ACS DR Deployment – July, 2011

July 11, 2011- Monday

Today was a long day & I’m really exhausted. I left home at 7:13 am to meet Andrew Thompson at Owatonna in the Target parking lot, arriving there just moments before he arrived. After transferring his gear to my car & having prayer with his friend Alex, we hit the road for Joplin.

We stopped about 11:30 am in Bethany, MO for lunch at Subway & filled the tank with gas. Then back on the road again. We were hoping to reach Joplin so we could connect with the ACS DR management team at the warehouse before they closed for the day. Andrew kept me entertained with lively conversation, so I never became droopy or sleepy.

Just south of Nevada, MO we contacted Roy Weeden to give him a “heads-up” about our ETA. After some confusion finding the right exits to Joplin, we discovered we were close to the local AAA office, where I delightedly secured a map of Joplin. It was just after 4:00 pm. Andrew pulled out his GPS to guide us to the warehouse. “Susan” (the name of Andrew’s GPS) directed our route through some of the incredible devastation. The media’s photos I saw before coming to Joplin failed to capture the enormity of the tragedy!!! We arrived at the warehouse about 4:45 pm. My car said it was 104° F with a Heat Advisory!

The ACS Multi-Agency Warehouse manager Sam Whatley & his wife, Carlene, the Office Manager greeted us warmly, introducing us to some of the volunteers. I was delighted to discover that Carlene was the Praise Team leader for the MAUC Constituency Meetings, whose ministry had really blessed my heart earlier this year at Lincoln, NE. Andrew & I were both very impressed with Sam & Carlene’s operation—especially when we found out that they were working without ever having the opportunity of taking ACS/DR training!!! We headed to our motel with eager anticipation of being a part of the Whatley’s team.

After taking the “scenic route” [read a few wrong turns!!!] back to Carthage, we arrived at our cozy motel about 6:30 pm. The desk clerk gave us great customer service, providing us with a map of Carthage & highlighting some of the local tourist attractions, restaurants, & also the location of a grocery store & Wal-Mart. Andrew helped me get my stuff to my room & then we proceeded to get settled. I was very pleased to discover we not only have refrigerators (with a small freezer big enough to freeze the ice bottle for my little cooler) in our rooms, but microwaves, too. God answered my prayers about room location—my room is on the ground floor with a parking space right outside the door. I dreaded the thought of trying to drag my heavy bags up stairs!!!

After unpacking my clothes & eating the cherries I brought & a few almonds, I decided to drive down to Wal-Mart & pick up a few groceries & items I hadn’t even thought about bringing. Andrew had said he was set for the night & had several calls to make, so I didn’t let him know what I was doing. While I was gone, Andrew decided to walk down toward my room, & discovered my car was missing, so he gave me a call. I confessed that I was checking out “Wally-World.” We set 6:30 am as our departure tomorrow morning for the warehouse. When I got back to the motel, I put my treasures away, brought a foam mattress (still in my van from camp meeting) into my room to make my bed a little comfier, took a shower, checked my e-mail & now am ready to crash for the night. It’s about 11 pm & it’s been a very BLESSED day. Tomorrow the real adventure begins!!!

July 12, 2011- Tuesday

I wasn’t ready to get up this morning when my alarm went off, but no time to be lazy today!!! After worship & breakfast in my room, Andrew called me & we headed to work. Today we were introduced to the three guys who own & manage their own business from the warehouse—Mark S., Mark G. & Kelly. These are some really SUPER guys who have put most of their personal business stuff on hold in order to serve the people of Joplin. They are committed to maintaining & assisting ACS in this warehouse for as long as this warehouse is needed—estimated to be approximately a year. Sam gave Andrew & me a tour of the warehouse. It’s a wonderful facility, 60,000 sq. ft, recently built with air-conditioned offices & break room & absolutely ideal for ACS’ operation.

While Sam was showing us around, Carlene came & told us about a call she took from someone at the FEMA office where a teenage single mother of a toddler came in needing diapers & other things to care for her child & herself. What fun it was to pick out items that would bring some hope into her situation & supply her needs!!!

Sam & his team had already put together a large order for delivery to a tent city that Mark S. discovered yesterday. A group of about 100 people, whose homes were destroyed & who were under-insured or without insurance, have banded together, pooled their resources, arranged for electricity to be run out to an open area near a creek in the city, & are literally living in tents. The heat & humidity has been oppressive with temps over 100° F. My car registered 106° F when we left work after 5 pm tonight!!! Apparently several other groups had promised them help, but failed to come through with it. Mark made a list of things stocked in our warehouse that they needed desperately & promised them he’d be back. This afternoon he & Sam delivered the goods in a Penske rental truck we’re using, & the people were thrilled & very grateful. Mark S. & Sam did a further evaluation of their needs, & a group of us (including Andrew & me) will go over there Thursday night to give them more assistance.

One of the volunteers today reported that last weekend there were several deaths due to depression S/P the tornado—people who had lost everything & couldn’t hang in any longer. How tragic!!!

We had lots of volunteers working in the warehouse [WH] today, sorting & palletizing donations. Andrew is working closely with Sam so he will be prepared to manage the WH next week after Sam leaves. I am working in the office with Carlene, shadowing her so I can learn how to manage the office. A group of volunteers is working to get everything inventoried & then Carlene will show me how to enter all the data in the Aidmatrix inventory software. I had an adventure putting together a spreadsheet in Windows 7 & sorting inventory sheets.

Tomorrow Andrew & I will find out when we are scheduled for our training for fork lift certification. We’ll have to be at the training site by 6 am that morning so we can finish our two-hour class including exam before the teacher’s business opens for the day.

