JEFFERSON CITY (MODR) – There’s an old saying that “many hands make light work.” The idea is that a large task is generally made easier by many hands shouldering the same burden. Consequently, the 12 extra set of hands provided by the 2024 Missouri Baptist Collegiate Disaster Relief team have been invaluable this year, even if the load hasn’t always been light.
“We started right after Memorial Day with 13 students,” said Aaron Werner, leader of the collegiate team and Missouri Baptist Collegiate Disaster Relief coordinator. “Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, one of the students had to drop out, leaving us with 12 members of the team, which is still double what we had last year. Due to all the storms and tornadoes the Midwest has already experienced, we knew it was going to be a busy summer; so, we jumped into chainsaw and assessor training right away.”
In fact, the team had done little more than finish orientation and the first round of training before they headed to Sikeston, Mo., where an EF-3 tornado caused significant damage to trees and homes. Werner said the collegiate teams completed 27 chainsaw jobs in about four days as part of that callout.
“The students also did training on mass feeding while in Sikeston, including some experience with the QRU (Quick Response Feeding Unit) and helped feed the other volunteers,” he added. “From there, we went over to Doniphan, Missouri, where we helped with more chainsaw work,” he continued, noting that the trees that were down in the Doniphan area were actually larger than those around Sikeston.
“From Doniphan, we went back to Jefferson City for a few days to regroup and then went to St. Louis for flood recovery training and to help with the rebuild project managed by Dan Freeze. That project involved putting up sheet rock, painting, etc. to rebuild houses damaged in the flood in 2022.”
Werner said the team even got in on some flood recovery work at the church where they were staying. It seems that the building experienced some water damage during their stay, so they ended up tearing out some drywall, spraying Shockwave for mold, and prepping the building for repairs.
Of the 12 student interns this year, nine of them are from Missouri, while three are from the states of Arkansas, South Carolina and Washington. The latter is home for John Johnson, who learned that the Missouri Baptist Convention is the only one that offers a summer DR intern program.
“I grew up in Issaguah, Washington, which is just east of Seattle,” he explained, “but I’m currently going to college at California Baptist University in Riverside, California. It was one of my professors that helped me get here by putting me in touch with the state director for Baptist Disaster Relief in California. He was the one who then put me in touch with Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief.
“I’m loving it,” he exclaimed. “I’ve done maintenance work before, but this is so much more fulfilling. You never go to sleep questioning whether you made a difference in somebody’s life that day.”
Johnson admitted that he has enjoyed chainsaw work the most but said that “anything that helps people” is high on his list, as well. In the meantime, he’s hoping that his summer with MODR will help him determine a course for his own life. Even though he is majoring in Applied Theology, he’s still not sure what his ultimate goal is after graduation. He just knows he wants to help people and spread the gospel.
You might say Julia Curley has similar goals. A collegiate intern from Lake of the Ozarks, Mo., Julie is majoring in nursing at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo. However, it was while attending the Missouri Baptist Collegiate Conference that she learned about the MODR Collegiate Intern program.
“We’ve been going at a fast pace since we started,” she related, “but I’ve liked that we’re keeping busy and helping so many people. And I’ve learned so many things in the process. I’ve worked a little bit with mass feeding before, but never actually had that much experience cooking the meals. I’ve also enjoyed doing chainsaw work and have already used both chainsaws and pole saws,” she added.
On the other hand, Julia says she has learned even more new skills while working on the rebuild projects in St. Louis. “With chainsaw, you do a lot of cutting and dragging, but I’ve learned so much more with rebuild. I’ve learned how to cut and install drywall, how to mud the joints, how to sand, paint and so much more. So, it’s been really fun.”
Due to all the early callouts, though, Werner says the team has only been able to complete training in four areas — chainsaw, flood recovery, assessing and mass feeding — which means there’s even more to learn.
In the meantime, the 12 extra pair of hands have helped lighten the load for all the MODR volunteers who have been working hard since this past spring.
To donate to Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief or to help support the collegiate intern program, go to modr.org/give or mail your donation to: Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief, 400 E. High St., Jefferson City, MO 65101.