11/5/2016 Hurricane Clean-up

Obviously whoever is writing this didn't tell the truth when they said the blog would be posted some time ago.  So here we go with catch up of sorts.  Last weekend we went as part of the crew from our Stake to help with the hurricane cleanup in the Florida panhandle, Marianna our specific assignment.  It was hit very hard - it might be easier to show you the damage with  many pictures and few words.

As we got closer to the area that was hit by the hurricane there were more and more trees blown over or snapped off just like they were flat toothpicks. The church owns a lot of land on the side of the freeway and have planted pine trees that they raise and then harvest and sell.  The trees are  planted in rows just like rows in a field  Many of the trees they lost were over 50 feet already and they lost about 1000 acres.  When they are snapped off, it usually ruins the grain or stability or something so they can't be harvested - and the part still in the ground doesn't grow anymore so that all has to be dug out and hauled off.  It will be a long process for the Church and everyone in the Panhandle.

 The church is really amazing.  They had a command post set for registration and assignment of work sites, and for anything else you needed to know and work closely with FEMA and the state.  They said that the first crews allowed in are the Red Cross and the yellow helping hands crews because they know they are organized, that they work, and that they do not send a bill after they leave.

On the other side of the church were generators, cans of gas, shovels, rakes, wheel barrows, tarps, wood slats for fastening the tarps over the holes in the roofs, heavy dollies, cleaning kits - anything you might possibly need for cleanup.   They take care of members and non-members.  They told us of one lady who came in right after and needed a tarp for her mother's roof -- they provided her with a tarp and a crew to put it on, plus some other essentials.  She was overwhelmed at the help given.  And most of the equipment is given to those who use it - they are told to use it to help someone else.

Even a truck 

Inside the church,  the cultural hall, RS, Primary and classroom are filled with bottled water, food, diapers, toilet paper, toothpaste and toothbrushes, shaving kits ... and the list goes on.  Anything that might be needed, the church has it ready to go.

 

There are tents set up behind that you can see in the first picture that we are in; and then across the street on the grounds of a small college there are hundreds of tents set up.  You know us, we were fortunate enough to be able to stay in one of the very few hotels still in business. They still don't have WiFi or internet, pretty minor.  A hot shower and a bed and a bathroom that is close is a luxury. 

 But for those who camped - All the comforts of home ...

The ground is soaked with the water and then the high winds blow over huge trees.  Each crew has one or two chain saws, sometimes more, and the logs are cut and hauled, sometimes by hand and sometimes by machinery to the sides of the road.  Fortunately this home was not hit by this trees  The video won't play on any of the pictures, but you can see the size of the trees.

This gives you a better perspective of the size of the root system.

 This car wasn't as fortunate .  Someone said it was a Mercedes .. the storm doesn't care.

 Trees are cut up and all the debris is piled up on the sides of the road.  The city or a company contracted picks it up.  For part of it, there is a member who owns 20 acres away from the city and they have brought in a chipping machine .. there is plenty of free wood for sure.

 The ones you see here are bent all the way over, but not broken clear off.  Chain saws are used to finish it off, then they cut the fallen trees into smaller pieces that can be moved.

 This is in a woman's back yard -- her back patio was completely covered with trees and trash.  They couldn't get out the back door.  There are trees down all over the neighborhood.  She said she has lived there for 40 years and this is the first time she has been able to see her neighbors homes.  A couple of trees came down on the roof.  They still don't have power and the home will have to be repaired before they can even have the power turned back on.  

 
 
 By the time we took this picture, most of the trees that had snapped off had been cut down, cut up and hauled down to the street.  A huge blessing for those we were assigned to that day was that one of the men in the group we were with had a construction business that also included cleaning up sites, and he brought his crew and the equipment.  This made it so larger sized logs could be hauled down to the street..  They also were able to push over some of those that had been broken off.

The grandson's truck. Pretty sad ..  When they got the tree off, one of the young boys opened the back door just to see if it worked, it did, but it set the alarm off.

