Dear Sisters and Brothers,

My name is Matt Ley and I am the Program Interpreter for ELCA Disaster Response. The last weekend in June I was in Minot, ND for the anniversary of the flooding that took place there last year. The horns that signaled the final evacuation blew in the early afternoon of June 22, 2011 and so this date was observed as the official anniversary though the floodwaters stayed for over a month.

It was a bittersweet trip as I had both the joy of reconnecting with those I had met during my last trip in January (along with the joy of meeting more of the amazing cloud of witnesses working there) yet also the pain of seeing how disaster can take it’s toll on both the physical as well as emotional/spiritual landscape of a community. I was many times reminded of something I learned in my Pastoral Care class at seminary: in moments of care it is not the caregiver who bears Christ into the situation but the one who suffers, for that is where Christ is most present. The role of the caregiver is to affirm that presence and help the one who suffers to see it.

This post is a bit later than I was hoping since upon returning there was the need to respond to the newest wave of disasters that hit throughout the US. Yet, in this time I have also been able to look back and reflect upon the days I spent in Minot. In that time I decided to build off this learning from class and do a reflection piece on where I saw Christ present during this anniversary time of looking back and looking forward instead of a traditional report.

The Ministry of Claiming & Abiding
I saw Christ present in the pastors I met in Minot. Ministry can be taxing in the best of times, so in times of disaster it can at times seem overwhelming. It can seem that one’s faith and ability may not be sufficient for the task of caring for others so in need while also being one of those affected. Yet in those I met I found a deep abiding faith. It was a faith that was able to own the fatigue and tragedy of the situation personally experienced and still (pro)claim Christ’s continuing presence. I affirm Christ in the gift of presence these leaders bring to their community, the gift of suffering with those who suffer while still holding and pointing to the cross.

The Body of Christ in Operation
It was overwhelming to walk into Hope Village and see the buildings that were nothing more than blue prints when I visited in January. To see trailer after trailer, for housing volunteers, for cooking, this one for showers was amazing, all bearing the names of denominations who have helped bring this village to life. It was truly the body of Christ with moving limbs, a sharp mind, breathing lungs and beating heart (along with a full stomach of ever present cookies from a thankful community). As any new body it had moments of learning how to coordinate movement and learn it has. I affirm Christ in the beautiful example of Christ’s people bringing together a greater unity through their diversity of gifts.

Giving From Abundance
Peace Lutheran in Burlington, ND (a few miles outside of Minot) was one of the four ELCA congregations affected by the flood. They have been working with Mission Builders to build a new wing onto their church since they lost the use of their basement in the flooding. One of the aspects of this partnership is that Peace Lutheran agreed to provide a meal each Saturday for the crew of Mission Builders as they worked. The congregation decided this was not enough and opened up the meal to the entire community of Burlington as both a thank you and an invitation. I was able to attend one of these meals and was struck by how something as seemingly as simple as a meal could bear so much import (Last Supper anyone?). I affirm Christ in this act of giving from the gift of abundance even in perceived scarcity.

The Power of Signs
One of the things you might see while driving through Minot are little yellow yard signs. These signs began popping up soon after the flood waters receded with the simple phrase “I’m Coming Back”. They were a simple and profound way for the community to show it’s resiliency and hope. As I attended the opening of Oak Park, one of the main parks in Minot, the entrance road was covered with these signs. Yet, there was one small change, the Coming had been taped over, leaving “I’m Back”. I affirm Christ’s presence in this reminder of a community’s ability for resiliency and hope.

The Spirit’s Permanent Address
The greatest place I saw Christ’s presence was also the most subtle. It was in the seemingly ordinary moments, conversation around plans for future campus ministry, the familiarity of Lutheran liturgy, sitting in and discussing the history of the Stave Church in the Scandinavian Heritage Park, running a 5K with a local pastor who beat me by a step. In these and the many other “ordinary” moments I had was the reminder that though the Spirit may vacation in the miraculous its permanent address is in these day-to-day moments. I affirm Christ in the fact that ministry and life go on in the midst of disaster as the Spirit continues to empower and sustain us.

