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!