While I was working at Mystery, an older (70's or so) couple walked in. They explained a volunteer team had come to their home, yet they needed more help. I talked with them for a bit asking exactly what needed to be done; if anything was salvageable, did they want to be there, etc. As they talked the wife would quickly go from anger to tears and back. We worked it out so that the super debris removal team of Journey and Life Connection folks would meet the Watson's at their home the next afternoon, after they finished at Mr. MacDonald's.
Sure enough, the next day our team met the Watson's at their home. Soon I got a call from one of The Journey team members saying they locked the keys in the car and asked if I could call AAA for them.
*Not to self: if you tell AAA that you are working in the middle of a disaster area, you get moved to the top of the list.
After calling, I grabbed some supplies (their's were locked in the car) and headed to the Watson's. I was surprised what I saw. While their home was completely destroyed, they had a walk out basement that wasn't damaged or flooded. The team was slowly getting the large appliances (furnace, a/c, deep freezer) out of the house when I walked in. I smiled at Mr. Watson and exclaimed "there is so much here you can save!" He quickly replied "NO, IT'S ALL RUINED!" I did a quick scan and pointed to a sealed barrel and said "I bet whatever's in here is still good! Do you want to open it?" He came over and said "sure, I don't even know what's in there." We opened it to find his sons old, ratty golf bag; he didn't want it and asked if I did. Of course I didn't, nor was I going to take anything of his. This became a common theme throughout the day. They both were convinced we were just there to go through their stuff and pick what we wanted.
Before I left I pulled the three Journey team members to the side and said I thought they needed to stay. I explained that this was going to be completely different day then yesterday. The day before was all about getting dirty and getting a lot done. Today was going to be about loving the Watson's. Giving them space. Letting them process at their speed, but being there throughout the day. I told them that it was going to be long and probably frustrating, but I felt like God wanted them to be there for the Watson's. They completely agreed and hung around.
They stayed the entire rest of the day. They were able to win the trust of Mr and Mrs. Watson. As they stood in the slightly cleaner basement at the end of the day Mr. Watson looked at the volunteers and told them "Why are you are acting like I'm the only person in Joplin right now?" One of the volunteers replied "because to us, you are." He smiled and replied "Whatever blessings God has for you I pray that he doubles them."
Before leaving the Watson's everyone gathered in the basement. One of the volunteers asked Mrs. Watson one final time "What's one thing that you've not been able to find?" Through tears she said "my momma's opal necklace. I've searched and searched for it and it's not here." With that the team prayed over and for them both. Mrs. Watson opened her eyes and between her feet was her momma's opal necklace.
It's been a privilege to be apart of the work God is doing in Joplin. Every single day I had a front row seat to what God was doing through the people of Joplin and the teams that came to serve. No life was left unchanged. It's been estimated that Joplin will need 900 volunteers a day for the next 5 years! That's 1.64 million people! You can be one of those; someone that God uses to not only rebuild a city, but bring God's restoration into the lives of those in Joplin.
To volunteer with Mission Joplin check out the website here.
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