Spencer, IA – SYP – June 21-26, 2026

In the Spener, Iowa project’s third week, June 21-26, our SYP volunteers were eleven youth and their four adult leaders from the Montgomery, Indiana area.  They arrived by bus late Sunday afternoon and oriented to Grace UMC’s facilities and the MDS project and staff.  By Monday morning, they were ready to go to work.

At the new-build house, volunteers installed porch floor, ceiling and railings and dug many post holes using the old-style human-powered post hole digger to prepare for the ramp they then built to the bedroom that will be used by the owner’s mother, leaving only some spindles left to install.  Volunteers also caulked and painted the house’s siding.  Subcontractors worked on plumbing and electrical rough-ins so next week’s volunteers can start insulating.

Volunteers also worked on six basement repair jobs.  Their work included sealing basement walls and floors, hanging and finishing drywall, installing paneling, hanging doors, installing wood trim around doors and windows, and lots of painting.

At our Wednesday evening meal, our guests were the pastor of our host church, Grace United Methodist, his wife and their two young children.  The family had just moved to town two weeks before the flood and experienced four feet of water in the basement of the parsonage, which sits a little higher than the church building which had eight feet of water, completely filling the basement.

In the aftermath of the Spencer flood, the congregation’s leadership saw that the needs of so many people in the community presented the church with an opportunity for service and outreach.  They decided to open their building to groups that could help the community recover and rebuild – right up the alley of MDS.  We have experienced Grace UMC to be a very welcoming host for the Spencer project, offering us the use of their entire 2^nd floor and the basement for long-term and weekly volunteer housing, showers, meal preparation and gathering.  Without such gracious hosts, we could not do our work.  Thanks be to God.