Spencer, Iowa - July 2024

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. - Ephesians 4:29

In June, places in Southwest Minnesota, Eastern Nebraska and Northwestern Iowa received a large amount of rain, high above average. With all of the extra rain, some leaves broke and caused flooding where it wasn’t expected. When the town of Spencer was flooded, a sewage treatment was flooded and this caused sewage back up. Those who were not flooded by water had sewage come up into their homes through drains, mainly in basements. 2,500 homes were damaged and 1,000 are beyond repair. This flooding has been compared to the flooding caused by Hurricane Hugo and Katrina.

We were there for a week, and there is still so much more to be done. Ryan lead a crew that helped homeowners pump out mostly sewage water from their basements, then scoop it out and take out everything that had been in it down to the studs. That includes all the furniture, clothes, carpet, drywall, and insulation. At one house, it took three full dump trucks and about a quarter of another dump truck to haul away what Ryan’s crew had taken out. After the crews finished mucking a house out, another crew came by with fans and dehumidifiers to reduce the risk of mold.

Sarah lead the laundry crew and faculties. Anytime Eight Days of Hope responds to a disaster, we offer free laundry to the community. A couple of homeowners dropped off some laundry. One homeowner was a mom of 2 kids with a job, and most of their clothes were in sewage water. What the laundry crew decided to do was to do a prewash with buckets, hot water and vinegar. When it was in the wash, it got extra detergent, hot water, and more vinegar. After 50 loads, all of the laundry was done, and you may think that is a lot. However, this was most, if not all, of their clothes and linens. It took a huge burden off of the homeowner, and it was a blessing to do so. Just think of how many ways we can impact someone- even if it is not directly!