MENNONITE DISASTER SERVICE / SUMMER 2025
“You are the key to hope”
director ’ s letter
VISION: We strive to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those affected by disasters. MISSION: We respond to disasters, rebuild homes, and restore hope by organizing and empowering volunteers in the U.S. and Canada.
VOLUNTEER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE MDS U.S. 800-241-8111 Canada 866-261-1274 www.mds.org “ I am excited to help students recognize that they are masterpieces created by God, and that He has good works with their names on, waiting for them to do. I am also excited to help them develop the necessary skills to do these good works in a way that honors God.” TITUS BEITZEL DIRECTOR OF ROSEDALE TRADES PROGRAM, A NEW PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN MDS AND ROSEDALE BIBLE COLLEGE IN IRWIN, OHIO
“Yes” by faith
It was a quiet spring at MDS Canada. Until it wasn’t. Within hours of a call, we found ourselves receiving wildfire evacuees at a reception center in Winnipeg. I was quickly reminded of a similar response in MDS Canada’s early days. In 1956, the British Columbia Unit formed and notified the Canadian Red Cross that they were available to assist with disaster responses when
CORE VALUES: Faith in Action Caring Relationships Working Together
needed. Almost immediately, the Red Cross made a request of the Unit to feed 6,000 Hungarian refugees arriving at the Abbotsford Airport. By faith, someone said yes. They figured it out as they went, affirming the oft quoted slogan, “make do somehow.” On May 30 of this year, the Canadian Red Cross reached out to ask if MDS had the capacity to provide people support at wildfire evacuee reception centers in Winnipeg. My immediate reply was “Yes. What do you need?” The need was beyond what any of us could
Behind the Hammer is published quarterly by Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) and is available for free upon request. This magazine shares the stories of MDS work in the U.S. and Canada and of more than 5,000 annual volunteers who are the core of MDS. The stories are meant to encour- age people to continue expressing the love of God through the work of MDS. Printed on Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) certified paper using environmentally friendly plant-based inks. MDS Executive Director: Kevin King MDS Canada Executive Director: Ross Penner Communications Manager: Jesse Huxman Production Coordination: Jesse Huxman, Nikki Hamm Gwala Designer: Julie Kauffman STAY CONNECTED If you have story ideas, need subscription information, want to donate or volunteer, please contact us: MDS U.S. Office 583 Airport Road, Lititz, PA 17543 USA tel: 717-735-3536 | toll-free: 800-241-8111 fax: 717-735-0809 mdsus@mds.org
College student Lily Herrera in Selma, Alabama. Story page 10.
Jerry and Doreen Klassen
SUMMER 2025
have anticipated. More than 20,000 people were evacuated, with wildfires threatening 27 rural and northern Manitoba communities. The Red Cross had already set up three Winnipeg-based centers to receive evacuees. They asked us to help set up the fourth and largest one. Four hours later, 20 MDS volunteers were on site, at an indoor soccer facility, setting up the 1,300 cots that would be needed. We began supplying volunteers 24 hours a day to welcome evacuees, hand out bedding and other essential items, direct evacuees to their cots, and serve meals. In typical MDS fashion, volunteers did whatever was needed. After a hectic first weekend, I knew I needed a site leader who could manage the chaos of hundreds of people coming and going. This wasn’t MDS’ typical construction work. This was people care. A phone call with Kevin King directed me back to British Columbia and seasoned MDSers— Jerry and Doreen Klassen. They said yes to this unique challenge. God gave Jerry and Doreen unique gifts. They’re able to look at a situation, assess what is needed, and find a way to get it done. During earlier years of service, Jerry observed that four things were necessary for a successful MDS project. Those four things became known as the four pillars. From our earliest beginnings to the present day, God has provided us volunteers with the right gifts for the right time, like Jerry and Doreen—or Gord Friesen and C.N. Friesen, who you’ll read about in this issue. It has been an honor to work alongside Jerry and Doreen, and together with every volunteer that contributes to the mission we believe God has called us to. Thank you to each one of you.