These are just a few examples of where I saw Christ present in Minot. In them is the reminder that Christ has not forgotten the people of Minot and neither have we. May God continue to sustain us all in the days, months and years to come.

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To learn how you can continue to support the effort in Minot please check out the Hope Village website for volunteer opportunities and the ELCA Disaster Response website to donate.

The Lutheran World Federation program working in Kenya and Djibouti just released their annual report for 2011. A major part of their work in 2011 was around the drought which struck the Horn of Africa and the subsequent refugee crisis as the drought mixed with civil unrest in areas of Somalia. The following is one of the story reports giving a view of incoming refugees to the LWF-run camp of Dadaab located in eastern Kenya.

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Shelter from the drought

Ahmed has a wife and four children, and that is all.

His family fled hunger in Somalia after the herd of cattle he owned were all gone and there was nothing to feed them. To make the trip, he sold his farm to his extended family and used the money to hire transport at the border to get them to the Dadaab refugee camps in eastern Kenya. Ahmed and his family set out from their home near Baidoa, one of the regions hardest-hit by the famine, but were stuck at the border for quite some time before they finally decided to sell their holdings and buy passage for the journey to Dadaab.

They have lived on the outskirts of the camps for a month and five days. In 2011, over 100,000 people poured into Dadaab, fleeing from drought and violence in Somalia. Some stay with relatives or other families from their clan, but many pitched their tents on the outskirts and stayed there. These tents sat on sandy orange dirt, a long way from water and other amenities.

Those working in the camps were stretched to their limits and beyond trying to meet the needs of this wave of humanity. But refugees and workers alike have had the pressure relieved as those camping on the outskirts were settled into planned camps.

All of the land in and around Dadaab belongs to the Kenyan government, who have generously donated massive tracts for the refugees to settle on. Since mid-August, [Lutheran World Federation] has been relocating refugees living on the outskirts to permanent plots within the official camp.

For people who have experienced so much change and dislocation, there is some resistance to moving again. Some of the refugees need convincing that their new homes will be better than the old. When it came time to decamp from the brushy outskirts of the Hagaderah camp to relocate to the new Kambioos settlement, some Somali refugees wasted no time at all.

Morning cooking fires still smoldered nearby as Abdullah, 50, prepared his donkey cart for the short journey. All around him, other members of this family rolled up mats, folded tarpulins and collected their belongings. Even small children carried their bags to the trucks and buses waiting to ferry them to Kambioos.

“We were fleeing from drought and fighting in Lower Juba,” says Abdullah, who travelled with his wife and their seven children. “I don’t know how many kilometers it was, but it was a very long journey. All of us made it here alive, but some people were very seriously ill when we arrived.”

Their group, which he estimates at one hundred or more, lost eight donkeys along the way. The rest of their livestock perished in the drought before they ever left Lower Juba.

After they arrived, they huddled together in makeshift dwellings outside of the Hagadera camp, where they endured weeks living a long walk away from latrines and a clean water source.

“Water is the main problem,” says one man. “Our family is eight people, and we only get twenty liters for the day.” That’s just 2 ½ liters per person per day; far less than the water used in a single flush of most Western toilets. “We are expecting that life there in Kambioos will be somehow gentler,” said Abdullah.

When the first members of the group arrive at Kambioos after the short bus trip they find sturdy tents erected on well-defined plots, and there is a greater sense of privacy. A large new water tank sits in the middle of the camp atop a pedestal of sand bags, and the camp is outfitted with latrines and other sanitary features.

Afra Mohammed and his family of three are among the first to arrive and he is immediately relieved that they have their own tent instead of sharing with another family.

“We are ready for anything because we are refugees who are looking for a place to settle,” he said. “But I am happy to have this plot.” He echoes the hope of many of the refugees who have fled to Kenya, which is one of stability and a life away from drought and civil war. Ahmed also sounds the same note as the other refugees, “I am not thinking about going back to Somalia. There’s no food to sustain us.”