“It was his orientation. He was always helping.” Gord Friesen reflected on his father Cornelius (C.N.) Friesen’s volunteer history with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), a commitment that spanned more than a half-century. C.N.’s personal...
Young people and “good works.” That’s the heart of a new trades program at Rosedale Bible College in Irwin, Ohio. The first set of 11 students, through a partnership between the college and Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), completed six weeks...
Susan Kim, MDS Writer Residents of the Stoney Creek community in western North Carolina drove the last screw and cut the ribbon on their new bridge on April 4, seven months after Hurricane Helene destroyed it. The bridge is the second to...
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...
By Rachel Horst Several weeks before we left for our assignment in Merced, California, we had a realization. Between state and national MDS projects, this would be our 60th assignment! Don’s first time serving with MDS was helping clean...
Charlie, a 14-year-old chihuahua, was sunning himself in the front yard. His owner, Kaylin Bertelsen, led the way past him into her damaged home in Planada. In a tumble of words, she recalled the night of Jan. 9, 2023, when floodwaters overtook her...
“We didn’t think we were going to be eligible.” That’s what Owen Collings said of federal government grants for wildfire survivors in his village — people who had lost their homes to the Lytton Creek Fire in 2021. Mennonite Disaster Service...
“The poorest of the poor,” they told us. We agreed to go with MDS to Puerto Rico to help roof houses that had been damaged by Hurricane Marie over seven years ago. I went thinking that our accommodations would not be up to the standards of many...
Juan Pablo Plaza prays for wisdom every day. As a husband, a father of two young girls, and a pastor for the Conexion Church of the Brethren in Pasadena, California, he’s trying to care for a lot of people. Plaza lost his home—a parsonage...
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