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. :)

Youth Redefine "Staycation"

Amanda Halvorson and Tim Draeger paint on a universal sealant to keep moisture out of the walls at a flooded out home on J street in Southwest Cedar Rapids

One of the things I love about serving God is that every new day is full of surprises. It’s a lot like my former life as a TV News Reporter actually. One day I find myself knee deep in flash flooding helping to relocate a basement floor and the next I’m talking to a young man who is considering becoming a pastor. Today was such a day. All this week the younger members of our church serving God by rebuilding flooded homes right here in Cedar Rapids. They are having a “staycation” of sorts. They are sleeping in our church basement at night and busting their tails during the day on several houses destroyed by the great flood two years ago from last month. I can’t say enough about the heart of these young people to give a week of their busy summers (let’s face it – kids are busy these days) to help others in need. It’s Christ at work in us. And trust me, they feel God’s presence.

I stopped into a house today on J street SW and happened upon Amanda Halvorson, who is going to be a junior at Kennedy, and Tim Draeger, a future senior at Linn-Mar, laughing and having a good time. Hey, why not, right? The pair were slapping on white universal sealant with paint brushes on the inside of a bare wall on a day that’s predicted to reach a heat index of 106 degrees. Maybe the heat and paint were making them loopy or perhaps it was their good natured love for life. I’m going with the later.

I asked them if they could feel God with them while they work. Amanda emphatically nodded her head ‘yes’ and said, "We were working in a basement and there wasn’t any sunlight at all. Then suddenly a ray of light broke through from the floor above and we knew He was with us. It happens all the time." Tim asked me a few questions about seminary and said he was considering becoming a pastor. It was such a joy to discover. I can’t say enough about First Lutheran financially supporting Christ’s ministry that allows days like this to happen. Amanda and Tim’s lives are being shaped by this experience. Our community is being brought back to life. A future homeowner will be blessed. It's all because of God and it's because of you!

Nebraskans Leave Their Imprint on Iowa

A header over a new window displays freshly painted finger prints and a message from the heart of a Nebraska flood worker.

It was an idea as good as any I've heard all summer and it came from the humblest of hearts. Soft spoken Big Tom Olmstead helps our out-of-town flood crews get through the day out on the job site. He's a member of our church, a dedicated flood volunteer from day one, and over the last year has become a good friend of mine. He came to me yesterday with the clear concept. "I was thinking we could get a little pan of paint and have the workers each dip their fingers in it and leave their prints on the homes they have been working on," Tom told me. He said it came to him from a song he heard recently called "Finger Prints of God" by Steven Curtis Chapman. He told the workers this morning that they had left their mark figuratively on the homes they were improving, so why not do it literally? Smiles spread across the faces of our friends to the west as one by one they dipped their palms in the paint and placed their hands in different places throughout two homes where they have been working. They said prayers over the prints, scribbled hopeful messages, and left lines of scripture. It was a wonderful and powerful way to end a spirit-filled week of renewal of not only the houses they were renovating but also the hearts of those who filled them. Thanks, Tom!

Borders Dissolve in Worship

The dark line on the map marking the border between Iowa and Nebraska grew a little lighter Thursday night in Cedar Rapids. Our new friends from Omaha joined us for a party, BBQ, and at their request a spirit-filled worship filled with familiar hymns and a holy meal. We celebrated an amazing week together of growth in many ways. They came to us as a group of complete strangers just five short days ago and they leave tomorrow as lifelong friends. These brothers and sisters in Christ helped rebuild two homes in our community and they selflessly painted and mowed several others. They helped at the Mission of Hope, at Crossroads Mission, and around our church. They laughed, they prayed, they even sustained a few bumps and bruises, but most of all I think they grew spiritually. The will be the focus of my sermon this weekend as they have learned to walk the path that leads to the narrow door that Jesus talks about in Luke 13. They are the living hands and feet of Jesus Christ. After our fun BBQ with some people from First Lutheran, it was a pleasure for me to preach and preside over holy communion with them tonight. The people from Nebraska have such good hearts. They give me hope for our future as a city on the mend. Dare I say it, Go Big Red.

Bill's Birthday

Flood Crew Cook Bill Luxford celebrates a once-in-a-lifetime birthday in Cedar Rapids.

All the flood crew wanted to do was give a little back to a guy on his birthday who is gave so much of himself to them, but unfortunately it ended up in red lights and sirens. My cell phone started buzzing just after dinner on Monday. When I answered it was a member of the Nebraska flood crew staying in our building telling me not to panic, but that the fire department was on the way to our church.

A few days earlier one of the crew members called me asking if I knew a place to go dancing in Cedar Rapids on a Monday night. She said it was their cook, Bill's, birthday and he is a fun guy who likes to go dancing. I did some checking and made a few meager suggestions of different entertainment options and I remember thinking to myself whatever they end up doing I bet they are going to have a fun and memorable time. That turned out to be an understatement.

They decided to go with a surprise birthday cake topping with a flaming sparkler "5" and "8" for Bill's 58th year of life. When they came out of the kitchen swinging doors with the cake singing "Happy Birthday to you," I can almost visualize the smiles on their faces. They set the cake down on the table in front of Bill, but there was just one minor problem with the plan - the cake and it's flaming garnish were directly under the only ceiling smoke in the large dinning room. You can imagine their horror (and laughter) when the alarm started to go off. In fact, I bet they are STILL laughing as they read this now.

As Bill recalled to the story to a few of us on church staff the next day, his eyes lit up as he described getting to meet the fire fighters with his birthday hat on and getting to take his picture next to them. However they declined his inquiry to give him a ride on the fire truck, even though it was his actually birthday and he even offered to sweeten the deal with a piece of chocolate cake. Oh well. It was a watermark day in First Lutheran Flood Recovery and I'm sure it'll go down as one of Bill's most memorable birthdays ever. Happy Birthday, Bill!