FEATURE – DAMASCUS, VIRGINIA A couple’s harrowing survival 4 VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE – DAMASUS, VIRGINIA A lasting impression 7 FLASHBACK – THE BEGINNINGS OF MDS CANADA Family and MDS legacies intertwine 8 FEATURE – COLLEGE STUDENTS IN SELMA, ALABAMA “You are the key to hope” 10 HOMEOWNER EXPERIENCE – AMORY, MISSISSIPPI They made us feel like family 13
Notes from the field 14
MDS Canada Office 200-600 Shaftesbury Blvd. Winnipeg, MB R3P 2J1 Canada tel: 204-261-1274 toll-free within Canada: 866-261-1274 fax: 204-261-1279 mdscanada@mds.org
ON THE COVER: Goshen College students Judith Rangel and Carlie Webber volunteer with MDS in Selma, Alabama, as part of an immersive service and learning experience. STORY ON PAGE 10. PHOTO: PAUL HUNT
www.mds.org
Ross Penner Executive Director, MDS Canada
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After traveling about 200 yards, the home stopped on some higher ground—but then the structure began to break apart. “The last thing I saw, Carl hit the water,” said Linda. He was carried away downstream. “I swam across stream just as hard as I could,” said Carl. “Missed the first tree, missed a second tree, missed the third tree. Finally caught some bushes at the end of the rail there and I thought, oh boy, don’t you break! And I finally got my feet on and got stabilized.” Linda recalled that, every time a log hit the house, she thought she’d sink into the water. Alone in the dark, she had only the light from her watch. “All I could think about was seeing Carl hit the water and go on. I kept praying, repeating the Lord’s prayer, and the 23rd psalm,” she said. “It got kind of eerie, quiet, except the roar of the creek,” recalled Carl. After a few hours in, Carl flagged down a neighbor who called for help. Another hour later, he was rescued by a helicopter. But Linda was stuck in what was left of her home for 16 hours before she was rescued, wrapping herself in blankets to stay warm.
“Only my feet got wet,” she said. “There was a roof over me. I ended up in my little sewing craft room,” Linda said, adding that her sewing machine was still sitting there with her, along with her latest quilt pieces. She was rescued when four men from the community waded to where the house had run aground, cleared piles of debris to get inside, and found Linda in a rocking chair, alive and well. REUNITED “God wasn’t ready for us that day,” said Linda. “We’re old, but you know, we’re here. We’ve heard from people all over the world who have blessed us with their prayers and concern.” “We will tell this for the younger generation,” added Carl. “They might like movies or books—but this is going to sound like one.” Both octogenarians, the Washington County couple has been married for 57 years. They vividly remember volunteering with Brethren Disaster Ministries in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “It was so emotional seeing the people after losing their homes, and the roofs were gone, and we shoveled mud, we put roofs on, and we just thought, ‘Oh, these poor people, how are they going to survive after this?’
“ All I could think about was seeing Carl hit the water and go on.” LINDA MCMURRAY HURRICANE HELENE SURVIVOR
Carl and Linda McMurray moved into their new MDS volunteer-built house in April 2025.
A couple’s harrowing survival
When floodwaters overtook the childhood home of Linda McMurray in Damascus, Virginia, on Sept. 27, 2024, she became more worried about her husband’s life than her own. And her husband, Carl, was desperate to rescue his wife. Though both survived—Linda by floating downstream in the remnants of their home, Carl by clinging to a tree for hours—they will never forget the day Hurricane Helene arrived. They recalled taking lifejackets to the second floor of their home, which had been in Linda’s family for three generations. Carl described the floodwaters arriving “like a bulldozer,” pushing everything out of its way—including their own home!
After flash flooding from Hurricane Helene swept them away, the McMurrays now celebrate their new home—and each other
BEFORE
AFTER
Carl and Linda McMurray’s home (above) in Taylors Valley near Damascus, Virginia, was ripped apart and swept away (right) by Hurricane Helene floodwaters in Sept. 2024.
