They barely got out. It was 6:15 a.m. that November day in 2018 when Teri and John Rubiolo noticed a spot fire visible from their house, nestled on 10 acres in the scenic canyon of Concow, California. “I called 911 and they said, ‘get...
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It’s a marriage made in Paradise—or at least an anniversary made there. Dottie and Tim Weber celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary in a unique way: cooking for Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers in Paradise, California as MDS...
Paradise is full of twists and turns. Paradise, California, that is. To reach one of the new homes they are building, Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers must navigate miles of canyon roads full of hairpin turns—without the security...
West Virginia. Texas. California. Twenty-four-year-old Cody Hurst really gets around as a Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteer! He began serving with MDS back in 2016, when he helped build a driveway bridge in West Virginia. Now he’s...
By Gabe Salazar of Your Central Valley FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – When Ash Jones was approached by Rebuild Our Sierra to help build sheds for those who were impacted by the devastating Creek Fire, he didn’t think twice. The project would end...
The Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Annual Celebration, held January 21-22 in Sarasota, Florida, drew nearly 400 joyful participants, some in-person and some through a livestream. Together, they reminisced, reconnected, and shared their vision for...
After volunteering for a week in Okanogan, Washington, Curt Dorsing vowed to go back and finish the job just as soon as he can. Visiting with one resident, Christy, after putting siding on her new house, Dorsing got to witness her reaction when she...
“Having a good time together and doing God’s work,” is how 35-year-old Kelcie Dorsing Brewer described her recent week of volunteering for Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) in Okanogan, Washington. She’s planning to go back and, given the...
Wildfire survivors in Okanogan, Washington and Paradise, California—some of them living in sheds, some in cars—need homes. Can Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers finish the homes they’ve started? Some of these survivors have been...
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