Rebekah Scott and her siblings enjoyed playing and going fishing with volunteers during their visit to Lancaster County.
Each day of construction on their house, Rebekah and her family left messages of encouragement on the windows for volunteers to see in the morning.
A life-changing gift of angels
home, which was dedicated in March 2023. The week that the second wave of volunteers arrived at the Scott’s, Amber’s husband, Joe, was recovering from the effects of his last cancer treatments, and Amber, a teacher, was working every day. Both were caring for their children, ages 16, 13, and 10. “They showed our children what hard work and fundamental qualities of character can do for you,” said Amber. “It was life-changing.” “They rebuilt our whole home out of the goodness of their hearts,” said Joe Scott, who had to give up his business because of his health. And they did it in five days, he added. As he told this story over dinner—after his first time on an airplane—he said coming to visit the MDS volunteers was one of the only reasons he’d Lancaster County volunteers repaired the Scott family’s home .
Good food and warmed hearts. This MDS tradition was taken to new depths when the Scott family from North Port, Florida, traveled to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to visit the volunteers who rebuilt their home after Hurricane Ian pummeled
The Scott family from Florida visits volunteers in Pennsylvania who rebuilt their home
it nearly into the ground in September 2022. The gathering at Ezra and Barbie Byler’s family farm in June felt like a family reunion to the Scott family and volunteers alike. Over a catfish and onion blossom dinner, Amber Scott explained how her family formed such a close bond with MDS volunteers. “The connections made were because of the quality of the people who stepped onto our property,” she said. The first time, Ezra Byler went to southwest Florida as part of an MDS Early Response Team to remove downed trees. He recalled “it looked like a war zone at the Scott’s place. We were happy to help them.” Later he returned with 25 young people from his community to repair the Scott’s
fly. “I’m way out of my comfort zone and here I am in Pennsylvania,” he said. “It’s just beautiful.” Joe also shared how hard it was to accept help at first.
12 behind the hammer
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