cement porch, beautiful cedar wood posts, new front door, new foundation, and a lower graded and soded front lawn.

God is at work my friends through the life of First Lutheran Church. Mike Cutter of Cutter Construction is set to button up the Gilpin's home this Saturday and call for final inspections. The insulation goes in Friday, but the house is already 10 times warmer due to Mike's tremendous job of sealing up the basement with new blocks and new windows. The contractor was able to nearly double his efforts due to our church lobbying Jumpstart for more funding and Mike's kind-heartedness in providing free upgrades. Shawn and Mariann are very grateful of everyone's efforts! We are in conversation with the young family to find a time to have an open house and house blessing. We'd love to see you there!

This whole project has truly been a joy for me this summer and fall of 2009. It's a year I will never forget. At the start of the summer there were many tears and little hope. The Gilpins, the Boardmans, the Gruhn's, and my "Little Brother" Marcus' family sat in shelled out houses down to the studs (or worse), they faced a mountain of paperwork, they were filled with frustration at the process, and some wondered where God could be in all of this.

As you read these words, just a few short months later, ALL FOUR FAMILIES are back living in their homes. Isn't that amazing? The Holy Spirit filled the hearts of dozens of our church members to pitch in. You roofed, made lunches, scraped carpet, hauled junk, prayed fervently, and moved boxes. (Gosh, we moved a lot of stuff this summer! Let it be known I hate moving.) The Spirit sent us every thing we needed just when we needed it including angels with hammers and paintbrushes from cities around the country. The Spirit gave me strength and wisdom to do something I've never done before - coordinate building a house! I am so grateful to God for all of you. May you be filled with blessings beyond what your heart can hold this holiday. To God be the glory!

May All Who Enter This House Be Blessed

Thanks to Tom Olmstead, Dave DeWolf, Jim Jahnke, John Shaw, Scott Gerhold, and Greg Young for putting in two beautiful new and secure doorways at the Gilpins! The crew headed up by Big Tom (the hardest working person with the biggest heart I've ever met) worked for 5 hours to hang a beautiful new entryway on the front of the house which was purchased by the church, and move an existing storm door to the back of the house.

The Gilpins recently graduated Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University Class, which says the most important part of real estate is a good first impression. A good looking front door will do just that. Hopefully when the Gilpins are ready to move into a new house someday due to their wisdom gained from FPU and to meet the needs of their growing young family, a buyer will say, "Wow, what a great entryway," and buy the place.

After hanging the doors, the volunteers put up new brick mold trim which really cleaned up the appearance and added lower trim aluminum at bottom of door plus seals. The front door was tricky because the old door was slightly wider than the replacement and the opening was not plumb. They were able to reinstall the nice historic interior trim and John made a couple of small trim filler blanks because the new door was slightly taller than the old. They also filled the nail holes for now so it will be okay for winter.

Help Needed Hanging Doors

Do you have an hour or two you can donate Saturday? Tom Olmstead (and his big heart) is heading up an effort to hang two doors at the Gilpin's. Due to the nice weather that keeps hanging around, he'd like to do it

at 8 AM TOMMOROW, Sat. Nov. 21. Call Craig at 310-6888 if you can help. Bless you!!

How Firm a Foundation

Work continues to go strong at our third flood family we are helping, the Gilpins. The young family's house is jacked up while the contractor, Mike Cutter, continues to build new basement walls, replace leaky windows, plug holes, insulate drafty floors, level up the house, and give a firm foundation for the family to stand on for years to come. I'm working with Jumpstart to extend the money available for the family and expand Mike Cutter's work at the house. We are currently waiting to hear back from Jumpstart on our request. Next up, we will have people from our church hang a few front and back door we bought them with our flood fund. Then we will visit their home to see the good work we've done and bless their house! We are waiting for the contractor to finish to set a date.

House Repairs Underway for Flood Fam #3

Bulldozers whirled, saws zipped, and and hammers pounded today symbolizing a giant leap towards the end of First Lutheran's flood recovery efforts in 2009. Workers from Cutter Construction tore off the porch and cut up and removed a giant oil tank that the flood waters uncovered behind a hidden wall at the Gilpin's. Contractor Mike Cutter said he would wrap up in about 10 days. Check back for a time and day for Gilpin's house blessing.

Construction Set to Go at Gilpins!

This has been a fun week full of good stuff and God's surprises. Mike Cutter of Cutter Construction and I just met to discuss a work schedule of repairing the basement at the Gilpins home! Both the contractor and Mariann Gilpin have signed a contract which is required by Jumpstart to officially begin the project. Cutter Construction was selected during our "bid meeting" with Jumpstart officials earlier this week. Thanks to recommendations from people in our church, we were blessed to find three high quality, highly recommended contractors to bid on the job. Thank you all!!!

We have agreed on the following dates to repair the Gilpins home:

Oct. 19th Probable start date
Oct. 26th Definite start date

Oct. 31st Probable end date
Nov. 6th Definite end date

We are also planning a house blessing on-site and a celebration at the church once the work is completed. Stay tuned for a date and time on that one.

