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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