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Church cleans up after Columbus flood
College Wesleyan Church sent a ten-person work crew to help with rehabilitating houses damaged by 11 inches of rain that flooded Columbus, Indiana, June 7.
Missions pastor, Jim Vermilya, organized the work project. Additional work days are scheduled for July 12 and 26.
Call the church at 674-8541 if you would like to help on either date.
Report from Chronicle-Tribune
By AJ Colley
Published: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 1:16 AM EDT
COLUMBUS — The devastation created by flood waters in Southern Indiana was worse than Rhonda Patterson expected.
She didn't realize residents had a 7-foot wall of water rushing toward them.
She didn't realize residents had only 10 to 15 minutes to escape.
"One minute they're in their homes having plans for dinner or the weekend, the next minute everything in their life was totally different,” Patterson said.
Patterson was one of a group from College Wesleyan Church in Marion who helped clean out and repair three houses in Columbus Saturday. They plan to return to the area July 12 and July 26 to offer more help.
The group's tasks included cleaning out mold, tearing down walls and installing new drywall.
Patterson handled a lot of mud and mold.
"There was so much mud on these people's personal items,” she said. "… Everything that they owned had about a fourth of an inch of mud all over it.”
At one home, several people said a woman continually said how grateful she was for the group to be there. Patterson said it's hard to imagine how appreciative the people are until you can see it for yourself by helping.
"The relief on their face is amazing,” she said. "… It just kind of amazed me that these people (who) had everything destroyed could look so happy.”
Emily Vermilya, worship arts director, said the church's outreach committee had been looking for more local ways to get involved. The pastor from Flintwood Wesleyan Church in Columbus sent out a mass e-mail asking various Wesleyan churches for their help.
"We had a pretty big response right away,” Vermilya said.
One of the homes the group worked on belonged to a disc jockey from Columbus. Because his main living area was in a basement, he couldn't receive relief money through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Vermilya said the man and his son were in the house all day. The local pastor told the man before the group went down that they would be there to help him, she said.
"He just broke down and cried and said he didn't understand why perfect strangers would come and help like that,” Vermilya said.
Ben Westfall, technical director at College Wesleyan, said he decided to go because he had experience installing drywall, and because he'd wish for the same type of help if he were in the situation.
"We're just always up for community involvement and community relief,” he said.
What particularly struck him were stacks of people's discarded belongings throughout the area, destroyed by water, mud and mold.
"There's just piles of stuff everywhere,” he said.
The group spent about 10 hours in Columbus, but it was enough to make some change, Westfall said.
"You could tell by the looks on their faces that we definitely made an impact there,” he said.
With at least two more trips planned for the church, Vermilya said they made progress but there's more to do.
"You knock out just a little piece, and there's still a lot to be done,” she said.
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