Flood fighting efforts

I received this in this morning's email, from a dear friend still working at Concordia College, my alma mater, and where I was a dean for 13 years. She lives in Moorhead, MN, just two blocks north of the college, and about seven blocks from the Red River, across the road from Fargo, ND.

My friend Peggy lost her house to the flood today. I'm sitting here listening to the news. It's not good. I'm not even sure what to say, except I'm scared and I'm feeling compelled to write our family and friends. Somehow, it makes me feel better to connect with you all. We've had rain, ice snow. Today it snowed 7 inches and it's still snowing.

Today, they evacuated people from Oxbow (just south of Fargo. Airboats are the only way in and out now since the ice, snow and and water are everywhere. Tomorrow, they are evacuating Eventide Nursing Home and it's assisted living facilities (just 7 blocks from us). The town of Georgetown(just north of Moorhead) is being evacuated since they are building a circle dike around the town. They haven't issued an evacuation notice to us yet but Chip is emptying the basement as I write this.

We are grateful for all the help that is coming to town and all the positive thoughts that you have shared. The energy that people are bringing to the effort helps us feel hopeful that we're going to beat this. The mayor says he is "skeptically optimistic". Not sure what that means. The volunteer effort does inspire hope in humanity. Watch the news and keep us in your thoughts. I'm not sure if I'll get to update you all again. I just felt the need to take a moment out to write but now it's back to the shuttle vans and sandbags. Thanks.

My friend directs the leadership and service program at this small liberal arts college. One of the hallmarks of this college has been the strong sense of community and an ethic of service. I trust that the college will not mind me reprinting the information from Concordia's website:

Concordia students were the first to join the volunteer effort, while NDSU and MSUM were on spring break. Our students stepped in Friday, March 20 as preparations began. Volunteers started coming in waves that weekend and have continued daily.

Hundreds of Cobbers reported to Nemzek Monday and Tuesday, contributing to the more than 4,000 volunteers dispatched by FirstLink each day. They were at the ready Wednesday when the call went out again. The college canceled classes all week, urging students, faculty and staff to help with the flood preparation. Dining Services prepared more than 600 sandwiches Tuesday and about 950 sandwiches Wednesday for volunteers. One thousand bottles of water, chips and cookies were also supplied. Many of our athletic teams were quick to participate. The football team built dikes for one house after another on River Drive in South Moorhead and both soccer teams helped protect an entire neighborhood against a flooding coulee.

Alumni from hundreds of miles away returned to their Cobber home to help community members save their properties. Students hauled furniture from several home basements to help homeowners. Concordia will be housing AmeriCorp volunteers on campus for four to six weeks. The college is running a dozen shuttles more than 12 hours a day, transporting Concordia volunteers as well as partnering with the city to drive other community members. More than 45 faculty, staff and students are volunteering to drive the shuttles. Several faculty have served as site supervisors, coordinating sandbaggers.

In reading these postings I am reminded where I learned the values basic to collaboration; the sense of responsibility and service to community; the importance of doing whatever one can in concert with the efforts of others to meet common goals; perseverance beyond self, beyond ability, beyond capacity - a willingness to do whatever the situation takes. I value what I learned at Concordia every single day, but today, from a half a continent away, the most I can do is pray and ask for thoughts and prayers for Fargo-Moorhead and the many other communities in the region that are fighting the floodwaters determinedly united.