Frandtastic!

The past month and a half has been a bit of a whirlwind. After the Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey and surrounding areas, the physical winds died down but our lives got a little crazier. Friends and family have been wondering about the clean up efforts we have been involved in with Mormon Helping Hands, and I also wanted to document it for myself. The weekends have become a bit of a blur in my mind and I learned some good lessons from these experiences that I don't want to forget.

The Hurricane hit on October 29th. Our church building still had no power by Sunday, November 4th so church meetings were cancelled.

The next weekend, November 10th and 11th was the first weekend our ward participated in the Helping Hands project, helping in the Belmar, NJ outside of our ward boundaries. I went up to Boston that weekend while Paul was at a meeting in Knoxville. Since then, we have participated every weekend and done work all within our ward boundaries.

NOVEMBER 18, 2012 - SAYERVILLE, NJ
The next weekend, November 18th Paul and I went out with a group to Sayerville NJ. I was assigned as group leader and felt largely overwhelmed. We went to a home that a group had helped in the day before and we finished tearing out all the walls and all the floors (leaving the crawl space exposed). The home was just completed gutted. Sayerville got flooded because of two rivers that surged - they'd never been flooded in 100 years and almost no one in the town has flood insurance. The water only stayed in some homes for 15 minutes but that was enough to ruin the walls by softening and causing mold. We also helped the son of the owner (Eric) dry out pictures. The backyard was covered with photographs of his family.

Pictured: Paul Frandsen

Pictured: Paul Lazaro

Pictured: Christine Frandsen

Pictured (L to R): Nicole Gadack, Christina Rankin, Maia Greene, Kim Hamilton

Pictured: Kim Hamilton

Pictured: Christina Rankin

Pictured: Maia Greene

Pictured: Nick Wimberly

After we finished at the first home we started on another work order down the street. It was the home of an elderly lady. She hadn't cleaned out all the belongings yet, so there was a lot to do. We started in a backroom pulling of fake wood paneling (just like my parents basement used to have) and then removing the mold-covered sheetrock. Next was the floor. Her house had no basement or crawl space, so that is helpful in some ways. The bad news is the tiles we were pulling up likely had asbestos. Something I didn't even consider. We finished that room but then didn't take on any of the other floors with similar tiling. We do wear masks and other protection but obviously have to be extra cautious.

Pictured: Paul Frandsen, Maia Greene

Pictured: Paul Frandsen

NOVEMBER 24, 2012 - SOUTH AMBOY, NJ
The next weekend was Thanksgiving. We were in PA for Thursday and Friday, but were able to come back and help Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday we were in South Amboy. I could see the ocean and a lighthouse from the homes front porch. This was a landlord/renter situation and both were still there. The renter was very frustrated and it was kind of fun to see her join in the demolition and take a crowbar to a tile wall. We took out the floors and walls on the bottom floor.

Pictured: Paul Frandsen

The nicest "soup van" came and fed the volunteers.

Other homes in the neighborhood were beyond repair.

Pictured: Paul Frandsen, Christine Frandsen

NOVEMBER 25, 2012 - SAYERVILLE, NJ
On Sunday I was back in Sayerville and back on the job as group leader. We were next door to the house we'd done the week before and we had a big job. When I walked into the home I was overwhelmed. All his (Sam's) personal belongings were still everywhere. His home office in the back was FULL of things he wanted to still go through. The kitchen was still stocked. Our team cleaned out the house in record time, saving his belongings and then were able to do the more "heavy" duty work of removing the walls and some floors. I really liked getting to know Sam. He and I went through his office sorting where things should go and I got to learn about him, his two daughters and how he moved to America for Ghana in 1985. He was grateful for our service and told me about some missionary work he'd done for his church in Africa. 


NOVEMBER 27, 2012 - UNION BEACH, NJ
On Tuesday November 27th, I went with some other Talksoft employees to help in Union Beach. We assisted at some donation centers reorganizing so they could combine their two centers into one. There were SO many donations, it was unbelievable. I've never seen so many canisters of Clorox Wipes, even on grocery store shelves. After helping for a few hours we drovea few blocks down to the beach front. It was like Armageddon there. Rows of houses were gone with just foundations left. One house was half missing. It was shocking stuff.






