Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Mennonites in New York- L. Reno

Moses was shocked. All anyone could do was to stare at the ruins of what had been the bustling shore of the NYC coastline. Who could imagine that this kind of devastation would happen, and so suddenly?  But the Mennonites had not come all this way to stare, they were here to work; they were here to rebuild and help one another, just as the Lord had taught them. Moses and his friends were not the only members of their community who had been asked to come and lend a hand. Vans by the dozens came streaming in, from as far away as Ohio and Kansas, to help in the relief effort doing whatever they could do to help.
Hurricane Sandy had affected much of the Eastern Seaboard and stretching well into the coast land, well into Pennsylvania ravaging barns and destroying homes. All of the Mennonite men and women worked together with the Amish to fix up their communities, raising barns, fixing plumbing, rewiring broken circuits, anything that was needed. It was expected, they were one community. Soon after the repairs were complete and life was returned to normalcy, the community council was contacted by some NYC politic pleading for the help of the Mennonites to lend a hand in the aid. Many city constructors were already rebuilding the infrastructure and repairing superficial damages to the skyscrapers, but who was helping those who lost everything? Moses was proud that his friends and family came together to do more of God’s work.
For Moses and for many, work in the city was tough. The work was not the hard part, but it was hard being away from family for so long. Moses missed his beautiful wife, Claire, and his six children. Joshua was old enough to come and join the men at work, but someone needed to make sure everything was fine at the farm. Other men brought their wives with them, and the wives adopted the duties of a wife of many a man, cooking, cleaning, darning, etc. There was a surprise when women started working and volunteering at local soup kitchens and even on construction. It was not the first time Moses had seen a woman help out in raising a barn, but it still came as a shock. Still, all hands were needed and the spirit is willing.

Days went by, more and more showing by, weeks went by, makeshift bunks were assembled and brought in at home, months go by, and work was getting accomplished. Houses were being built, plumbing was being put in, and homes were being wired to receive heat and electricity. Moses and his crew worked for very little to help people who had nothing. There was Mrs. Crawford who was retired and lost everything except her pension. She would have lost even that if she hired city contractors. The appreciation she showed for the men and women was what made it worth it for Moses. When Moses helped those in need, he could feel God’s love guiding him and keeping him strong.

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