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“ I learned that people can be so different from each other on the surface, but if you put aside your preconceived notions, they might be more similar than you thought.” SIENNA KAUFFMANN MDS VOLUNTEER / EASTERN MENNONITE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT
realization that they are not as different from the Amish as they initially thought. As Sienna Kauffmann, one of our students, wrote in an article in our school newspaper, “While navigating this I learned that people can be so different from each other on the surface, but if you put aside your preconceived notions. they might be more similar than you thought... If you take the time to establish relationships, empathize with them, and try to understand their thinking, you might realize as I did, that humans are more alike and connected than we think.” We built a bridge in Damascus, Virginia. Well, technically we were insulating, painting, and roofing—but we built a bridge of fellowship and trust between students at Eastern Mennonite High School and the three Amish volunteers that week. I want to thank Storm Aid, Abe, Rachel, and Liz for your Christ-like example of service. You made a lasting positive impression on our high school students.
volunteer experience
A lasting impression
MDS Storm Aid volunteers built the McMurray’s new house up the hill from their old place, with a view over the valley.
Justin King (above left), principal of Eastern Mennonite High School in Harrisonburg, Virginia, reflects on the weeklong experience leading a group of students to volunteer with MDS in Damascus, Virginia, where they served alongside Amish volunteers from MDS Storm Aid. It’s 5:45 a.m., and our high school students beat me to breakfast. The night before, I asked them to be prompt, and told them I trusted them to set their alarms and arrive dressed and ready. They were staying in a cabin a short walk from the kitchen, and I was worried they might oversleep, or press the snooze button one too many times. As I walked up a short flight of stairs from my sleeping quarters in the basement, I heard laughter. I was delighted to see each of our students smiling at me. With a twinkle in his eye, one of them said “We beat you here this morning, Mr. King.” This small moment is an example of a feeling that continued to give me hope in our young people throughout the week. These are difficult times to be a teenager, but our high school students surprised me with their continued ability to rise to the occasion. As they worked throughout the week, it was beautiful to see them getting more comfortable alongside the Amish volunteers. Relationships formed, trust was built, and it was a cross-cultural experience for our students. Our students were profoundly impacted by the
A DEMONSTRATION OF COMMUNITY Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin attended the dedication of the McMurray’s home, and commended MDS and other organizations involved. “When communities come together and pull hard, we can move mountains,” he said. “Today is a demonstration of community. There was little to no federal money in this. This was volunteers.” The house got it’s start at the MDS 75th anniversary celebration in Wichita, Kansas. Groups of 10 to 30 volunteers worked at the local 4-H hall in two-hour shifts over two days to build the walls which were then trucked to Damascus. “We’ve met wonderful people and have become friends,” concluded Linda. “Everybody was so kind and welcoming.”
And we were so happy to help them,” said Linda. “And now we’re on the other end of it, and we know how they felt.” GOD IS GOOD Their new home—built by MDS in partnership with Trails to Recovery—has been dedicated, and MDS continues to work in the area. “Not a day passes by that we don’t think of September 27,” Linda said. “Some days are better than others, but every day is a good day. God is good every day.” “Of all the good people that came out, it didn’t matter what politics, what church,” Carl said. “Everybody just helped out. It was just really amazing how everybody pulled together.” Linda said she felt encouraged by the presence of young MDS volunteers. “There have been teenagers, and they’re being taught lifelong skills and then they have fun together where they’re staying over at the camp,” she said. “So it’s not all work and it’s good to see the fellowships.” They love the community of Damascus and can’t imagine living anywhere else. “The mountains, the streams, bicycles—there’s a huge popular bicycle trail,” said Linda. “Fishermen come. The Appalachian Trail comes through here. Damascus has seven trails that come through it. So we get a lot of through Appalachian Trail hikers.”
