I spent the week of 2-7-2022 to 2-12-2022, serving in Boulder County Colorado, helping survivors of the Marshall fire. I was mainly doing sifting. Many times, it felt like I was on an Archaeological dig. Lots of work to find little memories to give closure or something to hold on to while going through a tough time. But the real treasures found were the sharing of stories, processing, and connections. As we searched and found we often gave recognition to a loss. At the end of work at a particular home, the group would pray with the homeowner and hand them a Bible. Worked with a very dedicated and at times very funny group of people (CBDR) in giving help, hope and healing. Hearing the stories of many of the people we served was a lesson in faith, hope and resilience. A very inspiring, and exhausting week.
One couple we helped during the Marshal fire recovery shared a story, picture, and a card with us. During evacuation, the husband sent his wife on ahead while he went back to the house. He wanted wisdom of what to do during this emergency. Returning to his neighborhood he was involved in helping and saving the life of two of his neighbors. He lost his house but after retuning back after the fire they found what was left of their family Bible. Only one page. Not sure which version this was but it is part of James chapter one.
At the end of this blog is a picture of this page.
Our team arrived at a house to sift. Shortly after we arrived a car pulled up to a burned house across the street. Two women (I believe it was mother and daughter) came over and asked if they could borrow a ladder to go down to search in the basement. The older woman was rather distraught and said her wedding ring was in the basement. (I don’t think her husband was still alive) Our leader said he would be over in a minute to bring a ladder and help. A few of the women on our team went across the street to help her. One of the women of our group was a short very feisty country woman who gave a very determined prayer to find the ring (She was our bull dog prayer warrior ). They wound up not needing the ladder. Instead of finding the ring in the basement as the woman thought, they found the ring on a grill out beside the house.
The following link is to a slideshow/video. Music from Hammock. Enjoy.
