For two Winnipeg friends, serving with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) in Puerto Rico was a good way to spend time together for a week in March—and bring joy to a disaster survivor. “It was a great way to learn about another part of the world,...
JANE AND JEFF HOLLY- Deep River, Ontario What is your background? Jeff: We’ve always been doing construction — tearing things apart and rebuilding. Back home, we’ve built three houses ourselves. What work have you been doing this month?...
On a tiny Caribbean Island, Carl and Laura crouched together as Hurricane Louise blasted around them. “Part of the roof came off of the house,” Carl remembered. “We were there. We were under a mattress in the bathroom.” Carl and Laura Dube...
On March 6, 2026, the multigenerational Yadao family was joined by MDS volunteers, community leaders, partner organizations, and supporters to bless their new house and celebrate their return home after two and a half years of uncertainty following...
Anywhere between two and five people walk into the office of Taylor County Strong, a long-term disaster recovery group, every day. They need all kinds of help. Ron Bloom, Taylor County Strong’s disaster construction coordinator, assesses their...
Gord and Marianne Siemens of Saskatoon have caught a “bug”—the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) bug. The “bug” has taken them across Canada, from B.C. to Nova Scotia, and to places like Texas and Florida, since 2018. “The first time was...
David finally got to ride his bike home. If this sounds like a normal activity for an elementary schooler, it’s a miracle for him. He survived, along with his parents and sister, Jones, as Hurricane Helene destroyed their house around them the...
Some weeks on a project site offer an unexpected adventure, and you never know what new friends you may make along the way. This was one of those weeks in Louisiana. Volunteers at the Point Au Chien, Louisiana project from March 8-14 found a creative...
Jessie White, in his words, was “tickled to have a house at all” after Hurricane Helene slammed into his small community, Steinhatchee, on Florida’s Gulf Coast. White, who owns a small commercial shrimping business, also inherited a sanitation...
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