Denare Beach, SK – July 12-18

‘Twas the week of July twelfth and all thru Denare,
MDSers were scurrying, you should have been there.
Twenty volunteers, from Ontario to BC,
and all of the provinces in between them you see.

They came from afar, to follow THE rule;
To do unto others as you’d have them do to you.
In June ’25, during the devastating Wolf Fire,
200 homes were lost, the situation was dire.

Four houses to work on in all different stages,
We set out to work, without a thought about wages.
There was mudding and scraping and mudding some more.
Let that dry for a while and then mud again some more.

While two teams slung mud, a much smaller crew
Went from house to house doing odd jobs, they two.
Their tasks were quite varied, a little of this and some of that,
And some may just say, they should have worn a hard hat.

At the Monias house was the polying crew,
who insulated and gooped and put poly on too.
Once the last sheet of poly was applied to the wall,
Inspector Willy came calling, bated breath held by all.

When Willy exclaimed that the poly work had passed,
The MDSers joined forces and brought drywall there fast.
The group there had grown, the teams had been mixed,
And soon on the ceiling the drywall was fixed.

On Wednesday Steve Harrison, one client from Denare,
Joined us for a meal, and had stories to share.
He shared from the heart, the events he did face,
And reminded us all why we came to this place.

By Thursday the mudding at two houses was done,
So all crews joined forces and chaos begun.
No sooner were boards affixed up with care,
Then the mudding team came up to do their fair share.

There were so many people, their was no place to move
But somehow the teams just fell in a groove.
At the end of the day we were in for a treat
As the Monias’s arrived for all of us to meet.

Their excitement was real as they checked on their place,
Which brought a big smile to everyone’s face.
Our evenings were ours, we explored thru the town.
The museum, the beach, the crevices up and down.

And to end the whole week on a positive note
Steve Harrison has offered a ride on a boat.
What an experience it’s been, this time in Denare
We’ve learned new skills, and met others who care.

Like the body of Christ, we all have a part,
A hand, a foot, an eye, or a heart.
The support team was crucial, to forget would be rude,
They kept us supplied with tasks, tools, and great food.

While our tasks may have been hard, we still had some fun
But most important of all, God’s will has been done.

Greg