June 6, the rains came & at least 8 inches were dumped onto Iowa within a week. It seemed so unreal as I watched the images on TV. The pictures sent by friends via e-mail were shocking. These streets that were flooded were ones that I used to drive down everyday when I worked in downtown Cedar Rapids. I often drove through some of the neighborhoods that were severely damaged. I had lived here since 1998, moving into this beautiful city just a little over three months after graduating from college.

The whole city was impacted by this disaster. For several days, the bridges from one side of the river were impassable. You couldn’t drive from the east to the west side because the river flowed over the bridges. Interstate 380 running north and south right through the downtown heart of the city also closed for a couple of days, so commuting to work for some people was impossible. The water system almost had to close down because the wells were disabled due to the flood. Thankfully, many CR residents pulled together & sandbagged around the one remaining functioning well, although this still limited everyone to using drinking water only in their homes for over a week. That restriction has since been lifted.

I cried out to the Lord to be with those who had to move into shelters & place their pets in temporary shelters. How devastating it must be for them! Not just in Cedar Rapids either, but in several other towns & cities through out Iowa and down the Mississippi from us.

Some of the flood victims were blessed and able to move in with friends or family right away, however there are still some in shelters even today. My home church in Cedar Rapids has placed many of these victims with families in our church. It’s been awesome to see how from the very beginning of this disaster how people have given a helping hand. They’ve reached out in so many ways in different communities. From baking treats for volunteers & handing out water bottles, to gutting houses and just offering an understanding shoulder to cry on. It has been amazing and I don’t think my words here can truly express all of it. God will use this flood for His good. I believe the Body of Christ has been getting prepared for this & many lost souls will be shown His love through our work in this disaster.

Last Thursday, June 26th, I visited the Time Check neighborhood with our director Mary Alice, and other COI missionaries Scott & Prescott. We wanted to see places with the worst damage, so we had driven down there. While driving in this neighborhood we stopped along the street when we saw Sam. She was pulling things out of her house with her boyfriend. The water level had risen to the first floor. It was obvious that she was grieving the devastation as she talked with us. Still, Sam had a sense of humor & shared her desire to buy an acreage in the future where she could have horses & own a duck named Sparky. It was a privilege & a thrill when I was asked to pray for her before we left her house. I’ll never forget her gratitude towards us. I was not able to go back to visit her with the others a couple of days later, but I plan to visit her again soon.

Please come to Cedar Rapids to help people like Sam. Don’t worry about money because God will provide everything you need. There is no doubt in my mind that He wants you to just show up with a willing heart. If you think you won’t be of use because you don’t know much, believe me–there are ways you can help. It’s not rocket science! Just come & you’ll find out how much God can use you to touch someone’s heart. Don’t waste anymore time thinking about it. The waters have receded, and now your help is definitely needed. Please come!

-Kristy Koranda

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I love it when the Hand of God leads us to where He desires for us to be. Today was another one of those spectacular days to see God at work. Actually the story starts back about 7 weeks before.

A very bad flood came to my hometown of Fredericton, NB. When the flood came an organization came to offer flood relief, the SP team. Along with SP team came another group called the Rapid Response Team, who serve as chaplains in crisis situations. I had the privilege of being able to work with both and also to be accepted as a chaplain with the RR Team.

Now I find myself in the midwest, doing disaster relief set up. After making a phone call I found out that the SP team is set up here also just an hour from where we are staying. The RR Team is also on their way here next week too. So I now have instant rapport with them in order to partner with them.

Yesterday we spent the day in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The devastation is immense. It brought back memories for me of the Gulf Coast and Katrina. It is not near as bad, but make no mistake it is terrible. The streets are lined with debris and the smell of devastation is in the air.

We drove down one street close to the river and for some reason(I would say God’s leading) we moved off that street to one that was a block further away from the river as we drove down this street we saw even more tragedy.

In front of one of the houses was an older lady, working through the debris left in front of her home. We stopped and talked with Sam. Sam is suffering from the crisis. As we were sharing with Sam she said this, "Today I was feeling all alone and I asked God to send me someone to help me and talk to me today." Well here we were lead by God to talk to Sam and talk and pray with her. God is good!!!

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