It's the Thought that Counts

Finals week was pretty intense for my sister Chelsie...or so she says it was. But no matter if it was or was not an interesting occurance happened. That Wednesday night I was waiting on Jas to get done using his Quantitative Mgmt book and I became motived to waste the time by making a pumpkin pie. I had more filling than I did pie crust so I poured the extra into a cupcake pan and took them up to the guys to dispose of. A little while after I got back downstairs Scott emailed me and invited me up for breaksticks. His cousin had ordered them from Illinois and had them delivered to him. How sweet was that! So when I got home I thought I would spread the cheer and order some for Chelsie and her roomies! And that was the last I heard about breadsticks. I didn't really expect her to figure out who sent them but I did think she would mention something about getting breadsticks for free, since she is a great lover of food. I even asked mom if she'd said anything. Last night I was walking and talking to her on the phone and I asked her if she ever got any breadsticks during finals week. "Ummm...no....oh wait...yeah did I tell you about that?!?!" So then she goes into this story. Apparently she and Lindsay were sitting on the couch watching a movie...so much for studying and having a hard finals week :)...when the door bell rings. FYI: It was 11pm. They both flipped out and just sat there on the couch wondering what to do while this face looked in the side window. About 5 minutes later, he rang the doorbell again. They jumped up kinda screaming with Chel running to the door trying to look out the peep hole and lindsay the kitchen window. All Lin could see was an arm and a bag. So she screams "don't open the door." By this time Anna had awaken from bed and came upstairs. Chel tried to look out the window at the side of door but couldn't see so she flipped what she thought was the outside light on. Instead, she flipped the inside light on and here she is with her face smashed against the window trying to see out. Anna peers out the peep hole and decided it was some kind of a maintenance guy and decides to open the door as lin is continuously screaming "don't open the door." They open the door and it was the Dominoes Pizza guy. He tries to give them the breadsticks upon them telling him that they hadn't ordered any. And instead of asking if they were the name on the breadsticks, he just turns and walks off. I definitely feel for the pizza guy, I'm sure he was scared out of his mind. I kinda hope it was the same guy that delivered to us the evening we all stood in the front yard and jumped up and down screaming "Pizza!" That would be really funny!

Crazy Chinese

Ever wonder how the arrow moves around on your screen so smooth!!

http://www.1-click.jp/

I spent Saturday, Monday, & Tuesday in Greensburg and there is plenty to do in the town. The national gaurd has secured the area and work teams are coming in continuously. Americorp is coordinating all groups that are coming in and assigning jobs where needed. Saturday I helped pick up debris in the field of a farmer. We pulled about 3 truck loads of debris out containing pictures, insulation, pans, clothing, wood, glass, etc. You name it, it was there. It was very interesting because we ate at the Mennonite church for lunch and it was just like an AC function! Mennonites from all over gathered in one area conversing and working together. There were traditional ones with their full beards and the more non-traditional ones with something we found out was called a "shadow beard." Yet all, no matter what their physical appearance was, came together for a common purpose of helping those who were left with nothing. Monday and Tuesday were both spent working at the house of Vernon & Sue Martin. They are an older couple who's house of 42 years was destroyed. FEMA will pick up anything that is placed along the street and so we went through each room and pulled destroyed furniture, clothing, appliances, sheet rock, etc to the street. When we were finished the only things left in the house where the walls. After seeing the pictures of Greensburg, you always feel so bad for the families, but after working with them and feeling the emotion of it all, words don't describe how you feel. At the end of the day, they drive to a hotel and we drive home to our houses. One man made the comment, "I just wish I could wake up and it'll all go away, like a bad dream that you can wake up from." I was asked if it looks like any progress is being done. Greensburg looks the same now as it did Saturday when I first got there. But there are dump trucks continuously driving out of town with full loads of debris. It is going to be a very LONG rebuilding process. If it's going to be rebuilt at all. Quite a few of the people we talked with, older couples mostly, are relocating somewhere else. They don't have the desire to rebuild their lives and houses with so much memory surrounding them. Which you can't blame them, because right now, there is no where to even start rebuilding or for that matter stay. On Tuesday when we did as much as we could for Vernon and Sue, which included finding their wedding rings and a piggy bank with sentimental value, we said our heart felt goodbyes. It was so hard because here is this couple we have worked with the last two days and we have no idea how they are going to get by in the weeks to come or what they are going to do. They were so thankful though and we will never cease to place them in God's hands through prayer. I don't want to make it sound like a total despairing situation, because each family has hope and there are people from all over coming to help. We saw people from Texas, New York, & Florida, and then there were police forces and fire departments from places like Olathe. There was also a man there that goes around to natural disasters and donates his time by using this huge semi with a seat above the cab which has a scoop on it which he uses to pick up destroyed material and dump into his trailer. Also, there are committees set up around town that feed workers breakfast, lunch, and supper. It's very organized for as crazy as everything is. I left on Tuesday with lots of thoughts going through my head.