Lutherans Provide a Shelter Over Shellsburg Mom's Head

From Tom Brennom of St. Mark's in Marion: THANK YOU for your volunteering! We were very successful and 4 of us finished up the roof Wednesday with another perfect day (Thank you God for 2 great days between really bad ones). We had 15 volunteers on Tues from 6 churches and 4 on Wednesday. Tuesday was equivalent to 3 people working a full week(40 hours)...what a lot of good work was completed! We put in ventilation baffles, ice and water shield on the whole roof, shingled it with new shingles, and installed a ridge vent across the top. We also put on new fascia boards, vents in the soffits, and painted these. The west roof was completely shingled with all the vents installed (and heat was pouring out when we installed them).

Transition to Family #3

We had a nice turnout today for the house blessing at the Boardman's house. With our first two families moved back in, we turn our focus to family #3, the Gilpins. I have a "bid meeting" this Wednesday with Shawn and Mariann and an official with Jumpstart. We have obtained 3 bids and hope to get the greenlight from Jumpstart on which contractor can get to work fixing the collapsed wall in the Gilpin's basement. It's been deemed safe for the family to live there, but quite a hassle. We hope to have the work completed before the snow flies and celebrate with them "returning" to their home before the end of the year. Stay tuned for celebration plans to come! God is so good.

Come Celebrate with Us This Sunday!

Please welcome our second flood family, the Boardmans, this weekend at worship. They will be here for the 11 AM worship at First Lutheran Church on the corner of 3rd Ave and 10th St in Southeast Cedar Rapids. We will have cake and a celebration for them around 10:30 AM in the Narthex, just outside of our worship space.

Then join us at their house from 2-4 PM at 823 12th St. NE (Off of "H" Ave, near I-380) for a house blessing and open house. See all the hard work we've completed and share a hug and smile with the family now living back in their home! See you there!

Dozens of Warm Hearts Make Move a Success!

Below: The 26' Monster truck pulls up to the Boardman's house. Above: Nearly 60 volunteers from First Lutheran and Trinity Lutheran in Walford form a "bucket brigade" to unload the many trucks.

It was a kind-hearted Christian effort as large as the truck itself. After 15 months in exile from the flood, Roger Hughes masterfully packed the largest commercial truck on the market wall-to-wall with personal items and everything - the Boardmans included - returned to their proper place...home.

It’s a move unlike anything I’ve ever coordinated before. Roger and I started the day at 8 AM picking up our behemoth of a moving vehicle. We were joined by more than a dozen First Lutheran folks at the storage unit donated free of charge to the Boardman’s by one of our church families, Jim and Nancy Mohni. We said a quick prayer for everyone’s safety and no rain and then went to work. Next it was off to Darla’s apartment, where 30 volunteers greeted us! We filled the 26’ truck, five pickups, and several vans with Darla’s furniture and personal items. I sent the pickups to unload at the house and then met them at the FEMA trailer where Darla’s Mom, Loraine, has spent over a year living since the flood. We greeted another dozen or so volunteers at the trailer! I gave a few marching orders and we loaded the half dozen trucks with Loraine’s personal items. We were fortunate most of the furniture belonged to FEMA and stayed with the trailer.

Still, by the time we all got to the house, it was nearly 1 PM. We all gave Roger a big hand, and we also clapped for our handful of guests from Trinity in Walford. We thanked God in prayer for holding off the rain and for being a mercy-filled and loving God who is working through the volunteers to help our community recover from the flood one family at a time! Then we formed up two bucket brigades, one made up of adults & the other youth, to pass the remaining boxes from the big truck and the 6 pick-up trucks at the same time. I was pleased to see several youth and their parents serving others today.

It took about 50 of us just 5 hours to move the family. At the end of the day I handed back the extra house keys Darla gave to me earlier in the summer. I told her and her mom, “You are no longer a flood family! You are simply a church family.” I hope that sinks in for them a bit amidst all of the busyness of unpacking. All of that work, paperwork, and coordinating everything they've struggled with for the past 15 months to get them back into their home is now OVER! They are back; the job is done. Praise be to God!

Moving Schedule for Sat: RAIN or SHINE

Please join us at any or all of the following locations. (Call my cell phone at 310-6888 for updates that morning):

8:30 AM Cedar Storage Southeast
Behind Casey's on Mt. Vernon Road and Highway 13

9:30 AM Darla's Apartment - Glenbrook West Apartments
4827 1st Ave SW Apt. D

11 AM Lariane’s FEMA Tralier - Cedar Terrace Trailer Park
Off 16th Avenue SW by Brothers3 Homes
Enter Trailer Park and TURN LEFT
1818 Janna Drive

1 PM Unload at Boardman's "New" Old Home
823 12th Street NE
(Off of "H" Ave, near I-380)

Emergency Help Needed this Week

Here's the plan this week at the Boardman's: Carpet goes in Tuesday, Baseboard Trim on Wednesday, we move the family on Saturday. However, we hit a little snag. I'm praying that you can help!

One of the two men I had lined up to do the baseboard trim fell and hurt his back. I'm looking for someone to swing a hammer in his place along with John Shaw. John was planning on being there this Wednesday night at 6:30 PM. Could you you meet him there to help? Please call my cell at 310-6888 if you might be able to help. Thanks and God bless!

**UPDATE: Thanks to John Shaw, Tom Olmstead, and Jay Hunt for tackling this tonight!

Roofers Wanted

CrossRoads Mission has uncovered a family in Vinton who has been through a string of unbelievable difficult circumstances lately, not to mention a "flood of water" from above that has collapsed their roof on their home! An inspection by Tom Brennom of St. Mark's in Marion revealed a complete roof failure. Pastor Mark has raised in actual money or pledges of money, including a Thrivent "Care Abounds in Communities" grant, the necessary funds to buy roofing and building materials necessary to fix the house.

