Allison Duncan, a CSF student leader, had arrived shortly after the tornado had hit the community of Joplin and she knew that although she put in her fair share of work, that there would still be much more to come. Coming back to school, Allison knew that she wanted to organize a service project to show God’s presence in volunteer work. So just a few months into school, our collective group of nine left UIS in two vehicles for a 7 hour road trip. Although there were many attempts to want to buy fireworks because they are legal in Missouri, we kept our minds on Joplin and spending time with each other enjoying each other’s company.
We arrived later at night to a volunteer location that was being run by a local church. Abundant Faith Church offered its doors to all volunteers who were serving to repair Joplin. That church accurately depicted and showed God’s hospitality and shelter by offering free shelter and free meals to volunteers. On our first day, all of us were eager to get to work after hearing the tragic stories of what have occurred while seeing the reactions of what God was doing in Joplin.
We hit Joplin first by raking a few yards that were covered in shrapnel from the glass and debris that were flying around during the 200+ MPH winds. Some thought that it was strange to rake a yard while homes were destroyed and much more drastic work was still left to do. We came to understand that the emotional needs of the community and the homeowners were just as important. These homeowners had to wake up to a yard that served as a constant reminder of what they were trying to forget. Knowing this, made the work much more gratifying and allowed us to connect and pray with the homeowner. After raking a few yards, our UIS group connected with Allison’s dad who was currently working on putting up siding for a few houses. Later that day, we went back to Abundant Faith Church and took the rest of the night to do devotions with God and with each other after reflecting on the impact of the tornado on Joplin.
Seeing what work still had to be done on Saturday, we were just as pumped to begin on Sunday. We went back to the house to put up siding. There was a lot of work to be done and before our group left, the house was almost finished. It was a pretty amazing sight to see the CSF women get together and pray over the homeowner who was blown away by God’s presence around her. Before we left that day, Lyssa Barth, another CSF student leader, was already talking to the homeowner about hooking her up with Facebook to stay connected. Outreach at its best!
We left that day a little later than normal considering that we had another 7 hour car ride, but it was all worth it. We stopped half way along the way for my 4 cups of coffee and to see the world’s largest rocking chair. We arrived back safely and had something to praise god for. Amongst all the destruction, God was clearly there. I believe that God used this tragedy to show his power and to see the community atmosphere there was just another product of God’s work. Joplin showed us that God is praised in everything that he does. Job 1:21
By Ryan Chipman (CSF Student Leader)
Above is the CSF crew with Abundant Faith Church
Above, Alex Staggenborg helps put up siding!
Ryan (3rd from right in yellow) and other CSF students join together to pray over the families and homes of Joplin, MO.
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