Here's The Situation on the Jersey Shore...

I got to do some PDA on the Jersey Shore with Molly and Dan!  Look at my previous post if any of that sounds unusual.

Two years ago just two days before Halloween, hurricane Sandy met with a noreaster and took an unexpected turn west slamming into the barrier islands on the Jersey Shore.  The northern winds and storm surge literally cut through a barrier island and caused flooding on the shore and in the inlets and pretty far up some of the rivers.  The floods damaged thousands of homes in Ocean and Monmouth Counties.

Salt water permanently damaged cars, houses, businesses, roads, beaches like never before.  Flood water sent debris, sand, boats and everything far from its origins.  Thirty four people died in New Jersey, 117 total died in the US, and 69 in Canada and the Carribbean.  The flooding was so drastic officials re-structured the flood zones. It was almost as bad as Hurricaine Katrina in New Orleans in 2005.  In fact Sandy was larger in size than Katrina. Here is a little more about the storm.

PDA sent a national response team to Point Pleasant immediately after the storm.  FEMA, the Red Cross, and dozens of aid groups showed up to help.  In fact, truck loads of supplies were being shipped from across the country even before the storm touched ground.

Picture from CNN
 (http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/world/americas/hurricane-sandy-fast-facts/)

Just over a month after the storm, Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church opened the top floor of their annex building above the preschool to a scraggly group of do-gooders from central Pennsylvania who call themselves "Lend a Hand."  This group had sent volunteers and teams to rebuild from floods in Iowa, and to Katrina multiple times.   As the story goes (as I heard it)  Lend A Hand not only helped clean up several homes, but they gave the church lots of advice on how to host mission teams for this work.  For a few months early into 2013, Pt. Pleasant Pres. Church coordinated, hosted, and found work for dozens of other PDA mission teams in their "Volunteer Village."  They converted their great hall into a village by putting bunk beds in their 3 Sunday School classrooms and eventually building showers on the stage.  In spring of 2013 the PDA call center here at Ferncliff took over scheduling work teams and Point Pleasant focused their goal on hosting the volunteers.  Church volunteers helped coordinate work for visiting volunteers and established partnerships with Jersey Cares, and A Future With Hope (a United Methodist program much like PDA).  There are also 15 other hosting sites including churches and other facilities welcoming volunteer help and finding them work.  Watch this video for more info on the storm and the Church's response.

If you have a home damaged in new Jersey and you need assistance rebuilding. visit the Jersey Cares, or A Future with Hope website linked above or contact the Ocean County Long Term Recovery group:  http://oceancountyltrg.org/  (732) 569-3484, info@oceancityLTRG.org.  They will get you started to recover.  

Jumping ahead two years, On October 13, 2014 myself Dan and Molly walked into Point Pleasant Pres as volunteers eager to do some rebuilding.  PDA regional leader David Rauer drove us from Philidelphia and gave us the low down on the storm damage.  One big thing now is homeowners are being forced to raise their houses on pilings, stilts, or cinderblock to avoid higher insurance costs.  It's kind of crazy, one tiny double-wide was on 18ft of wooden stilts! Crazy!   Pastor Carl showed us around, as another volunteer team showed up.  We got to meet this group, Lend A Hand, and the lovely ladies of the church cooked us dinner.

The three of us YAVs just tagged along with Lend A Hand for the week.  I can't say we lended them a hand because they knew what they were doing.  PDA sent us up to Long Branch to help A Future With Hope finish a house for Russ and April.

Lend A Hand and YAV team with Russ and April front and Center
(picture from A Future With Hope Facebook)

Their house collapsed on 3 sides from the impact of the storm surge.  April was a first responder out helping people during the storm. Russ was at home.  When his generator went out he went to the basement to fix it.  Unsuccessful, he walked out of the basement to the outside as flood water rushed down the steps.  Within a few minutes of when he got out of the basement the house collapsed.  He barely missed being inside when it happened.  He grabbed his dogs and a backpack for him and his wife and swam to his car.  Russ and April along with family demolished the house in a week with 5 dumpster loads on their own, and have rebuilt from the ground up.  They have been living in a tiny RV outside their new construction for 2 years as volunteers have added to it a piece at a time.  The plan was for our group to finish it up and get Russ and April moved in.  That's the story.  They are great people, working alongside and around us the whole time.  Very grateful.  Very eager to get out of that RV as I could imagine.

I worked with Ron trimming windows.  It required more detail than I imagined, lots of measuring, re-measuring, cutting, measuring again.  Several times when I cut it twice and it was still too short.  We got creative and used some flooring pieces for the window sill to match the floor.

