They came to do urban ministry -- but a group of Westwood teens ended up knee-deep in mud and flood debris and going door-to-door offering help in a tiny former coal mining town on Ohio's border with West Virginia.
Westwood First Presbyterian Church's youth this morning will tell their congregation about the experience they had when they -- 19 teens and five adult leaders -- were on a mission to Wheeling, W.Va.
They arrived June 27, a rainy Saturday; and by the end of Monday had spent a full day on a rehabilitation project when their host Presbyterian church received an "SOS" call from a small sister church 30 minutes away in Jefferson County, Ohio.
The church in Glen Robbins had been flooded by a creek that, swollen with heavy rains, rose 20 feet in minutes, said Michael Rechel, Westwood Presbyterian youth coordinator, who was on the trip. Half of the group stayed on in Wheeling, and the rest headed northwest first thing Tuesday morning, skirting flooded areas and driving the hilly back roads that lead to Glen Robbins.
"We were the first group there to help," said Ellen Graham, a senior at Walnut Hills High School. Evidence of the floodwater's force was everywhere, she said, with debris from homes "smashed up against the trees."
The water had receded from the little church, but had left behind at least a foot of sludge.
Over the next few days, the kids hauled out buckets of mud from the church floor, stripped off damaged paneling, scrubbed and disinfected the walls, replaced the electrical outlets and put up drywall.
Their work made it possible for worship services to resume July 5 -- just eight days after the call.
Those who weren't working in the church walked up and down the streets of Glen Robbins, knocking on doors and offering their help. Joe Gorman, a recent Western Hills High School graduate, cleared basements of damaged property -- everything from washing machines to Christmas decorations. He hauled water from the fire station a quarter-mile away to use for cleaning because there was no running water in the homes.
The teens ripped out ruined carpet, scrubbed floors and walls, and helped the Red Cross and the local fire department hand out water. Working conditions were downright filthy, said Mr. Rechel, because the flood waters contained raw sewage as well as rainwater. Everyone got a tetanus shot, said Miss Graham.
But that didn't dampen their work ethic. "It was wonderful. The kids were incredible," said Courteney Robison, of Bridgetown, who volunteers with the youth group along with her husband, Tom. Doug Dugin, who is incident commander for Jefferson County's volunteer fire department, said the Westwood youth performed standout service in Glen Robbins: "I know they busted their butts down here."
The work isn't over for Mr. Rechel. A professional piano tuner, he brought home the Glen Robbins church's electric piano. The new instrument had been buried in mud, and he plans to send it back good as new.
"The Lord put us where we needed to be," he said.