STORY AND PHOTOS: JUSTIN KING
STORY: SUSAN KIM PHOTOS: PAUL HUNT
Watch a video of the McMurrays recounting their experience surviving a flash flood in Virginia: youtube.com/MDSMennonite
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FLASHBACK TO 1948
1950 Red River Flood impact in the Elm Park neighborhood of Winnipeg, Manitoba. PHOTO: ARCHIVES OF MANITOBA
1997 Red River Flood damage to a rural home and property in southern Manitoba.
“ One of the reasons I stayed involved ... is because MDS was open to everybody.”
flood of the century hit his home province. While C.N. and his wife Laura Friesen had moved to British Columbia a few decades earlier, they were visiting friends and family in Manitoba during the 1997
stronger MDS presence within Canada, new interagency partnerships and the opening of a Winnipeg office in 2001. Gord’s volunteer tenure with MDS continued for a total of 15 years, including leadership roles on the Canadian and binational boards, and as a mentor to the first permanent staff person in Canada. C.N. remained an active volunteer with MDS, helping office staff with administrative duties in the latter years, before his passing in 2010. “As long as we have disasters—and I don’t think they will stop... I think we should be better prepared and continue to prepare people and to make it exciting,” he said in a 2008 interview. At the organization’s 75th anniversary, Gord shared, “One of the reasons I stayed involved… is because MDS was open to everybody… It was very open to belief systems and also to skill levels and, so, I hope that it continues to be open to all in both areas, as long as they want to help others for the right reason, and that, regardless of skill.” STORY: NIKKI HAMM GWALA. WITH CONTENT FROM A 2008 INTERVIEW OF C.N. FRIESEN BY BRUCE HILDEBRAND AND A 2024 INTERVIEW OF GORD FRIESEN BY GLORIA NUSSBAUM. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF GORD FRIESEN, MARJ HEINRICHS, ARCHIVES OF MANITOBA
GORD FRIESEN MDS VOLUNTEER
Gord Friesen (left) with his father C.N. Friesen circa 1975
flood. C.N. joined other MDS leaders to plan a response. After their initial meeting, he encouraged Gord to get involved, with his skill set and newly open calendar in mind. “You can do something here,” C.N. said. His father’s influence led Gord to ride along with a volunteer doing street assessments and eventually commit to coordinating a three-year-long flood response, the largest MDS had taken on in Canada. Over a three-year span, MDS cleaned up 802 houses and yards, rebuilt 13 houses and repaired another 99, contributing a total of 14,687 volunteer days, and received unprecedented funding from donors and the Government of Manitoba. “There was nobody else then who thought it was their mandate to respond,” explained Gord. “It was such a tremendous job,” said C.N. “We became very well known during that time.” The response led to a
Family and MDS legacies intertwine
of Mennonites in Canada. They responded as the Mennonitische Hilfswerk, a predecessor to MDS in Canada. Two short years later, they responded to the historic Red River flood of 1950. During that flood, the Government of Manitoba reports that 100,000 Winnipeg residents or one third of the city was evacuated. It was the largest evacuation in Canadian history to that date. C.N. coordinated the Mennonitische Hilfswerk response, organizing temporary housing for evacuees. Gord was born in 1947. During his childhood, his father provided leadership to local disaster responses. He also played a leading role as Mennonite organizers across the country came together to formally join the U.S.-borne MDS organization in 1956. While C.N. instilled a keen interest in carpentry, Gord had very little involvement with MDS growing up—besides a hands-on introduction through a one-day tornado cleanup assignment at age 13. Gord didn’t volunteer with MDS over the following three decades. He dedicated 25 years to a corporate career in human resources and labor relations. He resigned in 1997 on his fiftieth birthday. Gord didn’t think of his resignation as an early retirement but planned to find meaningful volunteer work after a few months break. His plan to rest was upended, though, when the Red River
Father and son share experiences pivotal to MDS Canada’s development
“It was his orientation. He was always helping.” Gord Friesen reflected on his father Cornelius (C.N.) Friesen’s volunteer history with MDS, a commitment that spanned more than a half-century. C.N.’s personal story closely mirrors the larger story of MDS’ origins in Canada. Like many other young Anabaptist men during World War II, he volunteered as a conscientious objector. A few years after the war, he responded to the 1948 Red River flood, sandbagging in Rosenort, Manitoba, alongside other Mennonite volunteers. The 1948 Red River flood response is the first documented disaster response by an organized group
MDS volunteer crew in La Riviere, Manitoba, circa 1960. C.N. Friesen (front center, with hat) and Gord (front second to right)
Gord Friesen on assignment during the ‘97 MDS Red River Flood response in Manitoba.