On the first day Dan and Molly helped Nelson install floor and pipe insulation in the crawlspace,  Bob the ice cream man ran the saw for everyone.  Leroy got his team putting in cement board and drywall in the bathroom.  Deb led a mudding crew in the back bathroom, while Bill, and Ken laid bamboo floor.  Jim was the foreman.  I didn't mention Denise, Pete, Doris, and Steve.  They were helping all over the place as needed.  These jobs changed as the week went on.  Some moved to hanging kitchen cabinets and appliances, installing a toilet, finishing doors and trim, and pouring cement for the front porch.

Everyone acting like we're working for the picture.
(picture from Lend A Hand facebook)

Molly finishing up Russ and April's kitchen
picture from Lend A Hand

We got so much done at that house they sent a team of five of us up to another house to sand and mud some dry wall.

Complete paint job after lots of sanding
and mudding at the other house

Pete sanding at the other house

Then on Friday they sent Bob, and me with Frank from Point Pleasant to help a lady whose floor had collapsed in a trailer.

Brief side note.  This lady was living with her 2 year old grandaughter in a trailer.  She used to live with her mother in a house that was completely destroyed by the storm.  Her mom got some money and bought this trailer to temporaily house her and the little kid.  She told us all about how hard it's been living there.  They had opossums take residence underneath the home and invade quite frequently.  She's spent over $600 a month on propane to heat the place, and she ran out of money last winter, stopped paying for heat and all the pipes froze and broke below.  We were there replacing a floor that had gotten wet in the girls room because of a leak off one of the hot water heaters.  That floor soaked up water like a sponge, got soft, and collapsed.  Bob, in between angry mumbles about how terrible the construction of a trailer is cut out the soggy floor, got a list of supplies together and sent Frank to the store.  We replaced it with plywood.  (that floor was held together by 1x2 boards.  The garden beds we made at Ferncliff, and even my make shift clothesline are more sturdy).  Before we left she told us all about the struggle with that trailer.  Frank is working on getting some church volunteers down to help her out, but PDA and the long term recovery group can't really do much because they are working with FEMA money which is strictly tied to storm-related damage.  Since that was a hot water heater leak it doesn't count.  That made me a little angry at the volunteer leader who told me that, help is help and I hope she gets it.  Please pray for Tracy.

We didn't get to see Russ and April move in but we got them pretty close.  I'm guessing they got in before the 2 year anniversary of the storm this week which would be awesome.

Other highlights of the week included gobs of cake (some for Dan's birthday, some not) Bob's homemade ice cream.  Digging past the Chinaman's house with Nelson, lunch on the beach, digging up an old glass medicine bottle I gave to Russ and April, watching Russ and April's expressions warm as such noticeable progress was made, watching April try so hard not to look inside until the supervisor got back, and hearing old stories from all the Lend A Hand folks.

This marked the 19th time Lend A Hand had sent a group to Point Pleasant since the storm.  They've almost been there every month the church was open.  I saw construction talent like I had never before.  It was like being on a professional crew, no tolerating mistakes, and only doing the tough detailed jobs.  These guys and ladies were great to work with and stay with.  How great it was.  Thank you Lend A Hand for babysitting me and the other YAVs in New Jersey!

Point Pleasant is closing for the winter, but will be back up and running in 2015.  Interested in helping make a difference by volunteering?  Call the PDA call center and sign up to visit and help today (866) 732-6121 callcenter@pcusa.org.  Eden and Cameron here at Ferncliff will answer and get you set up just like they did for us.  This site lists all Presbyterian churches hosting groups in New Jersey and New York just like Point Pleasant.  Lots of work still to do and they could use your help.  The Jersey Cares and A Future With Hope websites will have more opportunities to help.  People like Tracey, Russ, and April need your help.  And you should visit the Jersey Shore!!

That's what we did in between trips to the beach, walking on the boardwalk and buying pizza at Jenkins'.

That's the Situation on the Jersey Shore.

Dan's photo from lunch on his birthday on the Jersey Shore

Presbyterians love their PDA!

"No PDA" is something people have been saying since middle school.  It has something to do with refraining from groping with your significant other in front of everyone, but what's wrong with Public Displays of Affection?  Christians are supposed to show love in public, right?

Ok, so this article is not about PDA as far as kissing and holding hands, but another kind of PDA.  PDA is one thing the Presbyterians can  be proud of.  PDA may involve sleeping in a room with someone who snores.  PDA has blue "sweat-shop-free" T-shirts.   PDA values ministry of presence, self care, and personal narrative.   PDA is pretty darn awesome.

PDA is Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

Image from PDA on Facebook

Image from Southern Comfort Mission and Ministry Team Facebook

What does that mean?  Well you may be familiar with "Presbyterian Disaster" at least if you've seen my friend Marcus and I together...

Presbyterian Disaster ASSISTANCE is providing care, love, and support to areas going through disasters.  This could be tornadoes, like those in northern and central Arkansas earlier this year, floods or hurricanes like Sandy, Katrina, Ike, etc. It may be other disastrous situations like all the migrant children crossing our boarder right now, or the Ebola virus outbreak. They are an area where Presbyterians are doing good in the world.  And it's sort of a Public Display of Affection.........well maybe more a public display of God's Love. The emphasis is on helping people through the struggle.  Not going in and preaching, or telling them "it's part of God's plan," but listening and holding their hand through it all in between acts of kindness such as cleaning up or rebuilding.

