Church members go to Mississippi to help repair homes

Since the 1990’s there have been volunteer groups coming each year, originally from North Dakota, and now southwest Minnesota, to repair homes in the city of Greenville, Miss. Greenville is located in northwest Mississippi with a population of 25,000.
A group of about 20 Lutheran and Methodist churches have raised funds and provided the volunteer work crew members to do the projects,  
Paul Huls, who operates a construction company in Jeffers, Minn., has been coming for 15 years and this was his 20th trip. He also came down for a week in November, with three others to insulate the “bunk house” exterior walls and do some electrical wiring and plumbing. He coordinates the work projects with a church member from Greenville and lines up the necessary equipment and construction material planning throughout the year that will be used while working on the job sites.
Volunteers head to Mississippi
On Feb. 18, six volunteers from southwest Minnesota made the 1,000 mile trip to Greenville.  
This was just after the snow and ice storm hit this area. They said the travel from Pine Bluff, Ark. took three times as long as normal to drive as the road only had tire track lanes because of the thick ice. 
The store shelves were cleaned out of bread and other groceries when they got closer to the community;   the temps had gotten down to five degrees at night and the cold temperature is something they had not seen before continuing for several days.
Water pipes were frozen so the only thing they could do was to catch water running off the steel roof when it warmed up to be able to use the toilets. They also were able to purchase some bottled water for drinking and cooking but that was also in limited supply.   
When Pastor Mike Stangeland and I came the evening of Feb. 22, we received a call and were told we should pick up some bread, etc. as it was in short supply. We stopped about 100 miles from our destination to pick up a few items. 
A gas station a half-hour away from Greenville had a Subway connected to the station but they were out of bread so they couldn’t make sandwiches. We stopped by another fast food place but they were also out of some of their regular items. 
The roads had cleared off pretty well by the time we arrived that evening. The temperature had improved so most of the snow and ice had melted except in the shady areas beside the buildings.
This year’s project was working on the “bunk house” that will be used for future volunteers to stay when the interior rebuilding is completed. This house rebuilding was started two years ago, when it was stripped down to the bare wall studs, and is located next to the church and living area in the gym sections. 
The early crew had worked on the roof soffits and had starting to put sheet rock on the 10 ft. ceilings.   Later that week four others arrived, while three returned to Minnesota, and the wiring and sheet rock and interior room wall insulation work continued on for the next days as four more volunteers came over the weekend.
The remaining group of nine volunteers that was still there when we left on March 1st to return home arrived back in Minnesota March 7 as they completed the work they had scheduled.
 
The Kasson Connection
There is a Kasson connection as Cindy Herbst’s brothers have helped with the work. Bruce Mathiason, a recently retired dentist who did a lot of the electrical and plumbing work, has been coming for 10 years along with his wife, Thea, who has been coming a couple of years less. Glen Mathiason and his son Paul Mathiason, Sioux Falls, have also come several times.  
Bruce said their mother, Gladys Mathiason, really enjoyed coming for several years as she liked to work on painting projects. When she was in her 80’s, while painting from a ladder, a couple of guys came by and told her she shouldn’t be doing that as they would take over for her. She told them since they were wearing nice coats they should turn them inside out so if they got any paint on them it wouldn’t be visible.
The work project was started a couple of weeks later last year as the day we left for home, the middle of March, 2020, was when the COVID-19 news was just starting to be talked about on TV.  
It was decided that perhaps church services back at their home congregations in Minnesota should not be held. We thought that was kind of strange so perhaps we should not also have it in Mississippi and the local pastor was also surprised. 
The Methodist church in Greenville did not have an in-person church service again until February 28 when it was also broadcast live to church members back in Minnesota as white out conditions had canceled their services that morning. Minnesota folks got a chance to watch Pastor Johnny Davis give his sermon and as there is a slight difference in our accents so we just needed to listen closer!
Sixteen volunteers came from Jeffers, Walnut Grove, Westbrook, Lamberton, Mankato, Fairfax, Kasson, Sioux Falls, S.D. plus Osceola, Neb.
All volunteer effort
Volunteers bring their tools, air mattresses and sleeping bags and pay their own expenses. Lisa Krumwiede has been coming for five years and prepares the three meals each day with the help of others and everyone eats very well.
A North Dakota resident, who had been a volunteer several years ago, continues his contribution each year and sent 98 dozen chocolate chip cookies for the group. Some of those cookies are shared with the lumber yard staff and so are appreciated when the necessary building supplies are being picked up or delivered to the project site. A group of North Dakota church quilters were really disappointed this year as they were unable to make the quilts they have sent them along each year.
It did seem strange as the temperature rose to 70 degrees one day and the mosquitoes quickly came out in full attack force and the dandelions appeared where just a few days earlier the grass areas were covered with ice and snow!
The comment has been made many times of why don’t you work on projects back in your local area as there are also needs closer to home. That has been done, but it is harder to get people to take the time to fit their schedules in comparison to the commitment of being a long way from their home. The statement mentioned to volunteers is the first time you come as a “visitor” but after that you are “family”!