Hurricane Sandy Cleanup

This weekend I got the once-in-a-lifetime chance to volunteer with the LDS church to clean up after hurricane Sandy in East Brunswick, New Jersey. It was such a humbling experience. I was shocked that there was still so much destruction one month later. We spent the weekend ripping up floors and drywall that had molded and made houses uninhabitable. I was astonished at the optimism of the people. I expected them to be bitter against God. Rather, they thanked God for what had been spared and the little miracles that had happened. One touching example: a woman's house had flooded with 5 feet of water, so she had to get a whole new first level. When we ripped up the walls, we found there were termites in her wood. So now she gets a new, termite-free house because of the hurricane! Small blessings have the power to take the sting out of large hardships.

I have so many stories, but pictures tell better than words I think. Here are some snapshots from this weekend of service. We had about 125 people from our stake go up. So inspiring and fun!

A lonely boat in a field. It had floated there with the 13 foot waves!

Ripping up rotten drywall and flooring.

Masks to protect from dust and mold. Love these girls, Rachel and Kathryn!

A HUGE boat crane to lift washed up boats over the road and into a parking lot where people can claim them. We cleared the yard above in a day - lots of random shoes and telephone poles, bottles and so many tennis balls! I guess New Jerseyans love their tennis.

A long shot of the junk and wood we removed from the yard.

A common sight in the neighborhoods of NJ. Piles and piles of furniture, books, clothes, drywall and broken tile. 

This picture is crazy. A guy had 3 boats and a washed up dock in his backyard. One of them he recognized the name of - it was his friend's! Imagine that phone call. 

Alisha breaking up floors like a boss.

Another boat.

Working in the crawlspace.

Some of the gang, being cheezy and frozen.

It was a sobering, humbling, life-changing experience. I love the church, I am so proud to be a member and I am grateful for the good people all over the world.