“Thank God the trees that fell on my house really kept the whole house from blowing away,” said Francisco Rios. “Thank God the volunteers are here to help.” The volunteers—from Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS)—are helping Rios demolish...
“God’s handiwork.” That’s how Heather Nesler sums up the connections that brought Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) to help people in tornado-stricken Mayfield, Kentucky. Nesler, who grew up in Mayfield and still lives there with her...
On a freezing January morning in the tornado-ravaged town of Mayfield, Justin Weaver was picking through memories. Weaver—joining Jim and Phil Eicher, two longtime friends from Berne, Indiana—drove from his home in White Pigeon, Michigan, to...
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) B.C. and Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Canada have entered into a partnership agreement to respond to the floods that hit B.C. last November. “When the full scope of the flooding became known, it was apparent we...
2020-21 was a hard year for MDS Canada. Once again, the pandemic was the big story. It curtailed most of our responses in this country and prevented Canadians from going to the U.S. to volunteer. But it didn’t stop us from doing what we could to...
When a wildfire raged too close, James McCraigie tried to grab his three dogs and get out. He managed to take two—He-man and Bobby—as his third dog, Teala, hid under McCraigie’s mobile home. “I just kept my fingers crossed it was going to...
Story by Theresa Schmidt for KPLC News 7 Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) – Many in Southwest Louisiana are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Laura and the disasters that followed. A collaboration between Mennonites and Amish, along with...
Volunteers from Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) are on the ground in tornado-ravaged areas of Kentucky, focusing on cleanup as well as plans for a long-term response. In the Mayfield area—badly damaged during the Dec. 10 tornado—MDS volunteers...
Story by Kalea Anderson for NBC WSPD 6 Local News MAYFIELD, KY — Some in Mayfield are moving on to the rebuilding phase after an EF-4 tornado ripped through neighborhoods. Now, thanks to help from Homes and Hope for Kentucky, they don’t have...
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