It’s been four long years since Christine Harper saw the 2020 CZU lightning fire take her 80-year-old home, plus her greenhouse and hay barn on the 20-acre organic farm she and her husband had created in the Santa Cruz mountains. Recently widowed,...
After devastating fires in Maui, Hawaii, there is hope—in the form of Ohana Hope Village. Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers arrived on October 7, 2024, working to build what’s called “midlevel” housing for fire survivors. An...
A first-time Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteer described his hard work in Idaho as “a great experience.” Jerry Kinsel, a retired teacher who lives in Arizona, traveled to Kamiah, Idaho, where he served for five days as part of a...
Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers visited Kykotsmovi Village on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona, and helped repair extensive water damage at the Peace Academic Center. After a November 2023 freeze, Lance Polingyouma, superintendent of...
Forty-seven new homes and counting. In a community that has suffered from wildfires since 2014, with the most recent in 2020, long-term recovery has been quietly progressing. MDS is a vital part of volunteer efforts that have kept hope alive for...
The hummingbirds are coming back. So are the deer: a doe with twin fawns has been grazing close to Christy Allen’s new house, built by MDS volunteers. From her deck—constructed with a ramp since she uses a walker—Allen overlooks Cameron...
Jodell Payseno was curious about the goings-on at Camp Palisades. As a high-end remodeler and builder in Jackson, Wyoming, he tends to notice construction projects. What he found when he stopped by the camp was a group of MDS volunteers busily...
By Lois Wenger Brothers don’t always think or act alike. But two Visser brothers have a good thing going. Isaac, 17, and Ezekiel, 15, are getting some MDS experiences under their belts. Tool belts, that is. Isaac had his first stint...
By Don and Rachel Horst On May 9, we were invited to the Paradise Town Council meeting to receive a proclamation from Mayor Greg Bolin. Receiving a proclamation sounded rather official. It called to mind things like presidents do for...
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