PDA volunteers set up shop in disaster areas alongside FEMA, American Red Cross, World Cares, the Salvation Army, and dozens of other relief organizations.  PDA organizes churches to host volunteer teams and connect them with work to be done rebuilding lives after disasters.  In most cases PDA stays longer than other groups because of the stable funding by the denomination.  We can be proud to say that PDA is still cleaning up from Hurricane Sandy among many others even though most aid organizations have moved elsewhere. But we can be angry, sad, and aware that our brothers and sisters are still suffering from damage from nearly ten years ago. Angry that PDA still needs to be there. Angry that there is injustice in recovery.  Angry that those who cannot afford insurance have a harder time recovering physically and emotionally.  Angry that race, economics, and social barriers unequally hinder people from recovering.

As of October 27, 2014 PDA is currently responding to disaster in the following states.
Arizona      (border crisis and helping migrants in distress in the desert),
Arkansas (tornadoes in spring 2014) and Ferncliff Disaster Assistance Center
Washington state      (mudsilde March 2014), Colorado (flood Sept. 2013),  Also working on training Presbyterian Camps and Conference centers to respond to school violence across the nation.
California      (earthquake),
North Dakota      (Spirit Lake Sioux Reservation),
Illinois and Oklahoma      (tornadoes),
Missouri      (Joplin tornado May 2011 and Ferguson shooting),
Louisiana      (helping 2005 hurricane survivors rebuild and return home),
Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Alabama      (various wildfires, hail, floods and tornadoes),
New York, New Jersey, Coinnecticut, and West Virginia,      (Superstorm Sandy, Oct. 2012),
South Carolina      (Feb. 2014 ice storm)
Tennessee      (home repair 2010 flood)
Mississippi      (April 2014 tornadoes and June 2014 hail, flood, wildfire damage)
Florida      (spring 2014 flooding in panhandle and June 2014 hail, flood, wildfires)
West Virginia, (flood recovery and other projects)
Maryland      (home repairs with NAILS ministry)

There is also PDA going on in the Philippines (Typhoon Haiyan), South Sudan, Afghanistan, Gaza, Iraq, , Ebola Crisis,  China (Earthquake August 2014),and  Syria (refugees of violence).  And given current events PDA is even working on Voilence across the US, and the Unaccompanied children and the border crisis, Visit pda.pcusa.org to learn more about each situation.

Here are pictures of a college spring break group I joined in Nashville that did some PDA a year after the 2010 flood in Nashville. (you may have forgotten the flood which was swallowed in the press by the BP oil debacle in the Gulf soon after).  Three nostalgic cheers  to Goo Goo Clusters, and the good times with Alicia, Tedd, Danielle, Michelle, Kathleen and Pastor Kerry!

My good buddy Tedd and I trimming bushes in a field full of flood debris

This deck was washed from the house into a guy's yard during flooding.
Several PDA teams--30 people total-- picked it up and put it back in place.

JMU Campus Ministry PDA team helping Mr. Glenn clean up
his outdoor cookhouse from flood damage a year after the flood.

JMU Spring break volunteers cooking supper for PDA volunteers

Sound like a good idea? Maybe you want to get involved with your church, your family, your bridge club, your college club, or neighborhood group.  Check out this page for ways to get involved.  You can make an impact for so many, and you can see some places you may not otherwise.  Pray, stay informed, assemble kits, volunteer, or give money.

Outside of sending volunteers, PDA works with Church World Service to get volunteers to buy and donate kits or care packages to send to disaster areas, or even school kits, baby kits, and hygiene kits to send overseas regardless of natural disasters.  You, your church, your garden club, your sports team, or whoever can make and send kits to disasters.  Mail them to us at camp Ferncliff in Arkansas or to Church World Service in Maryland where they are stored in warehouses.  If you send it here my fellow YAV Dan will make sure it gets stored properly and sent out when needed.  They will be sent out whenever disaster strikes or there is need.  Follow these links for information on what supplies to buy and where to send them. http://pda.pcusa.org/page/kits/ and  http://pda.pcusa.org/page/act/

 

Photo of disaster kits by Kathy Broyard, PDA NRT.
Retrieved from pda.pcusa.org/page/kits.

Dan (at end of the table) helping the youth group at Second Pres. Little Rock inspect and prepare for shipping kits made and shipped here to Ferncliff by churches and community groups across the US. Photo from Second Pres LR Facebook page

I recently did some PDA with Dan and Molly on the Jersey Shore and New York City.  I will post more on the work and journey there in the coming days.   Please stay tuned.

Have you done PDA or other disaster response?  When, where, why? Please comment below.