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“ There are so many things in life that can be scary due to us being unfamiliar with it, but if we take our time and that jump of courage, who knows all the things you can accomplish!”
“ That a group of college students with little hands-on experience were able to do something so valuable for a family really speaks to the importance of MDS. I feel these small overlaps in our lives make the connection between us volunteers and those we’re helping that much stronger.”
JAZMIN IBARRA BUSINESS MAJOR
“ After last week and the last few days, I finally understand what it means to be the ‘hands and feet of Christ.’ The work we did for the people of Selma, showing up for Edwin and playing Euchre with him when we had a break, and watching the Reynolds’ have tears in their eyes as they received the key to their house. All of that represents to me what it means to be ‘the hands and feet of Christ.’”
JADEN HARRIS PHYSICS MAJOR
Evelyn Perez and Judith Rangel
“You are the key to hope”
LILY HERRERA BROADCASTING MAJOR
Jaden Harris
“ It reminds me that doing the right thing isn’t about praise—it’s about integrity and staying true to your values, even when no one is watching.”
“First, I want to thank our gracious hosts in Selma, Alabama,” for their first-hand stories and the challenge for us to act to address inequities still present today, to be the ‘key to hope.’ “Each community leader shared a similar message: the tornado that hit didn’t discriminate, but the recovery process does.” “Thank you, MDS leaders for being a quiet, humble example of a model of community development work that I believe actually works toward justice. Placing homeowners at the center, building relationships with local leaders, identifying the strengths of a community and not merely what it lacks—these values feel truly centered on Christ.” “Finally, I want to thank the students. I couldn’t have asked for a more thoughtful, caring, insightful, and inspiring group of humans. On a daily basis they blew me away with their curiosity, their ability to see clearly the connections between our learnings and the present needs of the world, their unflinching strength and honest look at hard things, and their generous, fun-loving spirits.” STORY: JULIE KAUFFMAN WITH EXCERPTS FROM GOSHEN COLLEGE’S BLOG: https://www.goshen.edu/blogs/category/ environmental-disaster-and-response/ PHOTOS: PAUL HUNT, JULIE KAUFFMAN, LILY HERRERA, SUMMER CUATEPOTZO PEREZ
Goshen College students reflect on a transformational service experience in Selma, Alabama, this spring.
EVELYN PEREZ PUBLIC HEALTH MAJOR
“ This summer I am challenging myself to get started on getting involved in my community in whatever ways I can.” LEXIE COBURN ELEMENTARY & SPECIAL EDUCATION MAJOR
For two weeks in May, eleven Goshen College students and two leaders served with MDS as they learned about the richly storied community of Selma, Alabama, and their role in the Civil Rights movement. They combined hands-on repair work of tornado-damaged homes with hearing personal accounts from residents. The immersive course focused on direct environmental disaster impacts on a community with an emphasis on social inequalities and the resources available post-disaster. Goshen College co-leader Hillary Harder described a transformative experience for the group that left her with immense gratitude:
“ I’ve come to see that the people of Selma are the heart and driving force behind progress. They are resilient fighters, whether it is standing up for civil rights or rebuilding after natural disasters that damage homes and lives. It is a place where hope endures.”
