For MDS, what does “Working Together” mean?

During the Mennonite Disaster (MDS) Annual Celebration, held Feb. 27-28 in New Holland, Pennsylvania, MDS and its partners explored the theme “Working Together”—and what that means for disaster recovery.

As Atlee Kaufman, a board member from Disaster Aid Ohio, put it: “It’s amazing what can happen when we all work together—and nobody is concerned with who gets the credit. What does working together create? It brings hope, love, and family.”

Pastor Phil Huber, Lutheran Disaster Response coordinator for Maryland and Delaware, noted that, for all 41 years he has served as a disaster consultant, said that, for the 41 years he has been a disaster response consultant, every single year he has worked with MDS.

“Many times MDS was the only group that could bring a house out of the ground,” he said.

Larry Stoner, a retired MDS regional operations coordinator, reflected on the keys to collaboration. “It takes a lot of tender care and prayer to achieve cooperation, so perhaps the most vital keys to working together are communication and compassion,” he said. “We need to keep in the forefront of our minds and actions that MDS steps in when people are hurting.”

Mannie Flaud, who oversees Storm Aid, said: “We can be the hands and feet of Jesus, and everyone brings something to the table that someone else does not have. We are all God’s people.”

Nathan Shirk, chair of the MDS Lancaster Unit, reflected: “When all these different congregations work together for a common cause, it brings a lot of light into the world. To God be the glory!”

MDS volunteer Moses Troyer expressed his belief that God really did design human beings to work together. “The point to me, is that two are better than one,” he said. “We truly do matter. I don’t know who you are. But you matter. You really do matter. Everybody matters.”

We don’t have to carry the weight of a disaster alone, Troyer added. “We do it together. When a disaster hits, that’s what the world sees—a disaster. But here at MDS, when disaster hits, we see opportunity to shine the light of Jesus Christ through working together.”

Susan Kim – MDS Writer