As I went down to the river to sandbag

I'm not even sure where to start with this one - it hurts just to type. My fingertips, wrists, elbows, etc. Oh well! This morning, we seem to have hit what we're referring to as the "Pain Threshold." We're in so much pain that it can't possibly get any worse, so we'll just keep chugging along.

Team Evac started the morning with breakfast at 8:15 a.m. We were twelve members strong. As a group, we headed over to Rachel's uncle's friend's house in southern Fargo. Soon, we two busloads of high schoolers arrived to help us - over 120 of us total. In the next four hours, we built a dike along the entire coul-de-sac. We formed countless zipper-lines and emptied zillions of truckloads of sandbags, it was intense!

At this house, we started to witness the emotions that are accompanying the flood. The houseowner, Jay, was one of the most upbeat, fantastic people I have come across in ages. He eventually took control, and we learned how much easier it is to have one person doling out directions than for everyone to shout out their own suggestions. We also noticed that the age difference among volunteers at this site was a difficulty. I'd guess the youngest volunteer was eight, and the oldest was sixty. Those at each end of the spectrum tired quickest and consequently grew grumpy and crabby. By 1:00 p.m., Team Evac decided to leave the site. We realized the negative atmosphere was bringing us all down and a change of environment would be best.

We drove back to Moorhead and parked at Concordia. By now, we were down to six people. We decided just to start walking towards the river and find somewhere to help. Each house we stopped at was incredibly grateful and put us to work. I was impressed to see how each person in the community was able to help. Many houses set card tables at the end of their driveways, piled high with water bottles and sandwiches. While sandbagging from 9-4 today I ate more food than I probably eat in two normal days. For the most part, everyone we met was ridiculously kind and grateful. I made so many friends today, and I really wish I would have another chance to talk to these people again!

However, today was an awesome affirmation that I have the best friends in the entire world. The bags we worked with today were filled with twice as much sand as the ones yesterday. I was unable to carry these myself, and if someone handed one to me I would either fall over or drop it. My friends helped me figure out a way where I could team up with someone else or they could just skip me in the line when a heavy bag came along. Even when I dropped bags, never once did I hear a single word about the inconvenience I was causing. I'm so thankful for my patient friends!

Anyway, we all came back to campus exhausted and took quick showers. I didn't even make it to my room before I decided I needed to just take off my clothes in the hallway. Thank goodness we don't have co-ed dorms! When I finally did shower, I realized the water smells even worse than yesterday...gross. They've asked us to either not shower or take quick ones though, so I even turned off the wather while washing my hair. We've also been asked to avoid flushing toilets and to not wash clothes...Mmmm!

Anyway, MSUM and NDSU have already cancelled class for the rest of the week, and I will honestly be embarassed if Concordia doesn't do so as well. I'll keep you updated and will post pictures later!