Pastor Dan at First Lutheran in Cedar Rapids has helped to raise funds and volunteers as well. CrossRoads has four committed volunteers as of this evening, and are looking for eight more. We need your help! We hope to remove the old roof and replace it in one day, Tuesday, September 29. Tom is also checking with a group at St. Mark's about preparing an on-site luncheon/meal and cold refreshments for the volunteers.

If you can help, please contact Pat Kane at CrossRoads Mission. His phone is 981-1273. His email is: www.crossroads-mission.com

Movers Needed!

Spread Christ's Love - Help Move our 2nd Flood Family Back Home on Saturday, Sept. 26th. Please come even if you can only give one hour Saturday! The Boardman's are anxious to get home and are grateful for your assistance. Plus, the Iowa Hawkeyes are away and don't play until 7 PM. No excuses! :P

Please join us at one or more of the following locations:

8:30 AM Cedar Storage Southeast
Behind Casey's on Mt. Vernon Road and Highway 13

9:30 AM Darla's Apartment - Glenbrook West Apartments
4827 1st Ave SW Apt. D

11 AM Lariane’s FEMA Tralier - Cedar Terrace Trailer Park
Off 16th Avenue SW by Brothers3 Homes
Enter Trailer Park and TURN LEFT
1818 Janna Drive

1 PM Unload at Boardman's "New" Old Home
823 12th Street NE
(Off of "H" Ave, near I-380)

Help Needed Hanging Door

"I'll take what's behind Door #3, Monte!" Remember when people used to say that to Monte Hall on "Let's Make a Deal?" Well we're trying to turn a zonk into a nice place to live for our third flood family, the Gilpins. When I stopped by their house today to let a contractor in to do an estimate, I discovered their back door is not in the greatest shape. We need to shore this up a.s.a.p. as the workers will be going through this A LOT in a few weeks to fix their basement. Do you know how to hang a door? I sure don't.

**UPDATE: Thanks to Tom Olmstead and Greg Young for handling this Saturday morning!

Flood Ministry Team Meeting

7-8 PM Tuesday, Sept. 15th

@ FLC Room 312

Please insert the date into your iPhones and Blackberrys and if you're old school- mark your calendar! Why? We have a lot developing in flood recovery the next two weeks that we need your input on, including some fun, upcoming celebrations! See you there!

New Move in Date for Boardman's

After talking to Darla and Pat the contractor, it seems like moving back the move-in date to Saturday, Sept. 26th is the thing to do. Pat's guys continue to make great strides on the finish work, but with the all the inspections needed and a short holiday week this week, it just makes sense. This will Darla's family another week to get packed up and ready. We will be moving Laraine from her FEMA trailer, Darla and her boys from her apartment, and some stuff we had put in storage.

We also need to finalize details on the house blessing when our Ministry Team meets again. Barb will be gone this Thursday, so we need to find another day to meet - perhaps next Tuesday, Sept. 15. Stay tuned for that date. We are getting close!!

Want to Help? A Few Odd Jobs Left

After a mega-huge, productive work day Saturday at the Boardman's we have just a few odd jobs that need to be done to finish out our work.

Floors: We pulled up the carpet upstairs which revealed a thin, black carpet pad glued to the floor. Ken with Done Done advised that we use a scraper to scrape that up. If we leave it and carpet over the top of it, Ken says little black pellets will work their way up through the new carpet when Darla walks on it. Yuck! If you have a few hours day or night this week or next, call me at 310-6888 and I'll let you in to help us clean that up. **UPDATE: Thanks to Tina & Carol for completing this Friday!

Paint: The small ceiling in the stairway could use a second coat of white paint. Most of the other painting is done. Terry Straight came in yesterday and touched up everywhere else. It looks great!

Thank you to the 30 people who showed up Saturday (especially our friends from Missouri). The newly painted rooms look great! We are a mere 3 weeks from our projected move-in date. Let's get their house ready and get them moved in!!

KCRG to Air House Blessing

Be sure to watch the TV9 News at 5:30 and 10 PM tonight to catch the story on the Gruhn's moving back into their house. I believe the main story will run at 5:30. Set your DVRs!

**UPDATE: The story ran and it looked great! You can check it out online here: http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/56225222.html

Clean Team Gets Gruhn Home Ready for YOU

Above: Marcie Watson sweeps the steps to Robert's Hawkeye Man Room. Below: Ladies vacuum and tidy up for Sunday's Open house.

Nova Kolander's crew was a welcome site to Lillian and Paul Gruhns' eyes. The seasoned citizens were somewhat concerned, as we all would be, about potentially dozens of people walking through their home and seeing what it looks like. But Nova and her team eased the couple's fears by doing everything that needed to be done for last minute prep as the hours tick down to Sunday's house blessing at 1 PM, followed by an open house from 1-4 PM. The event is open for everyone from First Lutheran Church and beyond to come and see the work we've completed to return the couple, their adult son, Robert, their granddaughter, Kia, and their lovable dog, Daisy, back to their home.

