burnt out | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: burnt out | Previous Challenge Entry
By lynn rodgers
08/02/06
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Kristy’s jaw dropped when she saw the extent of the fire and smoke damage. The tiny duplex was almost completely black there were piles of barely salvageable stuff all over the living room. The worst of the damage was in the kitchen, which was completely gutted, where the fire obviously started. Kristy had known that her youth group would help someone whose house caught fire but she never imagined it would be this bad.

Desarray, the home owner, approached John, the youth pastor, “wow, I didn’t think the mission would send so many people to help. Right now I need everything moved to the front room.”

Kristy and the other volunteers set to work right away. They moved all the stuff from the bedrooms, swept the floors, transported furniture to Desarray’s mom’s house, and sorted out the trash all before lunch. When every one got back to the annex the youth group was staying at for the week they were all hot, tired, and sooty. Yet there was a satisfaction in helping this woman that made them all rush through lunch.

While eating her turkey sandwich, Kristy asked descry “how many kids do you have?”

“I have two, a six year old boy and a three year old girl. They’re at day care right now,” Desarray smiled as she responded.

Kristy was amazed at this woman’s ability to stay cheerful through so much and wanted to know her more, “what do you do?”

“I work at my kids’ day care. I have one more month of school. I’m studying paralegal.”

Kristy felt heartbroken for Desarray and was even more determined to help Desarray as much as she could. She was a single moth of two trying to make a better life for them and a tragedy like this had to happen. Yet she was happy to just have complete strangers care enough to clean out her house.

When everyone was done eating they went back to the house. Kristy and couple of other helped clean up the five foot pile of debris in the front yard while others loaded up Desarray’s Suburban with salvageables and the guys moved heavy pieces of furniture.

By the end of the day Desarray’s house had been completely cleared out and everyone was exhausted but satisfied.

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