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Stories from around the synod Volunteers Still Responding to Rebuild Gulf Coast Communities affected by Hurricane Katrina of 2005 - College youth from Bethany College join with others to help rebuild Bayou La Batre, Alabama Eleven members of the Bethany College community joined hundreds of other college-aged volunteers over Spring Break to help with Lutheran Disaster Response’s “What a Relief!” effort on the Gulf Coast. For the second year in a row, Bethany volunteers traveled to Bayou La Batre, Alabama, to continue with cleanup and building efforts in one of the areas that was ravaged by the hurricanes of 2005. Bethany volunteers spent their days cleaning up trash, installing windows, painting the inside of a church, painting the outside of a house, and cleaning a woman’s home, inside and out, to make it more livable. In addition, the volunteers spent a lot of time visiting with the local community and providing support for the people whose lives have been shattered by natural disaster. According to Sherilyn Nafziger, one of Bethany’s sponsors for the second year in a row, “Listening to the struggles of the people and offering support to the community was one of the most important things we did. They’ve gone through so much and need support from all of us.” Bethany’s volunteers stayed with groups from Ohio State and Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, Nebraska, in a Lutheran church in Mobile. Every evening, the groups would gather together to debrief and share devotions as they learned from one another throughout the week. “I really enjoyed seeing so many Bethany College students spend their entire Spring Break helping others through hurricane relief and giving back to the community. It was inspiring to see our students’ strengths and watch them pull together as a team to work together on behalf of others.” Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The mission of Bethany College is to nurture and challenge individuals in their search for truth and meaning as they live lives of faith, learning and service. We thank individuals and congregations of the Central States Synod, ELCA, for their support to help minister to those affected by a disaster. Rev. Noni. Strand “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35 |