I thought I would share a few humorous moments form the last week. Chelsie and I both drove down to Greensburg individually Friday night and we had been talking on the phone when we pulled up to the police road block. I forgot I was still talking with her when the Police asked me where we were headed and what we were doing. I told him about going to help with the Field Day and where we were staying. As we pulled away I asked chel if she was still there and if she heard me talking to the officer. She said, "Yes and I didn't know what to say to the officer that came to my window so everything you said I repeated word for word!" Sat morning dad used my phone to call Jas and get his dad's phone number. Dad asked if he had woken jas up because he sounded a little croaky. Jas replied that he was up for the day and then gave dad the number. So when dad called this number strange enough, Jas answered the phone. He had given dad his own phone number. Yep...he was up for the day :) We worked on pulling appliances and bigger objects out of a house that morning. Dad threw a piece of metal out of the way and it hit the owners car in the drive way. "Don't scratch the paint," was the reply from the owner whose car had every window broken, doors dented in, and pieces of wood sticking through the metal! Jas and I worked with three little kids on Tuesday. We had just filled a wheelbarrow of junk and Jas went ahead and took the wheelbarrow to the edge of the house while I was picking up some longer pieces of wood. I head out there to help lift it down just as I see Jas running towards the edge trying to ramp it off. Unfortunately, it didn't land on it's wheel. In fact, I don't think it left the edge of the house at all, it just tipped right forward and dumped everything over the edge onto the ground!

It's wonderful how when you put your life in Christ, nothing can take the laughter and joy out of life. Even in a situation that looks so bleak.

Greensburg Work Day

My dad has some really good minnonite friends from Gultry, Oklahoma, they have churches like ours spread across the nation. One of these churches happens to be in Greensburg, KS and 14 families in that congregation lost homes. Dad was up there today with Pat and he called and told me what's going on with work days. FEMA has stepped in and is going to bulldoze the town under. The people were told to gather as much of their personal belongings as they can and get out of town. Apparently no one can enter the town. There isn't anything for us as far as clean-up in the town to do, but there is lots of debris in fields and in the surrounding country areas. They are having a walk the field's day Saturday, May 12 starting at 8:00 am. I am going from Manhattan and if anyone is interested in going, call me, or Paul Kaeb or my dad (620-886-1199.) (I don't know paul's number)

Tornado Alley

Last night in Greensburg, Kansas, an F3-F4 tornado wiped out 75% of the town. It took out the hospital, school, city hall, and many people's houses. 60 of the towns people were hurt really bad and I think 7 were killed. The Kiowa EMT and other medical personnel helped with it and they said the devastation was awful. It's a pretty small town, I remember having track meets there. Apparently when you drive in the whole town is just gone. I've been studying all morning and then mom called and told me what happened. So I started looking everything up and the midwest is supposed to get many more storms before spring comes to a close. I'm sure there will be many more tornadoes touching down. If you read this, please say a prayer for the community of Greensburg and the building up process.

