Hurricane Michael Relief

Hurricane Michael hit the panhandle of Florida in September 2018. It hit the hardest in the Panama City area, especially places like Mexico Beach. It was a big wake up call to Aaron and I as we learned how devastating a hurricane can be. We lived through Irma the year before but it did not seem to do nearly the amount of damage that Michael did. 

We were asked to come and assist with the clean up effort. So the first weekend
after the storm, Aaron, Jaxon and I drove the 5 hours to Panama City where we
would stay for 2 days and 2 nights.

We learned that deciding to load up our gas cans in Tallahassee, which was on the way, was not a good idea. Everything that was about a 2 hour radius from Panama City was affected. We had to wait in a huge line for gas. The car ahead of us was really loading up!

Example of a long line of cars waiting for gas. Fortunately we did not have to wait in that line!

This is the steeple that had come off the roof at the stake center where we served in Panama City.

When we arrived at the stake center, we quickly found a spot to put our tents up. We chose this little  spot of grass in the middle of the parking lot so we could be near our truck.

We realized that the poles were lost somewhere on the Mount Jarai in Malaysia so we used a broom to keep our tent up.  Jaxon's was the tent next to us and he was just fine....even though he is the one that lost the poles! ha ha ha

By the end of the day the parking lot area looked like this. 

Filled with lots of volunteers!

After we were settled in, it was time to get to work!

Michael Lavoie was showing us a map of the area on his computer.
We had generators to help keep our equipment running.

A little break while waiting for the semi trucks filled with supplies.

President Fish, as steward over the Panama City area, was going through large stacks of pages to help decide what households we should try and help first. Some areas were hit harder and we wanted to make sure that the
members of the church were okay.

A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT!

This photo was taken perhaps around 11pm-midnight. We had to unload all of the supplies to
be ready to hand out the next morning to hundreds of volunteers.

Jaxon was in the truck, helping unload.

After unloading the truck it was time for a team captains meeting
for anyone who had already arrived.

Food that would be distributed to needy families.

My job was to assign work orders to teams as they signed in. This was not an easy task!
You had to assess first of all the kind of work that they could do and what kind of equipment they had. Jobs basically consisted of tree removal, tarping roofs and mucking out the mold and water damaged items that were inside some homes.

The hotline was provided through Crisis Cleanup. This is a service for everyone. My teams job (who was running the command center) was to assign work crews to check on our LDS members, as well as to check on First responders and those who had signed up on the hotline that they were in need. A major undertaking that extended over several months.

Here is a First Responder registering at our command center.
We also put them as first priority in our stack of endless work orders.

A sample of work orders that I was filtering through.

A crew receiving some work orders from President Marsh.

I love this picture because this worker (center) had no right hand. What an inspiration!

Sunday service was a short sacrament meeting before crews went out on the last day before heading back to their own homes and livelihoods. This meeting was one of those that I will never forget. The spirit I felt was just overwhelming with love for these kind strangers who came to help. That even though we did not know each other, we felt the brother and sisterhood as we had one common purpose for being there. I also felt the love of our Heavenly Father and knowing that he was proud of our efforts to help ALL of HIS children. I also felt love for the people of Florida and knowing the tragedy that they were facing and hoping that peace would come quickly to their lives. It was such a mixture of so many intense feelings. I felt privileged to be there to witness it myself.

The following week Aaron and I returned to Panama City but this time served in the Callaway area and opened a new command center under the leadership of President Marsh. I felt his weight of responsibility and hoped to make his job easier but I have to admit, it is not easy when you are dealing with lots of different needs, resources, personalities etc... I think that being in a work crew is much easier!

Aaron helped with the supply chain as well as get the chapel ready for services the next day with Elder Oaks.
No one works harder than this man. Gosh I love him!!!

Some examples of devastation just around the church building.

Yep, this picture of Pres. Marsh says it all!

The home owner in this picture was actually living in his tent and the tv was hooked up from his generator. 

This picture is actually quit funny... the garage door says, Stay out- Shot on Sight! And then there is a Mormon Helping Hands crew eating their lunch on their front porch area. I guess the yellow shirts softened this home owners heart :)

We had tons of food to give out and so we put together these food kits. 

You can see the filled boxes in the brown boxes on the right.

Work is so much more enjoyable when you can do it with friends!

I learned that Michelle is a beast when it comes to common center responsibilities!