During some of our slow time today, I studied my Joplin map & now have a much better feel about the lay of the land. In fact, Andrew & I didn’t need “Susan” to get back to the hotel tonight! We gave Sam a ride to his hotel after work today & he had us drive through the most heavily damaged area of town. After seeing the obliteration of buildings & identifying landmarks, I can hardly believe that the death toll wasn’t in the multiple thousands!!! I think Sam said that over 8,000 homes were completely destroyed. Dump trucks are working around the clock & every three seconds another truck is filled with debris & heading out to haul it away.

Andrew & I stopped at Wal-Mart on our way back to the motel tonight & purchased food we can prepare & eat in our rooms. Andrew shared some Special K Loaf with me that he brought from home & it was a special treat for supper.

It’s almost 11:30 pm & thundering pretty good outside (but no rain yet), so I better close this epistle, get a quick shower & get to bed. I’m not used to the early mornings!!! Hopefully I can get this posted on my blog tomorrow.

Before I close, I must say that although my day was long, I’m having a blast!!! I feel like I’ve known Andrew for years, & I know that Sam & Carlene will be treasured friends because of our wonderful time together. Mark, Mark & Kelly are such neat guys with very tender hearts & fun bantering personalities. Mark S.’ dad stopped by the office & he is a delightful man, too!.

I already know that it will be difficult for me to go home, because a part of my heart will stay here in Joplin. [I’m not sure how it got here from India!!!] It’s awesome to be part of something that touches people’s lives in such personal & intimate ways. What fun it is to work with people with differing denominational backgrounds, but working together to serve others whose needs are beyond my comprehension as existing here in the United States.

July 13, 2011- Wednesday

My tail is really dragging tonight, but it was a very good day. I haven’t quite adjusted to getting up at 5 am, heading to the warehouse by 6:30 am & not getting back to the motel until after 7 pm this evening. The late arrival back at the motel tonight was partially due to a quick stop at Wal-Mart & gassing up the chariot.

It was pouring rain this morning when we drove into Joplin & that cooled off the temps a bit. Carlene had to do some errands today, so I held the fort at the office this afternoon, getting some good experience in processing orders to go out to the local distribution centers. We had a visit from some FEMA officials, too.

We had about 130 volunteers sorting, categorizing & palletizing donations. One group is a group of young people from a Baptist Church near Kansas City. Their leader is a lady named Kathy (sp?) who has the awesome talent of encouraging & inspiring these young people to work together with phenomenal productivity, fantastic attitudes, & having lots of fun along the way. The joy & energy of this group really blessed my heart. Those kids processed 131 pallets of donations. Praise the Lord—they will be back to work with us again on Thursday & Friday!!!

I had planned on posting my epistles on my blog tonight, but for some reason I can’t access the internet at the hotel. After wrestling with my computer & making some calls to my family, it is after 11 pm & I must get some sleep!!! Andrew & I plan to leave at 6 am tomorrow in order to learn the routine daily procedures starting with the warehouse opening at 7 am.

July 14, 2011- Thursday

Getting up this morning at 4:30 this morning was really tough, but we were the first to arrive at the warehouse—in spite of another scenic route resulting in “Susan’s” intervention!!! It really confuses me when I have to take a highway labeled “North” that goes north in order to go south!!! The highway signage in this area is less than straightforward!!!

Every day I’m feeling a bit less uneasy knowing that Sam & Carlene will not be there next week & Andrew & I will need to manage without their expertise. Today was the last day for a couple of our most valuable volunteers—a father (Chuck) & son (Thomas) team from Texas that have been fantastic at training & working with the volunteers Americorps & one of the local Baptist churches send us. It was tough saying “goodbye” to them tonight!!!

It was beastly hot again today, so we shut down the warehouse early—it was getting too hot for the volunteers. Chuck & Thomas purchased some supplies for the people living in the tent city, so we stopped by there on our way home. As I spoke to some of the people living there, I had to fight back the tears. These people have nothing except what they have in their tents. They have put up some toilet & shower facilities, & they have a big chest freezer & full size frig sitting outside that they share.

We visited with a man named Vincent who is living there & covers security there nights. He showed Andrew & me his living situation—a tent & a plastic tarp held up with some poles where he can sit at a card table & have some shade. Vincent introduced us to Christine, who lives in a pop-up camper there & is acting as “mayor” of their community. While we were talking to Christine, another man came up to show us a young bird that survived the tornado as a baby & is being raised by their community. It’s very tame, riding on their shoulders or perching on peoples’ fingers or heads. They named the bird, “Stormy,” & he seems to symbolize the heroic survival spirit of their group. I took some photographs there, but was careful to
ask permission before taking pictures of people’s faces.

The Joplin City Administrator & some higher ranking FEMA officials came & toured the warehouse today to see what is happening in our facility so they can develop plans to eventually transition its operation to meet Joplin’s long-term recovery needs.

Andrew & I spent some time in special prayer after we arrived back at our motel tonight, praying that God will send us the trained leadership team we will need next week. The management team that has been working in Joplin with us this week all need to be gone most if not all of next week. God alone knows who we need to work with us next week!!!

Well, it’s just after 9:30 pm & I MUST get to bed ASAP!!! Tomorrow Andrew & I need to be in Joplin very early so we can start fork lift certification training about 6 am. I’ve studied my map very carefully tonight & by God’s grace, I think I’ve discovered a straightforward route to get us to the training site tomorrow. We plan to head out at 5 am so we have a little leeway. I’m really looking forward to Sabbath & hopefully sleeping in a bit on Sunday.

Please keep us in your prayers!!!!!!!!!!!!