DECEMBER 1, 2012 - SAYERVILLE, NJ
That weekend, we were already into December. We went back to Sayerville on Saturday, and Paul's brother-in-law Nathan joined us. We worked on several homes.
1-A woman who needed some help in our backyard. Her home was the first hit from the river (which was at least half a mile away across an open field). We helped her move a deck that had lifted up and floated across her yard, removed the lining of her above-ground pool, and did some clean up.
2- The next home was my friend George! I met him the week before when I was walking between our home and another home our ward was working on. He had some tile and cabinets in his kitchen that we removed. His goal was to have his 6 month old daughter back in the home by Christmas. He was so nice and got us Dunkin Donuts and coffee (haha).
3- At the next home we met a husband and wife. Yankee Tom and Franny. We were first helping to clean out their back yard shed. They didn't want to keep anything. This house was really sad because it was a nice home and they were just so discouraged they were getting rid of everything - wanting to start fresh. They told us they were living across town in an apartment complex where they lived as newlyweds. We also helped take out the refridgerator and then they let us clear out the garage and take out the moldy sheet rock there. Franny was really depressed and teared up a bit when I was saying goodbye. The weight of this work started to weigh on me this weekend. I feel really sad tearing out peoples walls and throwing away their possessions. I know we are doing things for them to help them save money and get back on their feet, but it just feels like so much loss.
4- Next we headed over to a guy named Russ's house and he just needed some debris clean up in his backyard
5-Last we joined up with another group in finishing up on a house that was built in 1886 (which had NEVER flooded before).


 






DECEMBER 2, 2012 - LAURENCE HARBOR, NJ
Sunday (12/2) I went out again. We went to Laurence Harbor and saw the worst yet. We went to two homes that still had mud, and water in the homes. It had been 5 weeks since the hurricane. The smell, mold and damage was extreme. We took out personal belongings, saved some non-damaged things from the attic and then tried to clean out best we could. They may be tearing those homes down. I watched one of the women (Gerri) come out of the house, she started talking to me about the the overwhelming damage and, started to breakdown. I felt helpless and so sad for her. I wanted to do more than just rip out her wet, moldy dry wall and clear out her ruined stuff. These women needed so much more help than the 30 volunteers there could give in a day. I really hope they end up alright.





DECEMBER 9, 2012 - SAYERVILLE, NJ
Sunday (12/9) I went back out and we headed back to Sayerville. As we drove down the streets I kept noticing the homes I'd been helping in. This neighborhood has been our hot spot for service, and it felt good to realize we really were making a difference over the past 6 weeks. We first helped a man take out some dry wall and insulation in his shed. This was a really fast process and so we soon moved to another house down the street. The owner's name was Al and he reminded me of my Grandpas. Especially since, like my Grandpa Carruth, he had built that house (in the late 60's). It was a beautiful home. The water had reached the upper level which was the main floor. We had to take out the sheetrock (half way up the wall), and tear up his beautiful Oak wood floors. Al was so nice, and bought our whole group Pizzas for lunch. He was cheerful and grateful for our work.



DECEMBER 15, 2012 - SAYERVILLE, NJ
We thought that the 9th was our last week going out. Wednesday of that week we got an email from our ward that more help was needed and volunteers were needed for Saturday. I decided to go, instead of going to Paul's cyclocross race. We went back to Weber St in Sayerville and we were able to help Audrey, a sweet "mature" lady. Seven weeks since in the hurricane and the mold was abundent. The walls looked like they had paint or a watermark, but it was pure mold. We took out the bottom four feet of drywall throughout the entire home, and then took up all the floors (hardwood, linoleum, and tile in the bathrooms). It took the entire day. She was so grateful, as were her two adult children who were there to help her. She did not want to throw away anything, and she had some amazing things from many years ago - most of which were stained with water and mold. We convinced her to take a group picture at the end, but she was quite camera shy.