By DEB BENTLY
Staff writer
Waterville resident Jim Keller says he has gone through the five stages of grief over the past month. Keller’s home of 25 years sits on the shore of Lake Tetonka. A favorite feature of the simple structure is a sturdy deck that looks directly out over the lake.
In all the time he, his wife Teresa, and his now adult sons James and Erik have occupied the structure, there had been water in the crawl space underneath a few times, but never in the house.
So when Lake Tetonka began to rise in mid-June, he says he was able to remain in the stage of denial for a time.
“I told myself, ‘It won’t get that high,’” he remembers of those first few days.
As the water continued to rise, he and his family put sandbags around the house. “The water rose higher, so we got more sandbags. We just kept stacking them,” he remembers. Despite their hard work though, water filled the crawlspace and then actually began flowing up into the house through the air vents. “It was coming from everywhere, and we knew there was nothing we could do,” he describes.
“That’s when it became a rescue mission. We had lost the battle, so it was time to start saving what we could.” Family and friends used concrete blocks to lift the stove, refrigerator and beds above floor level. When it became evident the blocks weren’t tall enough, “It was chairs,” Keller remembers.
“Somewhere in there, I got to the ‘anger’ phase. God wasn’t very high on my list about then.”
The bargaining and depression phases were likely spread out across the four or so days the family had no access to their home and then the first time they were able to return.
At its height, Keller estimates, the water level reached about 7 feet above where it had been when spring began. Water had risen at least 18 inches inside the home, soaking carpets and drywall. The stench of spoil and mold were pervasive. Furnishings, decorations and photographs that had been part of the family’s life for decades were ruined.
“It looked hopeless,” Keller describes.
All through the disaster, LeSueur County and area benevolent organizations had been providing services, including sandbags and sand, emergency shelters, meals and medical attention. As the water began to recede, area homeowners were invited to meetings where they were informed of further disaster assistance services.
Keller and his family attended, learning for the first time of “Samaritan’s Purse,” which is described online as an “evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization.” The group would be coming to the area, and would be providing help free of charge.
“We got on a list,” says Keller with surprising good cheer. “And one day these folks showed up.”
On Wednesday, July 10, Samaritan’s Purse volunteers were in their third day of working at Keller’s house. A box truck with storage for tools and equipment stands out front. With the building almost cleared, most workers have cycled on to other sites, but three remain.
Inside, Dave Sheevel, 81, a Texan, is pulling plywood off one wall while Jeff Streich, a Janesville area resident and member of Waseca’s Christ Community Church, is doing the same in the next room.
Around them, only bare studs–with even the nails pulled out–show where one room ended and the next began.
As he continues working, Sheevel tells of having flown up from Texas and rented a car to use while in Minnesota, all at his own expense. He says he began volunteering with Samaritan’s Purse in January of 2023 and is on his ninth “deployment.” Through the organization, he has helped victims of fire, hurricane, tornado, and now flood.
“It’s very rewarding,” he says as he tugs on plywood. “I feel blessed I still have the health and the means to be here.
“I feel blessed to help.”
Streich is volunteering for the first time. He says a call for help was issued through his church. “I had some free time, so I thought I’d come over,” he comments.
Out by the box truck, Canadian Linda Mywaart gives a quick summary of the steps followed during a “mud out,” the clearing of a structure which has been soaked and filled with debris by flooding.
“Our chief goal is to give the homeowners hope,” she begins. “When they return after there’s been a flood, the space gives an impression of being completely ruined. It looks like such a big mess that they’ll never be able to get it cleaned up.”
She notes the smell, the quick onset of mold, and the debris left behind as the water recedes all work together to reinforce the impression.
The first step of the cleanup process, Mywaart explains, is that a designated organization “assessor” enters the structure to determine the extent of the damage and the steps needed to make it “reconstruction ready.”
Volunteers follow through on the plan: Samaritan’s Purse supplies tools, equipment, safety gear and support such as water, snacks and group meals.
“We remove the ruined materials and expose the surfaces that have been soaked by water, so they can dry,” Mywaart explains. “Once that’s done, we back our way out of the house, spraying down all the surfaces with a mold treatment as we go.”
Mywaart has been trained as a “site leader” for Samaritan’s Purse Canada since 2019. She tells of having been deployed numerous times to disasters, including hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and flood. This is the first time she has volunteered outside Canada, however. She reveals that her husband, a trained heavy equipment operator, is in Greenfield, Iowa, helping at a location affected by tornadoes.
She admits the work is “hard, hot, and heavy,” but, “It’s also heart work,” she says. “We are a group of Christians who believe we need to live our faith with our hands and feet.
“My husband and I feel we are both extremely blessed to have the faith, health, and means to volunteer,” says Mywaart. “We also have the support of a congregation back home who are praying for us.”