Chainsaws were “music to our ears”

Sometimes, experiences with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) come full circle. This was the case for Deb and John,* who were introduced to MDS in 2008 when John was invited to volunteer on an MDS assignment in New Orleans, Louisiana. He “caught the bug,” laughed Deb, and participated in three more assignments in years following.

Fast forward to 2025. Ice and wind storms hit central and eastern Ontario on March 30 and 31, including the community where Deb and John live. They found themselves among over one million Ontarians affected — their yard filled with fallen branches and downed trees, and their power out for nine days. With their focus on the electricity outage, Deb and John had not begun to think about clearing their yard.

On Monday, Deb received a call from Ron Bauman, an MDS Crew Leader, who offered a volunteer crew’s help within 45 minutes. The offer was a surprise to Deb, who didn’t know that the couple’s pastor had referred MDS to them. She was filling a grocery cart when Bauman called and added sandwich supplies for the volunteers before heading home to meet them. That afternoon, a crew of five cleared two thirds of the debris in their yard.

The MDS volunteer crew with John and Deb (in red jackets). L-R: Ron Bauman, John,* Jordan Brubacher, Deb,* Vernon Bowman, Colin Wideman, Russel Bauman. Photo courtesy of Lester Weber

“It was music to our ears, those chainsaws,” said Deb. “They were just so great. They knew what to do, and I had to pull them aside to give them a bottled water and an apple… They cut down limbs. They went ahead and stacked wood. They piled brush… It was marvelous.”

Deb and John are among 12 households helped to date. The MDS Ontario Unit began a response to the ice storm in Bracebridge at the request of Emergency Management Ontario. MDS response organizers later added cleanup projects identified by local churches in central Ontario. Crews of five to eight volunteers helped municipalities clear branches and trees from roads and on home properties for a week following the storm.

MDS volunteers clear brush and tree limbs from roads near Bracebridge, Ontario, after a heavy spring ice storm. Photo courtesy of Ernie Reesor

“Friends of ours came over for dinner that night,” reflected Deb. “And we celebrated how God created such a great surprise… being a full circle with MDS for us. A blessing that came back to us. And then we sang ‘To God be the glory, great things He has done.’”

“It makes me emotional thinking about it,” said Bauman.

“I find it amazing that we had the privilege to serve them in this way,” added Lester Weber, an Ontario Unit Executive Member.

As of yesterday, more than 16,000 households and businesses remained without electricity. And there are still home properties littered with downed branches and trees in the hard-hit communities of Orillia and Petersborough. As word of MDS’ response spreads, Bauman anticipates more jobs on the horizon for local volunteers.

Nikki Hamm Gwala, MDS Canada Communications

*Last names omitted at request of the homeowners.

MDS volunteers clear a fallen tree from a home property in central Ontario, following a spring ice storm. Photo courtesy of Ernie Reesor

An MDS volunteer clears a tree limb next to a highway after Ontario’s spring ice storm in 2025. Photo courtesy of Ernie Reesor