You can see this as originally posted by Kevin S. on the Grace Website. There are pictures there.
Iowa Mission Trip 2009
(05/04/09) Getting Ready. We have our tickets. We have done our training at Home Depot. We have a place to stay. And we have gathered some essential gear – facemasks, eye protection, gloves, etc. Since we are not sure what we will be doing when we get there, we are not bringing many tools. The latest word is that we will probably be doing sanding, painting and staining.
As we make our final preparations for our departure next Saturday from National Airport, we will keep in mind the words from yesterdays’ reading from Saint John. He said to his disciples: “Little, children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us.”
(05/09/09) On Our Way! Today was about travel, travel and travel. Karen and John Wires and Kevin Sherlock arrived at National airport around 8:15am. We were joined at the airport by John & Khaki Berry and Barbara Read who came to give us an appropriate send-off. The rest of the day consisted of a two hour flight to Chaicago followed by a five-hour drive to Cedar Falls, IA. After a few wrong turns we were able to find the house of Liane, our host who has offered to have us stay in her beautiful house for the week. Liane is a deacon at St. Lukes.
Liane had invited us to a pot luck supper at the church which we were happy to attend. The people were very gracious and the food was great. We will be back in the morning to attend the 10 am eucharist. Liane has assured us that their service is probably not the high church ritual we are used to but she is proud of their music tradition.
We look forward to a day of settling in on Sunday in preparation for the physical labor that is to begin on Monday.
(05/10/09) Getting Acquainted. Our mission group all came together this morning as Brian Lamson joined John, Karen, & I at Saint Lukes for the 10 am eucharist. Fr. Ben, the rector was the celebrant, our host Liane was the deacon, and their twelve-member choir was accompanied by organ, guitar and mandolin. It was a beautiful service. Fr Ben preached about the inclusivity of the Episcopal church which is particularly relevent in Iowa now in light of the recent court decision affirming gay marriage in the state.
We had our first look at the Shady Rest motel today (picture above). We met Maureen, the priest from nearby Waverly, at the motel and received the informed tour. Maureen is the person who discovered the need for help at this location and did the initial organizing of the support of local churches and eventually the diocese. Dick,who was is the project manager appointed by the bishop was there as well. (Picture of Dick & Maureen above.) At the time of the flood last summer, the seventeen-unit motel was actually being inhabited by long time residents and all of the units were occupied. Some of the residents had lived there as long as ten years. The flood rendered the entire facility uninhabitable and the residents simply had to do the best they could to find shelter. That included sleeping in cars in some cases. Many of the former residents are eager to move back in.
The work still to be done there spans the spectrum from technical work such as electricity and plumbing to dirty work such as washing ceilings and stripping finish from cabinets. Several of the units are nearing completion and others still need nearly a complete redo. It sounds as if they will have us doing the dirty work starting tomorrow since we are not, except for maybe Brian, technically competent.
Tomorrow the work begins.
05/12/09) Hard at Work. It’s dirty work but it is satisfying to look back at the end of the day and see what we have accomplished. John, Brian, and Kevin have been installing drywall for the last two days. Karen has been doing the really dirty work of cleaning layers of accumulated dirt and grease off walls and fixed appliances.
Our morning started with our host, Liane taking taking John, Karen, and I to their annual May Breakfast which is a fundraiser for the hospital. It was very well attended. From therre we proceeded to the job site where we began with John leading us in a prayer and then it was back to work. At lunch we celebrated Brian’s birthday with a cake that Karen got for him. We continue to work along side some of the Americorps kids. They have been working on this project for some time and have become fairly skilled at the tasks required on this site.
The motel owner was telling us today that they had just paid off the mortgage last june just before the flood hit. And since the Cedar River had never been known to flood to the point where the motel sits, he dedided to drop his flood insurance for which he had been paying $2,000 per year for the previous fifteen years. After the flood, he was doubtful that he would ever be able to reopen the motel when Maureen, the priest from nearby Waverly,
took up his cause. He now is so thankful and can see light at the end of the tunnel.
(05/13/09) A “labor of glove.” It’s hard to believe that we have only two more work days left here in Cedar Falls. The people here have been so hospitible and generous, especially our host, Liane Nichols. Tonight, Liane and our crew were invited to the house of another Saint Luke’s couple, Park & Marlene. Along with their friends Pat and Ken they hosted a dinner for us. And Dave who is also a Saint Luke’s parishoner and former city councilman joined us. It was an enjoyable evening with delicious food and interesting people.
The work today was the most challenging yet. We were demolishing plaster shower walls that were reinforced with steel mesh. It didn’t matter how hard you hit the wall, the hammer just bounced back. It took a combination of claw hammers, pry bars, and muscle to tear these things apart. All the while we tried to protect ourselves with dustmasks, goggles, heavy gloves, and hats. In the end, we prevailed. The shower walls are now in the dumpster. The nice thing is that the weather has been accomodating. It rained for a while today but we are working mostly inside and the temperature, in the mid-sixties is very comfortable.
Brian has yet another challenge. He and his wife and two young children are staying with his inlaws at their place which is an hour and a half drive from Cedar Falls. So in addition to putting in a hard day of work, he has a three-hour commute. But since he is younger and stronger than the rest of us, we cut him no slack.
(05/15/09) About Cedar Falls. By now, we have had a chance to look around Cedar Falls. It is a charming and apparently prosperous town. The Population is reportedly 35 to 45 thousand (I haven’t checked for the official numbers). There is a thriving main street with restaurants, bars, botique shops, and more, all housed in buildings, most of which have been restored to show their early twentieth century facades. Cedar Falls, one part of the Cedar Falls /Waterloo metropolitan area, is also home to UNI, University of Northern Iowa. They have an impressive campus with a student population of about 13,000 and facilities that include an indoor football stadium that seats seventeen thousand under roof. Their sports and fitness complex, which looks relatively new, reminds me of the facility at JMU.
Also located on the main street in downtown is the Oster Regent Theater. The theater which, like many buildings in this and other small towns, has been repurposed and renovated numerous times in its hundred-year life. Most recently, through the efforts of our host, Liane Nichols and her late father, the theater was renovated back to it’s original look and function as a live theater. Over a million dollars was raised for the renovation work. Liane is the artistic director and is currently involved inrehersal for their next production which opens in June.
On the work front, we spent the past two days working on walls or to be more specific we were wrapping, mudding, and sanding as they call it. We finished Friday feeling like we can really see a difference as a result of the work that we have done.
