“It’s really beautiful what they did.”
– EDITH BALL, HOMEOWNER CAPE BRETON ISLAND
Homeowner Edith Ball
Youth are answer to prayer
When John Peters, principal of the Old Colony Christian School in Charing Cross, Ontario, heard MDS Canada needed volunteers in Nova Scotia for clean-up work after Hurricane Fiona, he right away thought of his students. “I thought it would be a great opportunity for them to see more of the country and help others,” said Peters. “They could learn history, geography and Bible and do service at the same time.” Five out of the 22 high school students at the small school volunteered to go. Together with Peters, a total of nine people made the trip from the school to Glace Bay on Cape Breton Island the last week of October. Once there, the group worked to remove cut up trees. “Two chainsaw
Colony youth and adults from the nearby Aylmer, Ontario area were there at the same time. “It was hard work, but fulfilling. The people we helped were so grateful.” One person they helped was 83-year-old Edith Ball. Several large trees came down on the retired hairdresser’s yard. “The storm was wild,” she said as she watched students carrying away the trees. “Along with blowing down the trees, it took some siding off my house.” Ball, whose husband died a year ago, appreciated the help. “It’s really beautiful what they did,” she said, adding she was glad the trees didn’t land on her house. “They are all so nice.” For Peters, words like that are humbling. “We just wanted to help people, think of others and not just of ourselves,” he said. It was also a way to be a witness, he added. “As Christians, our actions can speak louder than words.” One thing Peters heard several times was that people were praying for someone to come and help them. “It’s amazing to realize we were the answer to those prayers,” he said. — John Longhurst
crews cut up the downed trees and we hauled them to the curb,” said Peters, noting another group of Old
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behind the hammer
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