Joplin Trip Day 3 Part II

This is the ususal time of the week that I participate in the meme Friday Fragments hosted at Half Past Kissin's Time. I have decided to recount Joplin Day 3, Part II in fragment form.

A blog fragment is a piece of info that usually doesn't make it into a traditional post. But if you weave a bunch of these fragments together you can get some pretty interesting stuff. Here we go.

Fragment 1: Church Name Symmetry

While I was waiting at Joplin Family Worship Center between the closing of the clothing tent and the beginning of meals and wheels, I began talking with some people from a church who were distributing Bibles to anyone who wanted them. They had a small table set up right next to where those affected by the tornado signed up to get the kind of materials I mentioned in the last post. The people from that church agreed to give us a bunch of New Testaments that we could offer when we delivered meals. I thought it was really cool because their church was a Bible Chapel and the church that I go to is also a Bible Chapel. This was not the only church name symmetry as the church that lent our team a bus and provided one member to the team is called The Lighthouse. First Christian Church of Carthage who was housing us is also called, wait for it, The Lighthouse.

Fragment 2: Meals on Wheels.

JFWC has a Meals on Wheels ministry. Everyday at 4 p.m they prepare meals for 4 blocks in the tornado area that people are living in and that are accesible by car. They go door to door handing out meals and water. We prepared 40 meals and distributed them.

Fragment 3: There's one in every disaster.

I mentioned yesterday, that all the people I saw being ministered to were receptive to the help. Until we came to the door of an elderly lady who just yelled and yelled at us. I was walking with a bunch of kids and when we came to her door, she knew the drill. Before she even answered she started shouting that she didn't want any food. I asked her very nicely if she wanted some water. She said something like she only used water to wash with, she never drank the stuff. I backed the kids away from her door and she continued to yell at us. She was saying that it was too hot for us to be out (it was 110 degrees) with the kids and we should get them inside. I thanked her and started walking with the kids to the next door. She very loudly said "Fine! Don't listen to me!"

Fragment 4: Who's serving who?

At the same time this heated monologue was taking place, something else was heating up. The vehicle we were in started overheating. We drove it a few more houses and realized what happened. We were running it in 110 degree heat stopping at every house with the AC on. Since there wasn't anthing else for the kids and I to do, we kept walking down the block offering food and water. Many of the houses had no one in them, and often the neighbors would tell us that. We were walking up to one house when the across the street neighbors told us no one was there. I asked them if they wanted any food. They said no but they would gladly take 6 bottles of water.

As we tried to figure out what to do about our vehicle, the family with the six waters came up to us and offered to help us. There was a 91 year old mechanic who lived at that house. He came up to the car which we were able to inch over to their house, and started cooling the radiator down with a hose. We took that job over for him and as we waited, they let the children that were with us cool down in the small pool that some of their children were in. Come on guys, we're here to help you!

We cooled down the car and were able to drive back to Carthage without any problem. We did not have any problem with that car for the rest of the trip,

Fragment 5: An Opportunity

When we got back to the church, the teens on our trip were attending the church youth group. We were told about how the family with the grandchildren were ministering to a man who needed to get his property cleared. His house has been destroyed and he had many family members including his wife pass away shortly before the tornado. We decided that as a team on Thursday night we would work together to get this man's field cleared. One of our elder's grandsons felt compelled to give that man a Bible. I remembered about the Bible Chapel giving Bibles away and said I would get one for him tomorrow.

Fragment 6: This Place is Hopping

I don't remember noticing it Tuesday night when we arrived but on Wednesday night around 9 p.m. all the kids started noticing that the streets and parking lots were teeming with flying grasshoppers, crickets, cicadias and the occasional praying mantis. The kids spent about an hour each night on grasshopper patrol.

At about 10 pm, it was still hot. But probably 100 degrees, rather than 110. So Spider Droid and I walked a few blocks up to the town square. This town square had a clock tower like the one in Back to the Future. After a nice walk, it was time for bed.

For more Friday Fragments, click here. For more Joplin stories, tune in tomorrow.