'Show Me' State Makes Good on Promise

They left in early July with a promise to return. Today a handful of youth from Jefferson City, MO, made good on their vow. Last month the Spirit directed some of the hardest working people I've ever met in my life to Cedar Rapids to help us with flood recovery. For that story click here: http://floodrecovery.blogspot.com/2009/07/missouri-kids-leave-their-mark-on-our.html The youth connected with 15 year-old Kia Gruhn as they fixed up her room. They were so touched by what they experienced that at the time they talked about returning for the house blessing and possibly another work trip. Honestly, at the time I wondered if was all talk, and then the "Show Me" state lived up to its name.

When the young adults returned home, their youth director, Ellen, told me it was if the Holy Spirit caught fire in their church because not only did the youth want to come back, but so did their parents and grandparents! So Ellen organized a return effort. I put them up at the church, Kathy Runnels helped assemble some sack lunches for them, and they went to town on the Boardman home today. Alongside many of our faithful volunteers from First Lutheran, they painted both coats of colors today in the kitchen, laundry room, living room, bathroom, the downstairs bedroom, and the porch. We also ripped up the old carpet upstairs, painted a second coat of paint in the stairway, hung a drop ceiling in the laundry room and part of the kitchen, and painted a second coat of white on all the upstairs trim. Wow! What a day's work. Sunday the MO crew will join the Gruhn's for a special worship service at 9:30 and attend their house blessing at 1 PM before heading back south. They have left their mark on our homes and hearts and will most certainly be missed.

Guys Finish Gruhn's Garage

A team of a half dozen volunteers put in the last piece of the recovery puzzle at the Gruhn's today. It was a long day stretching from before 8 AM to well in the afternoon, but the guys wanted to get it done. I bought two new steel doors to put in. It's like night and day. The old little door was an eyesore and a security hazard. The new steel doors look beautiful and really set off the beautiful siding. The job included the time-consuming effort of cutting different shaped, little pieces of siding to take it all the way to the top. Be sure to check out their handiwork closely at Sunday's open house 1-4 P.M.

Work, Worship, & Celebration

This Saturday/Sunday is going to be a barn-raising experience to be sure. I'm tempted to let my beard grow like the Amish and put on suspenders and a straw hat (Oh, I love the movie Witness!).

We will be doing some work on Sat., honoring our work at all of our worship services, and then celebrating with the Gruhn's on Sunday. Here are some highlights:

Saturday:

8AM-12PM Finish Siding the Gruhn's garage

9AM-12PM Prep the Gruhn's home for open house

8AM-?? Finish painting Boardman's house, rip up carpet, put in a drop-down ceiling

5PM-6PM Worship

Sunday at FLC:

8 AM-9AM Worship

9AM-9:30, 10:30-11 Cake at church for Gruhn's

9:30-10:30 Special presentation in worship for Gruhn family

10:30 KCRG-TV9 Interviews FLC

11AM-12PM Worship

Sunday at Gruhn's:

1 PM House Blessing at Gruhn's

1PM-4PM Open House at Gruhn's

Sump Pumps and Croissants

Today was a wild day. Ira Way, Larry Lundgren, and Karolyn Smith finished off priming the main floor of Darla Boardman's house so we're ready to rock and roll the paint colors this Saturday. I bought Darla a new sump pump to replace the old one that wasn't working when we took on 8 inches of water over the last 24 hours! Ken and I dried up the basement and cranked up a new humidifier I bought to dry it out.

Good news - the plumber reports the furnace and water heater were not damaged by the foot of flood water in the basement.

At the same time Ellen from Missouri called and said 12 people are committed to returning to Cedar Rapids this weekend to do flood recovery work at the Boardmans and celebrate at church with Kia and the Gruhns. So I ran out and bought some apples, sliced turkey, and croissants to feed them a nice lunch. The Missourians will stay on the floor in our church basement and use our kitchen, bathroom, and showers all weekend. I've been prepping with the custodian for their visit, including rounding up housing for a more seasoned member traveling with them.

Yuck, Enough with the Water Already

I got over to Darla Boardman's house today to let in a few painters and she had a foot of water in her basement. Her brand new furnace, etc. is all soaked. Bummer. I called her, went to A-1 Rentals and got a pump that puts out 62 gallons a minute! That should get it dried up. The contractor Pat said hopefully homeowners' insurance will cover any damage to the furnace.

Meet the Gilpins!

Say hello our third flood family we'll be walking with this summer - the Gilpins! Shawn and Mariann head up this young family with two beautiful children and another one on the way. Lucas is 2 and Ava is 1. When I stopped by to meet them at about 8 o'clock in the evening, poor Ava was fighting exhaustion near her bed time (hence the grumpy picture). We finished our visit with a quick prayer during which time Lucas prayed for the dinosaurs. You gotta love it!

The Gilpins will not be needing our "sweat equity" rebuilding their house as much as they will need our support in other ways. The flood water swept through their cute, little home on K street, nearly knocking the cottage home off it's foundation. Inspectors said the house was structurally in good enough shape for them to move back in, which they did, but the floodwater's effects continue to linger. Both the front and back porch swag a little and their front door doesn't quite shut tight, which let frost into the room last winter.

I will be helping the Gilpin's navigate the paper trail that is government assistance. If they come up a little short on the needed repairs, the church may be able to provide them a little financial assistance. Needless to say, like with many families the flood has STRESSED OUT this family! They have signed up for our fall Financial Peace University class, which is helping families all over the church lower their stress level when it comes to money and life. The Gilpins could also use your prayers and whatever creative ways you can think to help them.

Calling on a Higher Power to do Flood Recovery

More than a dozen men from across denominational lines ascended the Gruhn's roof. Getting higher on God's green earth made me think about the Highest power.

