Iowa Mission Trip

“I got muscles I didn’t know I had!”

            Welcome to the Iowa Mission trip at 6:00 am at Old Brick, a home away from home. Kathy Kirkland, Edwardene Pitcock, Mo Faber, Grant Hodges, and Tom Bland drove 16 hours to Iowa, where the group was joined by Missourian Maria Evans to form Team Pohick.

            The first stop was a tour of the affected area. It initially did not seem as bad as New Orleans, until one started to get into the homes and see that a flood does not have to go over the roof to completely devastate lives and homes.

            Work was conducted in the Normandy neighborhood with the task of taking care of homes and removing yard debris. The first and favorite homeowner was Frank. He purchased his house in order to have a home for his wife, who had recently been confined to a wheelchair. They had not yet moved in when the flood hit. Frank and Roger, his friend and contractor, were the true example of friends helping friends. First, Frank’s house was painted, but the rest of the week Frank and Roger kept helping. A saw was borrowed to work on one neighbor’s house. Frank had one of the few working water hoses in the area, and it was in continuous use. Frank’s ladder was used for gutting another neighbor’s house. Roger brought Team Pohick brownies from his wife, and the Team gathered on Frank’s back deck for lunch even after moving on to new houses.

            It will surprise no one at Pohick that given a chain saw and a mission, Mo, Grant and Tom can take out a whole lot of trees and bushes. Iowa has now learned what Pohick knows. Deacon Martha, who was supervising the last tree to come down, said that Pohick was the only team she would have allowed to do it.

            There was a daily morning devotional to get everyone going. The reading for Wednesday was that angels come in disguises, but one should accept them when they come. On Thursday, angels arrived in the form of five young Americorps volunteers. Frank’s house needed wet yucky insulation removed from the crawl space. The Tyvec suits, hoods and goggles had been purchased to do the job. However, the angels were recognized when these young folks agreed to take on the task with the already purchased equipment. God bless them! It was the dirtiest, nastiest job seen to date, and they did it with enthusiasm and humor.

            Iowa has not received the publicity of the New Orleans situation, but the need is great and the resources are slim. Team Pohick can be proud to be part of the Episcopal Church that does not wait for someone else to begin the process. The Episcopal Diocese of Iowa has stepped up to the challenge, and they are working hard to restore the lives of all Iowan’s affected by the floods.