Judy Schmidt likes to cook—even for 20 or more people at a time. That’s what the 66-year-old retired banker was doing in March, where she served as head cook for a month with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) in Jennings, Lousiana. For Schmidt,...
After living for nearly a year in a small trailer with no running water or electricity, Lisa and Gary England finally opened the door to a new home. They need a safe place to rest. Lisa has just started dialysis, and Gary recently had heart...
Eastern Kentucky is a unique place. Families are closely knit for generations. Many have never left Kentucky…or if they did, only for a brief visit. Kentucky is home! Even real estate is familial, passed down from generation to generation. ...
Crooked roads, crooked walls, crooked ceilings, too—as they worked with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) installing drywall in a home in Breathitt County, Kentucky, Carol and Richard Bergman of Grunthal, Man. realized nothing was quite straight...
By Elaine Maust When Hurricane Rita roared through South Louisiana in 2005, she decimated Premeau Subdivision near Cameron. During Rita, the home of Ronald (Bean) and Ima Jean Gaspard and their adult son, Ronnie, disappeared. “It took my house...
After assessing needs in many communities in the wake of spring tornadoes, Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) will focus on long-term response in the midwest and south. Though MDS is not deploying Early Response Teams to the tornado-damaged areas,...
“As I sit here composing this e-mail, I am asking God to give me the words to adequately express our gratitude for all the help that your organization has provided. What you have done to help is so big, we do not have words available.” That’s...
The MDS Search and Rescue (SAR) team, working with local emergency officials and rescue teams, recovered the bodies of Lotus Drummer Chuck Morris and his son, Charley, 24 days after they went missing. Lotus is an instrumental electronic jam...
David and Karen Olson can make many claims as volunteers with the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Recreational Vehicle (RV) program in Welsh, Louisiana: They are the only volunteers from Canada at the project and they are the oldest volunteers....
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