I'm not a guy who spends a lot of his days sitting around pouring over books thinking about how God works. I would much rather roll up my sleeves and get to work helping my fellow man. (Point of reference, read Matthew 25). But this morning something came over me as I stood on top the top of a garage in a circle with a number of men I didn't know. We were about to bow our heads in prayer as the unusually cool August air swept over us and the morning sun peeked through the tree branches. I looked around at these men's faces and thought to myself, "I'll tell you how God works - He gives us exactly what we need at exactly the time we need it." Don't misread me. He doesn't always give you what you want, or even what you think you need, but He always gives us what we need.

Case in point: I have prayed non-stop since the beginning of this walk with the Gruhn family that God would take care of the things that need to be taken care as we progress every step of the way. The flood recovery volunteers will tell you, I'm not a carpenter, nor do I pretend to be. The closest I've come is watching home makeovers on HGTV with my wife. God didn't gift me with that skill set, but He has surrounded me with people who He has! I recognize that, not only do I recognize that these people are skilled, but I recognize that it's a gift given to this project that comes from God. Sometimes you simply have to stand in awe how good He actually is to us!

Just like those HGTV shows, our open date house at the Gruhn's is bearing down on us. For some time now I've worried about how we were going to get the garage re-roofed. It's a fairly skilled job. Even the faithful, talented volunteers from our church told me as we put siding on the garage LAST WEEK that roofing not something they feel they can do or really desire to do. They said they would help out; they just didn't want to lead the charge. But you know, strangely my confidence level never dropped that somehow it would get done. I just have learned to trust this summer that somehow God will get it done...in His time.

Then I came across an old email from a friend of a friend at church who said she knew of someone who did roofing as a ministry. I replied to the email weeks ago. At that time the man, named LaMar Grafft, said his Bible study group already had a few houses lined up to work on this year so I kind of let it go. Until this week. I shot a quick email to LaMar to see where they were at with things. He called me back and said he would drive by the Gruhn's in the morning. The next phone call I got from LaMar was that he had spoken to his group and they wanted to do it this Saturday! Can you believe that? Does that just floor you how God works?! On top of that, roofing can be a hot job, and God put it all together for us on a 70 degree day in August! Does that just give you goosebumps?

So about 12-15 guys were up and down ladders ALL DAY. It was our longest day yet. They went from 8 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. I never asked a single one of them to stay past noon, and they guys stayed until the job was done. The Gruhn's finished the day with a beautiful, newly roofed garage complete with new tar paper and shingles. The workers had to do quite a bit of repair to the wood underneath the old shingles. Robert Gruhn and his Dad built the garage themselves out of old salvaged wood from a barn the year Robert graduated high school - 1983! And now 26 years later, through a flood of water, a flood of kind-heartedness, and a truckload of human obedience to God's Guiding Spirit, the job is done.

Next Saturday we are asking volunteers to return to finish siding the garage. We also need a "clean team" to pick-up and clean the inside of the house and tidy up around the yard for the open house the following day (Sunday, Aug. 30th). God bless you all!

Painters Swarm the Main Floor of the Boardman's

Dixie and Sarah Olmstead prime what we become the Boardman's new living room.

The good-hearted people of First Lutheran moved into the final phase of work at Darla Boardman's home today. Ira Way led the fast-passed flurry of paint colors and smiling faces as we now near completion on yet another flood home. Half our team knocked out the trim paint and colors upstairs, while the other half prepped the bedroom, living room, and dining room on the main floor with white prime. We even got into painting some accent colors on the main level.

Next weekend we welcome back our enthusiastic friends from Jefferson City, MO. They are returning for the Gruhn's house blessing and other festivities at church surrounding the weekend, but they said they also want to work. So we will work shoulder-to-shoulder with them to complete all the painting in the house next Saturday! At that point, we will turn the keys over to the finish carpenters to finish up the home. We will then return to the house to move the family in, bless their home, and celebrate with them! Hope you can join us for the upcoming paint party this Saturday!

Shooting for the Roof

I got an exciting phone call tonight from a LaMar Grafft. He attends a Bible study with a group of guys who read the book and apparently take it seriously. They go around and roof houses of those in need. Well, it just turns out we need a new roof badly on the Gruhn's garage to finish out the project. LaMar said he'd swing by to look at it tomorrow morning, but thinks they might be able to tackle it THIS Saturday. Can you believe it!? I called Mark Scheibe and he's pumped as well. The weatherman is calling for clear skies and a high of 77 degrees - perfect for roofing. LaMar's crew is 5 strong, so they could use another 5 or so people to tackle it in a half day. Are you in??

Carpet Conversation/Opportunities this Sat.

I met Darla tonight at our "old school" carpet guy to pick out texture/color for the upstairs of her pad. This guy is an absolute stitch. He's got great prices and good installers, but what puts him over the top is the way he does estimates. His name is Gary Downs and his business, G Downs Distributing in Marion, has been going for like a bazillion years. No fancy calculators, computers, or price guides for Gary. All he needs is a yellow legal pad, a pencil, and the information inside his head. It was a thing of beauty. We can put down the carpet as soon as we get Darla's place painted up and looking good. That's where we need you! Please consider one of two opportunities this weekend:

**JOB COMPLETED - THANK YOU!

Option 1: PAINTING
Address: 823 12th St. NE
(Off of "H" Ave, near I-380)
8 AM-12 PM

The contractor is working hard to insure the main floor of the house is ready for us to paint this Saturday. If we have enough interest, we will finish painting the upstairs as well. We have all the rollers and brushes we need, now all we need is you!

