Joplin-Reconstruction

Below are our first two blog posts!

Sunday:
We rolled out smoothly this morning after a lovely breakfast of blueberry pancakes provided by Miss Emily (thank you!!). We made a detour to Lambert's for lunch had some throwed rolls, fried okra, and giant drinks. We were also saddened to find out that they only sell their "Hot Buns" shorts in summer… LAME. Some food-baby naps were taken as Ryan and Nick drove south and we arrived in Joplin in no time. Nice man Dave let us into the Family Life Center of the First Baptist Church of Joplin and we were pleasantly surprised by their lovely facilities! We unloaded and made camp and headed to Walmart to get our provisions for the next few days. The 'Ninja' Game was played to break the ice and I failed miserably. Pancakes are being made for some "brinner" and showers, late-night yoga and SLEEP are on the agenda for the rest of the evening. We have to be at our site for orientation at 7:30 in the A.M… Let's go, Joplin, MO!

Monday:
The day started with a 6:30am wake up call and a speedy breakfast. We had orientation at 7:30am with Rebuild Joplin where we were informed of stories and logistics of the tornado. After that we were assigned to volunteer to rebuild an older gentleman's house that had no insurance yet at the time found it more important to help his neighbors through this tragic event. As we arrived at the site unknowing what we were in for, the three AmeriCorp leaders put us right to work where we began sanding and mudding the dry wall. The most thrilling task assigned was painting the exterior second story house. Jay had the most challenging opportunity to balance on a single two by four while painting the side of this house, thankfully his acrobatic skills paid off and no one was injured! The smelliest part of the day was surprisingly not "the hygiene" but the lovely stench coming from the nearby port-o-potty or better known as the "Hillbilly Outhouse." The most rewarding part of the day was being able to sit down with the owner of the house, Dan, as he shared his personal stories of the disaster. For example, the most devastating one came from a Pizza Hut around the corner. As the tornado was coming the manager escorted all employees and customers into the back freezer, as he attempted to tie down the doorknob with his belt he was forcefully swept up by the tornadoes strong winds. Sadly he did not survive however this story really put in perspective how many average citizens became heroes that day. It's only been the second day here yet the impact of this tornado has already made our time here worthwhile and shown us how important community involvement truly is.