Trip preparations

2014 Adult Mission Trip

A look back...........

May 22, 2011 an EF5 tornado blew through Joplin, Missouri, leaving mass destruction and 161 lost lives.   June, 2011 on a trip to Southern Missouri, my friends and I came upon a sign that said Joplin, Missouri, 11 miles. So we made a turn and swung through Joplin.    The smell in town was familiar, very similar to the Des Moines Floods of 1993.  Mildew, muck or something.   It was sights and smells I would always remember.

Last Fall I volunteered to lead the 2014 Mission Trip for Bloomfield UMC and Linn Grove UMC.  We thought it would be good to go to Boulder County, Colorado to help with flood recovery.   We tried very hard to volunteer there, but they were just not yet organized for lots of volunteers.   On a whim, I contacted a high school friend who lives in Joplin and asked if Joplin was recovered.  She responded with yes.   Within a day, she responded again with NO!!! 

Although much of Joplin has been rebuilt and looks beautiful, the repair work was not done.  My friend Cathy directed me to RebuildJoplin.org.  Having hit more than a few dead ends in looking for a place for our Mission Trip, I contacted them apprehensively.   Yes indeed there was still a need and families not back in their homes.  

What I think I have learned in the past years about natural disasters is that year one is chaotic and volunteers are just getting formed. Year two they are hitting their peak. Year three, many volunteers have lost interest and are going to the latest and more popular disaster. Imagine being one of the families on the tail end of things, not knowing if you will ever go back home.  

Tomorrow, a team from Bloomfield UMC of Des Moines and Linn Grove UMC of Prole, along with a few others are taking on Joplin.     We will spend the week finishing dry wall and building a deck on a new 2 bedroom home.   One step closer to another family getting their life back together. 

Follow along on these posts if you like. 

Here are a few pictures I took in June, 2011, having no idea that I would return in 3 years to help out.

Sincerely Jo T