Option 2: SIDING/ROOFING
Address: 1642 8th St. NW
8:30 AM-12:30 PM

Mark Scheibe has done an excellent job of leading the troops as we transform the Gruhn's garage to a sharp-looking, clean new space. Come for an hour or two or more and help us nearly close the deal. Bring a hammer and a friend.

Home, Sweet, Home!

Bottom: Robert, Kia, Paul, & Lillian Gruhn sit in their "new" living room with their empty moving van pictured outside the window.

It was all hugs, smiles, and tears of pure joy today. Frankly, Saturday was a day many of us have been looking forward now to a long time. No more so than the quaint, multi-generational family put through hell and back in the past 14 months. As we wrapped up promptly at 11:59 AM, I stood in the living room and pressed the silver key so hard into my palm that it made an imprint. It was the extra house key that Robert gave me over two months ago so I could come and go as I needed. Those days are now over. I handed the key over to Paul, put my hand on his shoulder, looked him in the eyes and said, "You are no longer a flood family; you are now just a church family! Just like everyone else," I told him, "we will be here for you whatever your needs." We hugged, took some pictures, and closed an important chapter of flood recovery in the life of First Lutheran Church.

My day started before dawn, as I dropped off a few things at the Boardman home and headed to Marion to pick up the Gruhn's moving van. I got the biggest truck they had - a 26 footer. I mean this thing was so big it had air breaks and a small ladder to climb aboard! Have you ever had this frightening feeling you have bitten off more than you can chew? As I went over the agreement in the parking lot with the rental guy as this beast of a truck loomed over us, this same fear washed over me. Please, Holy Spirit, help me with this behemoth! And then the Spirit answered.

I pulled up to the Gruhn's FEMA trailer. Kia greeted me with a smile and a wave. Soon after Vicki Hughes and her uber cool son, Roger pulled up. As it turns out, Roger worked as a professional mover for two years and drove a similar truck in downtown Manhattan in rush hour! Tell me the Lord doesn't provide for all our needs! Dave DeWolf, Robert, and I loaded nearly everything as Roger went to work packing it all in. Kris Cleveland did a saint's job inside packing and cleaning along with Vicki, Kia, Nova Kolander, and Lindsey Sheibe. After a short stop to pick up a few things in storage, Roger and I pulled the big rig into the Gruhn's drive at 11:15 AM. Our crew on the other end made short work of things. After some short direction, we had everything unloaded by noon. It was a remarkable day, one I will never forget as long as I live.

If you'd like to get in on some of the celebration, please join us in any worship service the weekend of Aug. 29/30 and at the Gruhn's for a house blessing and open house on Sunday, Aug. 30th. See you there!

Gruhn's Garage Takes Shape

Mark Scheibe and his team of 7 volunteers continued transforming the Gruhn's garage this morning before the moving van arrived and demanded their attention. The crew got the most out of its 3 hours on the carport, siding most of the back and two sides, as well as putting up new plywood on the front.

Mark plans on using the next two weeks to finish up the siding. I've got one lead on a group that does roofing. If you'd like to help finish off the garage with a new roof or know someone who does, please contact me! It would be great to have it all done before the Gruhn's house blessing and open house on Aug. 30th!

Boardman's Bedrooms Begin to Sparkle

Ira Way lead a team of 4 volunteers as they continued to add more color to the Boardman's bedrooms. Both Darla and the boys' rooms are fully painted and work has started in the upstairs hallway. Next Saturday we will return to give all the upstairs rooms a second coat.

The grand plan is to focus a lot of our efforts on the Boardman's now that the Gruhn's are back home. I spoke to the contractor and he is very much on board with this. If we can get all the painting done inside the house over the next two weekends, the contractor says his finish carpenters can complete the job in 3 weeks after that. That gives us a move in date of Saturday, Sept. 19th. Please mark your calendars for another joyous celebration!!

Steps to Completion

I stopped by Darla Boardman's today, our second flood family, to drop off some stuff a church member donated and SURPRISE - she has steps into the house! Yea! Prior to today, we were walking into the raised first floor by balancing ourselves on piled up cinder blocks. Yikes. Today I was pleased to see a pair of carpenters building a small deck off the side door and three steps. I think the hope is United Way will come and build a wheelchair ramp alongside the deck for free.

Meanwhile, Ira Way, our paint coordinator continues to make great headway with the orange and blue boys' room upstairs and Darla's green room. We'll be back in there painting this Saturday morning from 7:30-11:30. Please drop by for an hour or two if you can. With your help, we could have her family in before the end of September!

Countdown to Completion at Gruhn's

Above: Sarah & Sam Janke clean the Gruhn's refrigerator. Below: Our crew residing the garage.

I looked Robert Gruhn in the eyes and mouthed, "Just seven more days until we move you in!" "Six!" he smiled and shot back at me in his hearing impaired voice. Okay, six, I conceded after seeing his ear-to-ear grin. The Gruhn's are no doubt exciting to finally be going home after a 14 month exodus into the wilderness of FEMA trailer 15 miles away in Marion.

