Humbling

William and Mary Norton evacuated their Breezy Point home last year during Hurricane Irene. Since Irene was not as bad as had been predicted, and since William was recovering from a health condition, the couple decided not to heed mandatory evacuation orders as Sandy approached. Their one-story home sits 3-4 feet above the ground, half a mile from the beach. The storm surge coupled with a full moon high tide brought water to their deck, up the stairs, and into their home. As the two 88 year-olds piled clothing on their bed, the storm waters rose to their waists. They spent dark and cold evening huddled on their bed without power, water, heat, or cell service. In the morning their neighbors rescued them with a borrowed sailboat. (http://tinyurl.com/cmnq4yl).

This morning I tore out their bathroom.

I volunteered with the Mormon Helping Hands in Rockaway and was assigned the Breezy Point area. The experience was incredible.

We took two subways out to a chapel in Brooklyn, then boarded a bus out to Rockaway, then another bus out to Breezy Point. There are many volunteers in the area, but the people there could use many more. Most houses are being gutted or have been condemned. The area is in a district, not a stake, so it is under the direction of the New York, NY South Mission and its mission president. The mission president (a full-time leader) has mobilized his considerable manpower (150+ missionaries) to assist in the clean up efforts. The missionaries are not currently teaching or tracting, instead they spend every day in the hardest hit areas, performing service and coordinating service efforts. Members from the Manhattan stake have been encouraged to perform service on Saturdays and Sundays. There is an abbreviated sacrament service at the Brooklyn chapel on Sundays that is attended by members in work clothes, so that they can immediately board buses to get to work.