Fackrell’s And John & Gen Grant

These sweet families across from the Dunkley’s had a huge mess, too.

Grant’s:  Everyday I would drive by, there would be so many people in their yard trying to wash off and save whatever they could.  This Monday things had been pretty quiet.  Gen was there with her mom when kind Randolyn Peine came to her door to offer some help.  With so much stuff still piled in the front yard on tables that needed to be cleaned, I knew that Randolyn’s act of service was a big deal that day.  I was so appreciative of all the help I saw there washing and spraying and helping clean things up.  There have been so many.

Here are a couple of pictures.  This is the second day and they haven’t even started getting all the stuff out to wash off at the Grant’s house yet.  You can see the bikes and things in the garage…there’s mud still there and in the driveway.  Later that day, people started clearing things out and power washing them all down.

Here you can see a shot down the street– Grant’s and Fackrell’s on the right.  Notice all the people in the Grant’s yard washing things off.

Fackrell’s– They have a unique story, too.  They left on a mission just a few weeks before the flood.  They packed up everything they own and put it in their basement so they could rent the top half out while they were gone.   They had actually left the MTC and drove to their mission that very week.  As I said, EVERYTHING they owned was in the basement.  Their whole life.

People began unloading things from their basement.  I know my son and his friends were among the high schooler’s that came on Day 2 and helped unload their entire basement.  On Saturday, I stopped by to take ice water to those helping in the yard.  As I went into the back yard, I was surprised at how many people were there and how nice the yard was looking.  The Fackrell’s daughter-in-law, Kylie, happened to be in my old ward while she was growing up and is the same age as my oldest son.  I went to give her a hug.  She was putting treats and drinks out for those helping.  She said she was just spent trying to do all the work and needed a break.  Being able to serve someone else seemed to lift her burden.  She said it was very emotional going through all their belongings and having to throw away so much.  However, one bright spot was that a friend, Greg Bartholomew, had taken all their scrapbooks and photos to his class at the Archive Department at the college.  That would give them a great opportunity to put some of their teaching into practice.

It’s just amazing (I know I keep using that word) to see where and how all this help and these tender mercies come from.  So. Many. Angels.