Hard Wheat Tour

My Aunt is famous!!!

check this out

We had a pretty nasty freeze here in Kansas not to long ago. All the flowers and wheat here in the North part of KS are dead or very near dead. Then in the South, where my parents farm, the freeze damage wasn't bad at all. The last couple of years, we have gone into wheat season thinking we were going to have the best crop ever but then because of hail damage or lack of percipitation, our crop has been wiped out. Now, when we never thought our crop would make it through the freeze, we've got an ok crop. It's just another example of how we have no idea why God has things work the way they do. We just need to take the back seat and not worry about where God is steering us...because in the end He will take care of us.

Winding down the school year

Last week was a very laid back and abusive week! Sunday night I played on the Feed Science Club's softball team. I play short stop and besides colliding with the third baseman on a popup, I was run over by a base runner going from second to third while fielding a ball. After he hit me, he stopped in the base line to check if I was ok. I stumbled around and gave him the thumbs up then he proceeded on to third base and home! I was supposed to go to a group project meeting after the game was over but Jas said they were done meeting so us two and Scott ordered pizza instead and then we got into some good conversation! I definitely spent more time upstairs than in my apartment last week! Monday was jason's birthday and we had a suprise party for him. Or I should say we tried anyway...we had been waiting for about 30 min. and started getting loud and he heard us. After prayer meeting we got on this kick of watching juggling videos...and again it was way past my bedtime when I went home. I'm surprised they haven't banned me from going up there! Tuesday night I was up at the "Catalyst" for about 3 hours sending our lego car down a ramp made out of 3 binders, a cookie sheet, a manila folder, and tape and then measuring how far it rolled. I think we had to drive it down the ramp 176 times. Yes....very tedious! Then I met up with my friends from MCC and played some volleyball and then Scott came and we played some Walleyball. I think I won 2 of the 3 games....but I could be wrong.....which of course would be a first! Wednesday morning was quite the adventure. I didn't hear my phone ringing until Monica said my name a couple times. I flipped out tried to jump off the top bunk quickly, instead slipping on the ladder and swinging like a monkey directly into the window. Somehow I must have hit the nighstand as well because I had a 4 in. diameter bruise on my leg. I stood there holding my head and Monica leaned up long enough to ask if I was alright then went directly back to bed. I ended up being late for class, which was the one we had to turn a project in for. I get to class and turns out the other guys had printed another copy just in case I didn't show up. Matt got up to turn it in and I said, "Hey, I need to sign it." Everyone else had turned theirs in and were sitting down as well as my teacher looking at us. Matt looked at me with his fingers to his lip, "I already signed for you." Oooops! That night after church a bunch of us got Pita's and played around on Scott's laptop, making funny faces at the Photoshop thing! see chelsie's blog. Thursday night, after my group project meeting, Monica, Stef, and I went to Much Ado About Nothing on campus! It is a hilarious Shakespeare play, which the KSU Theatre did awesome at! After that I walked and chatted with Steph and then headed back to my place where I was meeting up with the guys to watch a movie. I think we started it at 12:00am. But we really didn't have anything exciting going on the next day so it didn't really matter! This weekend the Denver church came down to Kiowa. A bunch of us spent all day Saturday at the Medicine River and came back looking like lobsters. We got to have a grain bin singing that evening! I haven't gotten to have a singing like that in a long while! It was marvelous! I've got to head to a group project meeting but before I go I would like to share with you what happened about 30 minutes ago. I was getting my keys out of my bag to unlock our door and my already half broken phone fell out of my bag. One of the hinges was already broken but when it hit the floor it broke completley in two. The funny thing is...I can still use it! I can't see a screen obviously, but it still lets me call and if I put it on vibrate I know when people are calling me too! I don't want to get a knew one because I'm changing plans in june and I was hoping it would live until then. I guess we'll see...I'm still going to try!