One minute, 30 seconds. That’s how much time John and Connie Zuch had to leave their house as flash floodwaters, spawned by Tropical Storm Fred, rushed toward their home on August 18. Their home, built in 1979, had never been through such a severe...
“Being able to be a part of something of this magnitude was the best ministry experience I’ve had so far.” That’s what Tim Whitten, who served as Hurricane Florence Recovery director for the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist...
The year 2021 marks 20 years since terrorists took 2,996 lives in attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. The following brings back some memories of the ways in which Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) responded. “How to get people in...
Growing up in a farm family, Randy Short spent a week serving with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) in Kentucky after his senior year of high school. After that, he served with MDS each winter for three or four months. “After we were married, it...
Michael Bering paused in the shade on his back patio in LaPlace, Louisiana, chatting for a few minutes with his brother, Edward, who has come by to lend him some moral support as he copes with the havoc Hurricane Ida wreaked on his home. Michael’s...
The Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Eastern Pennsylvania/New Jersey Unit celebrated its 65th anniversary on Oct. 8 with a look back at its long history and a look forward to its path of hope. The festivities took place at the Blooming Glen Mennonite...
When an electrical fire in August all but destroyed LaTanya Wade’s house on the outskirts of Philadelphia, she wasn’t sure where to turn. She had no fire insurance, and the damage meant the house had to be entirely gutted and rebuilt. A city...
When Hurricane Ida caused the Brandywine River to overflow its banks in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, a small town of about 8,000 on the outskirts of Philadelphia, it flooded many homes and businesses—and the New Beginnings Fellowship Church. That’s...
First time in the city? Yes. Where you from? The Prairies. Want to share your first impressions? Sure, why not. Good, I’m listening. Well, for starters there are lots of taxis on the streets, mostly yellow, over 10,000 of them I&#...
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