One of the homeowner's sons put up this sign - and when we got the picture, one of the crew was sitting behind it with a chain saw so it made the picture even better.

The buys would cut the trees and finally after hauling a few and because there was a hill almost cleared by then, they would just roll them down the hill.  It became a game to see who could get their log closest to the other logs.  This is Bishop Aven - he did the best.   Always fun to work with people who enjoy working and make work fun.  Those not using the equipment did a lot of hand hauling.

 

 The patio is now at least cleared of most of the logs and debris.  It is pretty impressive to see what those bobcat type machines can do with the big logs and what many hands and wheel barrows and utility sleds can do with all the trash.

 The owner of the home is standing next to me on the back patio, tearfully and gratefully watching as the final - almost final - cleanup is finished.  It will be much longer than that before it is repaired and livable.  She and her husband - probably even a little older than Mike and I, are having to stay in Tallahassee, about an hour drive, for another week, then a friend down the road is letting them move into a home they will not be using..  The broken trees you see up the hill in the back were left.  They are not a threat and are almost impossible to get to, even with the equipment the guys had.  She was so very grateful and thanked the group and heaven for the help.

 The home owner,  our Stake President Graham and me.  We would usually have a prayer as we left each assignment.  Very grateful hearts - those who are being served and those who are serving.  Below is most of our crew -- Mike is taking the pictures.

 This home didn't fare so well - the tree goes in at the back of the home as you see in the picture, and lays clear across to the front, so the front door is only accessible by climbing through branches.

 

They held church services Sunday morning - three different groups totaling about 1500 - and we met in the church that was damaged in the hurricane - the roof will be replaced, but for now everything is safe and secure so they are working other places.  Pretty hard to express the feelings as we sat in the church.  The sacrament was prepared and blessed and served by total of 20 men and boys of all ages, some with beards, some with a one or two day shadow and some who are too young yet to shave.  Some were in the yellow shirts, some in flannels, all in work pants and all looking like they had come from work projects.  There was a sacrament table set up on both sides of the chapel, the broken bread on paper plates.  They somehow did have enough trays for the water.  There was a spirit of testimony and the love that service brings, it was great to be there. Most of the southeastern states were represented, as well as some from further away.
     A stake president from Alabama conducted our meeting and talked of the "two hours of terror" as the eye of the storm went slowly and straight through Marianna, leaving devastation behind, of one little boy who asked his parents as their roof jumped and rippled - Are we going to die?   He spoke of the emotional and temporal scars, of jobs that are gone or on hold for weeks or months.  He talked of the appreciation of members and non members who received service.  He did not talk long, not was he dramatic - but you could feel the strength of our Father's spirit.

 This was the home we went to Sunday morning after the Sacrament meeting.  It was clear out on a dirt road, the home of two sisters.  When we came they put on their work clothes and came out to help.  They had damage to their roof, but most of the destruction was from the trees that had fallen all over the yard - it was about a 6 hour project with everyone working.  The equipment crew was gone.  The sisters were very grateful.  The one sister said that during the storm the home just weaved and shook.  She told the story .. "We prayed and said, 'put your arms around us Jesus' and he did and we were fine."  They took in a young couple who lived down the road whose mobile home had a tree fall on it, completely demolishing it.  They crawled out through the trees and came up the road - this is during the storm - finally coming to Lily and Shearyl's home.  The sisters said they couldn't believe someone was knocking on their door, but they let them in.  The couple stayed through the storm and then left and they haven't seen them since, but they have absolutely nothing to come back to.

 
One of our YSA, Bradley Graham climbed the tree, they roped the chain saw up to him and he wrapped his legs around the tree and cut off some of the limbs.  They finally had to come down and cut down the whole tree.  Because of the way the other tree had fallen into it, they weren't sure which way everything would go.  

We were grateful to be a part of this crew ..

We love you all - we are grateful to be able to be here and serve.