MDS has been responding to a repeat flood disaster in and around Barre, Vermont, USA, where volunteers have mucked out or repaired more than 50 homes. The women pictured cleaned mud out of the basement of a home flooded with river water. Photographer: Brent Trumbo
North America: USA
Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) responds to disasters, rebuilds homes and restores hope by organizing and empowering volunteers to respond to people hit by disasters in the USA and Canada. Created in the 1950s as an organized expression of the Anabaptist practices of mutual aid, today MDS is respected by national disaster management agencies in both countries. In 2022-2023, MDS had more than 7 000 volunteers – some skilled in construction, others completely unexperienced – from the supporting Mennonite churches, other churches or none at all, and from across the spectrum of Anabaptist identity in North America, from Old Order Amish to the variety of urban and technologically savvy Mennonites. MDS is a member of the Global Anabaptist Service Network.
On 29 July 2024, Brent Trumbo was serving as crew leader in Barre, Vermont, USA, alongside Old Order Mennonite volunteers from Dayton, Virginia, and the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania area. The longtime MDS volunteer attends Harrisonburg Mennonite Church, Virginia, USA.
“I was dumbfounded when I saw what they were doing,” he said. The women, most of whom were in their early 20s, were using shovels to fill five-gallon buckets (20L) with mud, then carrying them, one in each hand, out of the basement of a 200-year-old home that had been inundated with river mud.
“They were carrying about 40 pounds (around 18 kgs) in each hand,” he said. “They did this for hours on end with no stopping and no slowing down.”
And they were singing while they worked. “Their harmony was phenomenal,” said Brent Trumbo. “You could have made a recording in that basement.”
Brent Trumbo marvelled at the beautiful singing that rose up out of the mud in that basement. “It was a nasty environment,” he said. “We put some temporary lights down there but it was dark. It didn’t smell good.”
But the conditions didn’t seem to faze the women at all. So he joined in the work.
“I was trying to keep up with them,” said Brent Trumbo, who is 65. “I did have to take a couple of ibuprofen (painkiller).”
He recalls getting a little teary-eyed on his last day on the job, which was 2 August 2024.
“These were young people who were so hardworking. They were humble. They were very friendly and they’d come over and chat with me for 20 minutes very comfortably,” he said. “They restored my hope in the next generation. That’s genuinely the way I feel. I get very emotional when I talk about it.”
He had no idea the photo he took of the women with muddy dresses would be viewed by thousands on Facebook and Instagram.
“People thought this was someone getting creative with AI!” said Brent Trumbo, who would like to assure people that he’s a real human being.
Who’s not in the photograph? The homeowner, a man who periodically brought snacks and drinks down into the basement for the volunteers, and had a look of stunned surprise when he saw the work being accomplished.
“As we were leaving, I was pulling out, I noticed that he had walked out into the yard and had just sat in a lawn chair – and it appeared like he was crying,” said Trumbo. “I am sure he was just in shock. It was a very touching moment.”
—This story was first published on MDS’s website after the photo was shared on social media.
Reflection from MDS executive director Kevin King:
In late August, I spent several days in Barre, Vermont, visiting the MDS project and surrounding communities. I joined volunteers from Arizona, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, Minnesota, Indiana and listened to flood survivors and the local community leaders. Three major floods have impacted north and central Vermont in the last 12 months. I heard stories how when thunderstorms arise, many residents relive the trauma and wonder if the fourth flood will hit them.
Over breakfast one morning with local Baptist pastor, Dan Molind, remarked: “How blessed I am to see the wide variety of Mennonites that have come to clean up and rebuild through MDS – from the Amish to the progressive English. How is that possible?!”
I shared that it was out of our compassion, obedience to the Scripture and gratefulness to God.
We as an Anabaptist community of faith may have our differences, but I always come away seeing MDS volunteers live out their unity in Christ by putting their faith into action.
And I remain encouraged.
Website: mds.org