Boulder County Floods - Our Relief Efforts

Saturday, September 21, 2013

During the week, Mar and I have been involved in different ways with flood relief. 

We house an evacuated family for three days.  It was a sacrifice we were willing to make for the blessing of being spared real hurt or damage.  And it was a pleasant sacrifice to give refuge.

Mat and Andrew and Mylie came down from Evergreen on Monday and helped an older couple clean out water damage from her basement.  It was Mat’s day off and I so admire him for sacrificing and bringing his kids to show them how important service is.  They came away totally grimed and slimed by the experience, but they were happy.

Breanne and a friend came over one day and dropped Elizabeth ad her friends son, Tye, and Mar babysat while the mothers went to a neighborhood to help clean out basements.

Mar went to a friend’s house one day and helped clean up water and mud damage in real hands on mode, dirty, grimy work.

Mar has been asked to keep track of relief work hours in our church's ward area.  And she has been a contact for LDS Church needs and offers of help.

I had to work.  I didn't get to do too much - except cheer on others.

On Saturday, Mar and I did two things. 

·         The first may seem rather trivial.  Brea and Ben organized a cleanup group with three other couples to go work in a flooded neighborhood.  All of those couples had wee ones, so Mar and I spent Monday morning running an ad hoc nursery.  We survived and so did all of the kids.

·         At 11:00 we went to work at the Longmont Flood Relief Center.  This is where people can go to get information about what help is available for cleanup and other vital services.  Mar and I worked as ushers with the FEMA workers.  Our job was to keep people waiting for FEMA registration organized and then take them to a FEMA worker as they became available.  It doesn’t sound very strenuous.  It wasn’t.  But it helped people feel that they were being dealt with in an organized and efficient manner.  We got to talk to people and see how it was run.  The LDS Church was asked to run the volunteer program at the center, so that is why and how we knew about it and were able to sign up.  It wasn’t back breaking lifting like others had been doing, but it was still vital work that needed to be done.  (Mar volunteered at the center for another six hours on Monday.)

It is strange that in most of the city, life is normal, but in the river areas there is so very much that needs to be done and cleaned up and rebuilt.  All little efforts help.