Can you imagine what it would be like to be Mennonite? They have no conventional insurance. Their houses, barns, farms, equipment and cars are insured by each other. When they get sick, they care for each other. When they get old, they care for each other. So, if you were a Mennonite who lived in Greensburg, what would your new life be like after the storm?
Well I’ll give you just one example. One farmer of lost everything he owned – his home, his barns, $700,000 worth of farm equipment and his trucks. What happened next is still hard for me to believe. His fellow Mennonites came. They came with tractors, they came with trucks. They came with food and found housing for him and his family. They took down his old house and are presently making preparations for the new one.
How do I know this? I had an opportunity to work side by side with these men. It would take too long to write about everything I have seen, but I can tell you this: They came into that city from hundreds of miles away with whatever equipment they had on their farm to help anyone in need. They were organized, writing up work order after work order, supplying their own food, fuel and shelter. Why? Because that is what they call community.
I am planning on leaving soon. It is a hard decision to make – partially because I have grown to love the people here, but also because I’ve enjoyed being with the Mennonites.
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