Today we prepped the home for the arrival party next Saturday. The entire Janke clan joined Judy Johnson's "clean team" that windexed windows, vacuumed, and spruced up everything. Marvin Quaas made the bathroom sparkle. Dixie and Sarah Olmstead scrubbed and swept. Kris Cleveland touched up the paint. Julie Banker, Kia Gruhn, and Alex McDaniel tidied up here and there.

Meanwhile Lou Banker, Tom Olmstead, Mark Scheumann, Scott Gerhold, Larry Johnson, Jim Janke, and Robert Gruhn went to work on the garage. Mark Scheibe led the way as the team cleaned out the garage to use it as a staging area. They began by moving the furniture from the garage into the house and tossing a bunch of stuff to the curb. Menard's delivered the materials and our guys went to work. They replaced three of the walls' existing siding and spongeboard with brand new plywood. Next step will be to replace the fourth wall and begin putting up new siding. Mark wants to have the prep work done this week so siding can go up on Saturday. We figure some guys can work on the garage Saturday while they are waiting for the moving truck to arrive. Hopefully we have enough people to help to get it all done!

This week I'll be supervising some odds and ends to get the house ready for the big move. On Monday, the installer comes back to finish carpeting Kia's room (he was rained out on Friday). The plumber will call for his final inspection on Monday, which is our last hurdle before the overall inspection. We expect to pass. TV and phone arrive Friday to hook up the cable. The big move is on Saturday! Hope to see you there!

Boardman's Bedrooms Brighten Up

Above: Larry Lundgren tapes out a game plan. Below: Haley Wesbrook rolls on fresh paint.

Our small, but mighty crew of 6 led by Ira Way began to transform white walls to green and buttercream today. Ira began the day by prying all the old baseboards off the walls and prepping the two bedrooms and hallway for paint. Haley and Scott Wesbrook painted the angled ceiling walls in the boys' bedroom while Haley, Karolyn Smith, and her husband primed the ceiling and the walls in the stairway. Larry Lundgren finished off an entire wall and several cabinet doors in Darla's bedroom in green. Scott also pulled up all the tack strips and padding on the stairs, making our trips up and down much easier.

The hallway is ready for the first coat of buttercream next week and the bedrooms are ready for their "accent" colors. I'm going to talk to the contractor this week about getting some mudding done in the closet so we can paint in there as well.

Smiles Contageous at Boardman's

Emily & Elissa Musil and Ira Way transform a bedroom from pink to white.

Perfectly cool weather blessed our volunteers today as we converted the attic of Darla Boardman's house into future bedrooms for the mom and her two boys. Darla joined Greg Young, Judy Johnson, Sarah Fershdal, Nancy Hendricks, Iray Way, Dixie & Sarah Olmstead, and Emily & Elissa Musil in the morning paint party. The group started the day by boxing up and cleaning out the last few items we didn't get moved out last week. Old railings and curtains were removed and our happy crew went to work. Pat Steglitz provided a yummy treat for our break. Our time with Darla stimulated some good conversations about how God loves us and spiritually walks with us from the time of our baptism throughout our entire lives. And the people of the church certainly play a role in that walk!

Next week we will add a little color to the rooms upstairs. We'd love to have you join us even for an hour or two!

Gruhn's Approach Finish Line

Scott and Shane Wesbrook put the finishing touches on the Gruhn's home.

The countdown clock to completion is running full speed ahead at the Gruhn house as the days left until we move them in reaches the single digits this week. Today 10 volunteers worked vigorously to close up all the loopholes that make a house a home. Tom Olmstead fired away with his hammer on the basement steps, closing in the back of each step to make a beautiful staircase. Jim Janke painted a boxed in pipe in the bathroom. One of the contractor's men, Joe Roling and his partner, Amy, even volunteered today helping Shane Wesbrook and Kia Gruhn clear out Kia's room upstairs so that it could be carpeted this Friday. John Hall, Shane and Scott Wesbrook cauked in the crown molding. Marvin Quaas, Jim, Shane, and Scott painted the basement walls. Tom finished out the hallway closet with a cedar wood lining.

Next Saturday will we need people to come in and give the house a thorough cleaning (especially the windows). We will also be residing the garage and clearing it out to make room for the Gruhn's vehicles. Move in day is the following Saturday, Aug. 15th. Please consider lending a hand the next two weeks to help us get this monumental task complete!

Clark Family Says Goodbye to 50 Years of Memories

KCRG-TV9's Nicole Agee interviewed First Lutheran members Eugene and June Clark this morning as they watched their home of more than 50 years crumble before their teary eyes. Their grandchildren who grew up playing in the yard looked on, the cameras rolled, and the wrecking machine went to work. The family spent five decades building up memories; it took the heavy machinery just 20 minutes to take it down. Pastor Dan was on hand to comfort the family. He had me contact TV9 about this human interest story late last night, and they graciously came on short notice! Be sure to check out the TV9 News at 5 PM tonight to see the story.

**EDIT - The story ran, and Nicole did a great job! Pastor Dan had a couple of good quotes. Check it out: http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/51816467.html

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.

Things Get "Hazy" at Gruhn's

Scott Gerhold, the BRAVEST MAN ALIVE pictured here, strapped on the protective paint gear and went to town in the Gruhn's basement today. With Robert Gruhn's help and a little direction from Ken with Done Done Services, Scott sprayed on a think coat of black paint onto the basement ceiling. If you see Scott in church, tell him THANK YOU for his wonderful work. While Scott was trying not to succumb to paint fumes in the basement, Lou Banker and Larry Muters stained all of the window sills on the main level.