JUDITH RANGEL BUSINESS MAJOR
Homeowner Edwin (center) with volunteers who repaired his ceiling: Hillary Harder, Jazmin Ibarra, Lily Herrera, Maik Hinz, Jaden Harris
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“ I have reached a point in my life where all I want to do is make people’s lives better, and being around people that have that same common goal invigorates my spirit. ”
Jacob Dixon
JACOB DIXON ART MAJOR
“ We should change for the better of tomorrow and future generations. We have to open our eyes really wide and notice our world around us and how much color influences our life chances, social mobility and impacts our wellbeing. We are not alone. We are unified. We shall not take things for granted and live in comfort.”
“ I come back finally being able to understand how I can use my gifts. My voice. My soul singing.”
AYSIA ADKINS MUSIC MAJOR
SUMMER CUATEPOTZO PEREZ SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT MAJOR
Summer Cuatepotzo Perez
walls, replaced roofing, and restored not just what was broken physically, but what had been shaken within us. What touched me most was how they carried themselves with humility, compassion and the dignity of people who truly serve not for praise, but for purpose. They never once made us feel like a project. They made us feel like family. For our community, their presence was a light in a dark time. They helped rebuild homes, yes, but they also lifted hearts. Children saw what true love in action looks like. We came to know them not just as helpers, but as disciples of Christ. Their love was not in word only, but in deed and truth. They were the hands and feet of Jesus, reaching into the wreckage and lifting lives. With the heart of saints, they embodied the gospel, not behind a pulpit, but in muddy boots and with calloused hands. Because of them, my family has a home again. But more than that, we have witnessed what it means to serve like Christ with dignity, respect and an unshakeable love. To the Mennonite Disaster Service team: Thank you. You have changed our lives forever. God Bless.
homeowner experience
They made us feel like family
Grace Arrington of Amory, Mississippi, wrote a heartfelt thank you letter in April to all the MDS volunteers she says changed her family’s lives forever. When the storm came through, it took more than shingles from the roof. It ripped through our sense of safety, and the small world we had built over the years. Trees were uprooted, homes were battered, and in many ways, so were spirits. Many families and I stood in disbelief at the damage. We didn’t know how we’d rebuild, not just our home, but our hope. That’s when the Mennonite Disaster Service team arrived. They did not come with loud announcements or flashing lights. They came quietly, with tools in hand and kindness in their hearts. Men and women of all ages, some from nearby, some from states away, stepping in where others had stepped back. They treated us not as victims, but as neighbors. They spoke gently, listened patiently and worked tirelessly. From sunrise to sundown, they cleared debris, repaired
Watch a video of Aysia and her fellow classmates’ life-changing experiences: youtube.com/MDSMennonite
STORY: GRACE ARRINGTON
Aysia Adkins (foreground) and Jacob Dixon at a mural depicting “hope is the key” in Selma, Alabama.
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home her late husband had dreamed and drawn out.
notes from the field
Lynn Cooper
More updates at www.mds.org
NORTH CAROLINA
A local nonprofit, Helping Hands of Juniata County, connected with the Cooper family, then with the Juniata/ Snyder MDS Unit. MDS volunteers have been working on the house every day, and they estimate that Lynn and the children, who have been living in two travel trailers in the yard, will be able to move in by the end of summer.
Children’s choir brings gift of music to hurricane-affected communities
Fifty-eight young people with the Mennonite Children’s Choir of Lancaster embarked on a musical tour from June 11-15, bringing the gift of music and hope to survivors affected by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. The concerts opened with the hymn “Morning Has Broken,” and included Namibian music and choreography. During their tour, the choir saw a bridge built by volunteers through “Bridging Together,” a partnership between MDS and Lutheran Disaster Response, and spoke with homeowners who MDS helped.
KENTUCKY
Volunteers on the ground after tornado
After a mile-wide tornado tore through southern Kentucky on May 16, MDS volunteers from Ohio were engaged in early response, removing damaged trees and debris in the London and Somerset communities. MDS Regional Board Chair Rollin Ulrich traveled to the area on May 23 to assess damages. He has been working with the Kentucky Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster to ensure early response volunteers have safe places to work and to stay. The volunteers reported that chainsaw work removing trees was the current focus. The Western Ohio MDS Unit was also reaching out to respond as more damage assessment becomes available.
