Mennonite volunteers help tornado victims

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- As you meander down the gravel road that hugs the banks of the Current River, the trees clear for a moment and a building begins to take shape in the distance.

In a scene reminiscent of an old-fashioned barn-raising, men perched on the pitched roof and others on unfinished plywood floors raise the walls a piece at a time, using only ropes and their own might.

The sounds -- hammers clanging against steel, shouted instructions, laughter -- mingle with the wind catching in trees and the putter of an occasional boat motoring by on the river.

"This is in response to the April 24 tornado. We've simply been helping those that may not have had insurance coverage or who have not been able to put their house or their life back together," said Arlin Miller, deacon of the Grandin Mennonite Church, as he paused from his work.

"It's an opportunity we have to touch people's lives, to show them we care, to show them the love of Christ in action."

Miller and other members of the Grandin congregation pitched in this week to help Van Buren resident Robert Jackson build a new home.

In April, the tornado tore the roof off Jackson's mobile home as it ripped through Carter County.

Flooding followed twisterThen, the Current River spilled onto his property during the May floods, taking his lawnmowers and some other belongings, although it did not actually reach the storm-damaged trailer.

Since that time, Jackson, his girlfriend and six children have been on what he calls an "extended camping trip," sleeping in tents or other buildings on the property.

They still use the trailer, which has a ceiling but no roof, to sleep in if it's not raining.

They have electricity and running water, and there's also a screened-in, roofed building on the property. Still, Jackson wants them in a more permanent shelter before winter.

That's where the Carter County Disaster Recovery Coalition came in.

"Our committee provided the impetus to get the free labor here," said Gene Oakley, chairman of the coalition.

When the storm hit, Jackson had no insurance.

Members of the coalition, which formed within days of the tornado to help Carter County's disaster victims with unmet needs, took representatives from the state's Mennonite Disaster Service Committee on a tour of the hardest-hit areas almost two weeks ago. The Mennonite committee then decided which projects its volunteers would help with.