Thirteen adults and
youth from Kenwood Park Presbyterian Church in Cedar Rapids
played a small part in bringing some hope out of chaos in New
Orleans. Their job was gutting the Kenney family’s six
year-old home. Husband John cried when he heard that he was
at the top of the list and help was coming from Iowa. After
Katrina, the family had waited for days on a roof surrounded
by 12-foot floodwaters.
The Kenneys’ house had been sitting in the heat and humidity
for a year, and the smell was overpowering. Using shovels, crowbars,
wheelbarrows, protective suits, and respirator masks, the volunteers
cleared clothes, books, papers, moldy carpet, all the furniture,
and the entire contents of the kitchen.
They piled debris curbside and cheered when it was hauled away.
They were a TEAM!
As they worked they had adventures. Michael stepped on a nail.
Although they had been told there weren’t any snakes around,
they saw a cottonmouth the first day. Beth waited until almost
time to return home to break her toe.
Prayer undergirded their ministry. They prayed daily as a
group—sometimes for forty-five minutes. They prayed at
the work sites and in cars.
Thursday was the hardest day. Physically, mentally, and emotionally
drained, they were called to help Mr. George. A widower with
major health issues, he was living in his car near the remains
of his house. He needed his living room cleared so he could
have a place to sleep. Michael wrote in his journal, “Our
guy George changed my life. I came into his home tired, with
a bad attitude, until I saw him cry when we arrived. He told
us he had almost given up before we came. We said a prayer together.
George helped me put everything in perspective. I will remember
him for the rest of my life.”
What these volunteers did was only a drop in the bucket, but
their one drop combines with others to make the mighty ocean
of God’s love.
Kenwood Park is one of the Presbytery of East Iowa’s
82 churches, which have 16,136 members. |