Chris Cooper’s boot prints pressed into the concrete porch.
PHOTOS: NIKKI HAMM GWALA, MDS VOLUNTEERS
PENNSYLVANIA
Homeowners Nikiah & Cleann Coghlan in Lytton, B.C.
Not just a home—but a father’s heart
MENDED: A STORY OF HOPE MDS Children’s Book available to order online at mds.org/books
At first you don’t see the bootprints gently pressed into the concrete porch in front of the 1904-era home in Port Royal, Pennsylvania. But they tell the story of a place that holds the heart of a father whose children don’t want to live anywhere else. On March 15, 2024, Chris Cooper left on a Friday evening to go night fishing on the Juniata River with his 15-year- old son, Chase, and two friends. In a tragic boating accident, Chris lost his life saving Chase, who has autism that affects him both mentally and physically. Chris Cooper also left behind his wife of 17 years, Lynn, and two other children, 13-year-old Lexie and 19-year-old Mason. Lynn and Chris had bought the house in 2010 as a “forever” home to raise the kids. They knew they had a lot of work to do to make it structurally sound. Last summer, after becoming financially stable, they were just about to take out a loan to make major structural repairs to the home. But when Chris passed away, Lynn, who works a part-time schedule to care for Chase, did not have the means to continue the plans for the
BRITISH COLUMBIA
MANITOBA
ONTARIO
Help and hope after the limelight fades
Wildfires cause massive evacuation of rural and northern communities
Flooding, wind, fire and ice
MDS volunteers responded to wildfires in the Shuswap region and village of Lytton for the second consecutive year. Both responses ran April through June and consisted of one-house builds. In Lytton, the Coghlans will move into a new house four years after wildfire destroyed their family home. While there were delays to rebuilding in their community—like toxic ash removal, updates to the local building code and an archeological surveying requirement—Cleann Coghlan felt that this timing was perfect for her family, noting that she and husband Nikiah now have the mental space needed to process their losses and rebuild. Nikiah has worked alongside MDS volunteers daily to build his family’s new two- bedroom home.
The Ontario Unit is responding to a wide range of elements this year. MDS volunteers built an elevated home for a couple in Constance Bay, where three floods in seven years rendered their home unlivable. In late March, local volunteers cleared trees and debris off roads and personal properties after an ice storm affected thousands in central and eastern Ontario. And this summer, the unit repairs a fire-damaged home for three brothers in Orillia.
After the Government of Manitoba called a state of emergency over wildfires in late May, MDS partnered to service a Canadian Red Cross reception center in Winnipeg. Volunteers welcomed thousands of evacuees to the center, directing them to sleeping accommodations, and distributing food and essential hygiene supplies round- the-clock. Jerry and Doreen Klassen, seasoned MDS volunteers from Kelowna, British Columbia, came out of “retirement” eight years later to direct MDS’ response at the reception center. The assignment was different than any other the couple had taken on. Jerry and Doreen were quick to observe the uncertainties and frustrations present for many who felt uprooted from their homes and communities. “It’s been rewarding to… stand alongside [the evacuees],” said Jerry.
Did you purchase Mended at MDS Annual Celebration? After the book was released, it was discovered that there was missing text on several pages. To get your corrected replacement copy, contact Rebecca White at rwhite@mds.org or 717-735-3536 ext. 114. Also let us know if your copy was signed by the authors.
SAVE THE DATE 2026 MDS ANNUAL CELEBRATION THEME: Working Together DATE: Feb 27–28, 2026 LOCATION: New Holland, PA at Riehl’s Construction
Constance Bay, Ontario, homeowners Jeanne Gauthier & Steve MacKenzie
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VOLUNTEER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
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