MDS thanks yearlong volunteers: “You’ve embodied hope”

Katie Shirk Snyder

Katie Shirk Snyder, from Goshen, Indiana, shared an encounter that happened just a few weeks ago—a time when she was having, well, a not-so-good week on the MDS site as a crew leader.

“There was a lot of down time, and so my volunteers were getting bored,” she recalled. “I was tired, and I was sneezing, with a cold, and all-in-all, I just felt pretty bad.”

As the week came to a close, two volunteers came to say goodbye before returning back home. They said to Snyder: “You were so patient with us. You taught us so much.”

Snyder said that what felt like the worst week all summer ended up being used by God. “It’s about so much more than how we’re feeling,” she said. Snyder will begin a job as a civil engineer in Naperville, Illinois.

She will likely volunteer for MDS again someday, she added. “Especially with all the bridges needed in North Carolina, I would love to build a bridge again,” she said.

Adam Blough

Adam Blough, from upstate New York, served on an MDS site in Arkansas, where he had the opportunity to attend four different house dedications. “One homeowner was a young woman who had cancer, and it was very special, and it kind of hit different when she got handed her keys,” he said. “It was very emotional and a very good experience.”

When he returns home, Blough plans to look for a job in welding.

Jonathon Shirk Snyder

Jonathon Shirk Snyder, from Goshen, Indiana, was sporting a ten-gallon hat that came with its own special story. While in Texas, he worked on the home of a family who had five kids. “This was the first home they’d ever bought,” he explained. “They had really gotten a poor deal buying this house, and they were really overwhelmed.”

When the home flooded, Snyder and other MDS volunteers had to tear out nearly the entire lower level of the home in order to repair it. “The family was just so patient with us, and I got to connect with them really well,” said Snyder. “The husband gave me this hat, and he said he had worked in someone else’s house after this storm, and that person passed the hat to him, and he passed this hat on to me.”

Snyder added: “The hat meant a lot to him and now it means a lot to me. I just thought that was a really cool story of gift-giving.”

Snyder will move with his wife, Katie Shirk Snyder, to Naperville, Illinois, where he will look for a job. “I’m trying to find something to do to learn new skills, and hopefully one day be able to work in a management position,” he said. “I really enjoyed crew leading and really enjoyed working with teams of people.”

Mary Joyce Wise

Mary Joyce Wise, from New York state, shared a not-so-typical MDS story. While in Mississippi, she was working on a home, and had the opportunity to speak to a woman in the same community who was un-housed. “She was looking for money, her husband had passed away three weeks before, she had lost her house, and was now living in her car,” said Wise. “It was a very short conversation but very touching that I was able to help her a little bit.”

Wise isn’t saying goodbye to MDS just yet—she’s returning for a second year of service! “I have loved being out on the job, seeing how things work together, learning new things, and learning from different people,” she said.

Lucinda Shirk

Lucinda Shirk, also from New York state, will never forget the people she helped—and who helped her right back! “I got to work on one new build, and I really got to know the homeowner, and even the extended family as they would stop by,” said Shirk. “At the beginning there wasn’t that connection.”

But Shirk and the other MDS volunteers took time to listen and share with the homeowner. “Once we did that, this lady did come out quite frequently and brought extended relatives to come out,” said Shirk. “It was just a really delightful time. It left a huge impression on me.”

Shirk would like to pursue a job in long-term disaster recovery and case management. “I have  a passion for people and culture,” she said.

Maik Hinz

The cohort of yearlong volunteers also includes Maik Hinz, from Germany, who stayed on the MDS job site an extra two weeks to help even more people.