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.