The carpenters go back to work on Monday, putting in the rest of the carpet and base boards in the bedrooms and living room. Pastor Dan is going to take Robert shopping for a new washing machine and over-the-stove microwave oven this week. Pastor Dan also hopes to take Kia to get some carpet ordered for her room upstairs. Our church decided it would be easiest to hire out the carpet installation in Kia's room, giving the difficulty of lay people accomplishing this and the fact that we have money left in the Gruhn house budget to do so. This coming Saturday, we shall return in full force to paint the basement walls and side the garage. Hope to see you there!

Meet the Boardmans!

After much searching, God has given us another flood family to walk with towards recovery! Meet Darla Boardman (pictured here in the blue shirt). She is a neat lady with a big heart. She lives with her two sons (one of whom has Down's Syndrome) and her 65 year old mother who is in a wheelchair. She is working through the same hired contractor as the Gruhn's, who introduced us.

When I met her for the first time today, we both had this, "I know you from somewhere!" moment. Well, it turns out Darla watched our son, Kirk, when he was an infant at his old daycare! Can you believe that?! Katie and I LOVED her when she took care of our son. I can tell you she has a heart of gold. And her poor heart is stretched and stressed out! She could use a hug and your willing hands. I know you are just the church to do it. Our goal is to have her back in her home before the snow flies.

Darla's mother's name is Laraine. Her kids are Kayla (25), Ashley (18), A.J. (16), and Brayden (4). Their home is located at 823 12th Street NE. It's just off of "H" Ave, near Interstate 3-80. See the work schedule on the right side of the blog to see where you can help out!

Camp Noah Kids Meet "Noah"

Day 4 of Camp Noah brought another familiar face of sorts, as our fun-loving kids got to come face-to-face with the cruise director of the Arc himself, Noah. Today's theme was all about using your gifts and talents for others. Could you imagine some of these kids using what they've learned here and spreading hope and God's love to other kids affected by the flood? What a cool thought.

Tomorrow wraps up the weeklong adventure. The camp culminates with an ice cream social for the church staff, camp counselors, the kids, and their parents from 2-3 PM in the LFC (the church basement) on Friday.

Camp Noah Day 3 Reigns in Star Power

The childrens' faces lit up this morning when TV9's Joe Winters strolled into the building in a crisp purple shirt and tie. "Is that really Joe Winters!?" one child exclaimed. "Yes, it really is!" replied one counselor. The kids ran to his side, shook his hand, and posed for pictures. Joe talked to the kids for nearly an hour about the astronomically low chances of another devatstating flood, how to deal with severe weather in general, and how he puts his faith to work from his weather seat. He said whenever a storm hits, he prays before he goes on-air for all the people involved and their safety. Joe also mentioned how the disciples got scared in the boat (just like the kids in Cedar Rapids), but Joe reminded the kids that Jesus woke up and told his friends not to worry and that God is in control! It was a stunning witness.

Ironically, KGAN also dropped by to do a news story when Joe was here. Click here to see the story: http://www.kgan.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/kgan_vid_709.shtml

The pet therapy animals from St. Luke's hospital dropped by after KGAN left. The kids also played more games, sang songs and danced, and brought in pictures of flood memories for their Wall of Remembrance.

Gruhn's Going Full Gear to Finish

I dropped by the Gruhn's home this afternoon to find a house nearly finished and an exhausted homeowner with a smile you couldn't wipe off his face if you tried. Our contractor is highly motivated to finish up our First Lutheran home and he has kicked into high gear. He put two of his best men including our own Joe on the job this week. The two put up all the crown molding and window trim; now the skilled pair are blazing through the flooring and kitchen cabinets. I think it's a matter of hours to the finish on the main floor.

I happened to bump into Robert at his house when he got off of work. He looked at the big picture window framed up in his living room and exclaimed, "It's beautiful!" He said he might cry. I wrapped my arm around him and we had a "man moment" to which he exclaimed in his beautiful hearing impaired voice, "Thanks, Craig!" I can't think of any better payment. I scribbled on my clipboard as I so often do to communicate with him. This time I only wrote two words: "Praise Jesus." He looked at it, nodded, and smiled.

The whole thing of what we are doing kind of hit me today when I parked my truck in the driveway and then walked half a block to use the city's port-a-potty on the street corner. Here's a house that is SO CLOSE to being livable, yet for more than a year now, Robert and his family and all of us who have worked on the house have had to walk half a city block to do something so many of us take for granted every day in our own homes. I know I'm fully vested when I'm dreaming of the day when we will set a toilet. That day is coming very soon.

This weekend will be a light one for us in the home. We could use someone who has used a paint sprayer before (or someone willing to try) to spray the basement ceiling black. We could also use a couple people to clean the glass in the windows and stain the trim around the inside of the windows. For various reasons, we are going to put off siding the garage and carpeting Kia's room until at least next Saturday (Aug. 1).

At the direction of our flood ministry team, I've contacted the Gruhn's contractor for another lead of another person he's working with who was touched by the flood. I called the homeowner tonight and she has an interesting personal story, as so many of these wonderful people do. Since we have such a light weekend at the Gruhn's (and things are wrapping up with them overall) this may provide another opportunity for some service, even as early as this Saturday. She's talking about having us clean a few things out of her garage. I'm hoping to know by Thursday.