Hurricane Relief

 Hurricane Michael rushed through the south while I was in UT & AZ.  It was an awful hurricane & it did more damage than people realize.  Florida got hit extra hard & several states are still waiting for power to come back on.

Living in Alabama, so close to the damage, we were blessed to have the opportunity to take part in the hurricane aid with our church.  For 3 weekends in a row, members of our church congregation drove 3 hours south to parts of FL where we helped with the clean-up after the hurricane.

Trek was able to go down 2 weeks in a row.  One weekend the girls got to go with him.  It was a great experience.  It makes you SO grateful for what you have.  The volunteers worked together to clear out yards, cut down trees, move debris, & patch up holes in roofs with tarps.  It was very strenuous work & it was exhausting, but boy was it worth it.

The winds were so bad that tons of trees were falling & literally blowing around during the hurricane.  They landed in yards, on cars, & on houses.  Several houses had huge holes in their roofs due to trees falling on them.  Trek patched those holes using tarps which is just a temporary fix, but it allowed the people to not have to worry about leaks for the time being.

The biggest problem were the trees.  They were EVERYWHERE.  If they hadn't fallen yet, they were going to, & everything was in danger if those trees fell.  It took lots of volunteers to safely make areas safe from falling trees.

Trek said the best part was helping the people & seeing their happy faces after the work was completed.  A lot of these people lost almost everything.  I'm so glad we could help with what little we could.

Over 3,000 members of our church went down the week after the hurricane.  They camped in a big field (because there was no food/water/stores/anything left).  Trek fell in this big hole the first night they camped.  Poor guy.

It really was amazing at how many volunteers showed up that first weekend.

Elder Bednar, of our 12 apostles was there too, & gave a fireside on Sunday morning to all those volunteering with the clean up.

The devastation of this area was pretty bad.  Some buildings are completely destroyed & will have to be rebuilt from the ground up.

And in the middle of the chaos, & 3000 volunteers, Trek managed to find one of his very best friends from High School that he hasn't seen in 25 years.  What are the chances?  They exchanged numbers & will be meeting up soon.  How cool is that?

It was a great weekend.

Have I done any good in the world today?

Have I helped anyone in need?

Have I cheered up the sad, or made someone feel glad?

If not I have failed indeed!

Has anyone's burden been lighter today because I was willing to share?

Have the sick & the weary been helped on their way?

When they needed my help was I there?

Then wake up & do something more than dream of your mansion above.

Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure

a blessing of duty & love.