HAYTI – Friday, Oct. 13, had been a long-awaited day for Tom Malott, a Missouri Baptist Relief volunteer from Doniphan, Mo. It was the day he could hand over the keys to two newly constructed homes in Hayti, Mo., that he and numerous MODR volunteers have been in the process of building through a partnership with the Red Cross since this past February.
Actually, Malott and others have been working in Hayti for nearly two years, following an EF4 tornado that hit the area on Dec. 10, 2021. It started with chainsaw teams and cleanup of debris, followed by numerous home repairs. However, when two homeowners, who didn’t have any insurance, lost their homes, MODR felt compelled to build them a new home from the ground up.
“We’ve never done anything like this before,” said Malott, who served as the construction coordinator. “God gave us nine good days that allowed teams to pour concrete on the original, cleaned homesites this past February, and we’ve had teams working on the two houses ever since. So, it was a real blessing to take part in the home dedication and to finally hand the keys over to the owners.”
Of course, the new homeowners were even more excited than Malott. “I absolutely love the house,” said Penny Cook, one of the recipients of MODR’s efforts. “We have been out of our own house for nearly two years,” she added, noting that her adult daughter is temporarily living with her, as well as a handicapped son. “It’s beyond what I ever imagined.”
As Malott explained, the two houses are located just over five miles apart, illustrating the immense size of the tornado. While Penny’s house is around 1,500 square feet in size, the other home built for Eddie Brown, a 61-year-old single veteran, is around 900 square feet in size.
“All told, we had nearly 100 volunteers assist during the course of the construction,” Malott added. “However, we had a number of people come to help several times, including one couple and another volunteer who had to drive 330 miles and 100 miles, respectively, just to get here. I don’t have the exact figures, but I figured we had around 3,000 man-hours or more invested in the project, as well as around 100 hours of time on equipment.”
Malott added that the houses not only included new appliances and a carport, but that they even came with a new lawnmower to keep up the yard.
“We wanted their lives to be as settled as possible when they moved in,” he said. “We didn’t cut corners, but we also made sure we got the best deal on the necessary items and materials, he added, expressing appreciation for all the companies and individuals who donated materials and financial aid. “I tried to make good decisions and even shopped at four different lumber yards to find the best price.
“They say it takes a professional homebuilding crew of four working 40 hours a week around 92 days to build a new house of this size,” he added. “We built two homes with trained and untrained volunteers in just eight months. So, I don’t think we did too bad,” he grinned.
“I thought the whole project went very well,” said Gaylon Moss, Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief director. “It’s obvious that God was in it from the very beginning; and I know that the home recipients were very grateful.
“We had a good group on hand at the dedication, including representatives from the Red Cross and the local television station,” he added. “In addition to the ribbon cutting and presentation of the keys to the owners, we also recognized some of the MODR volunteers who had poured their lives into the project with plaques and certificates of appreciation.”
Penny concluded, “Who would have thought that 22 months after the tornado destroyed our old home that we would be moving into something like this? Words cannot express what I feel and how grateful I am, and I know Eddie feels the same way about his home.”
However, just because the homes are finished doesn’t mean that Malott is done making trips to Hayti. He is now working with a local sub-contractor to install below-ground storm shelters in the Hayti community. They hope to be finished with that project by the end of the year.
To donate to Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief or to help support projects such as this, go to modr.org/give or mail your donation to: Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief, 400 E. High St., Jefferson City, MO 65101.