wfn.org | Rainbows Shine in Fort Collins

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

5-August-1997 
97303 
 
    Rainbows Shine in Fort Collins as Helping 
    Hands And Caring Hearts Answer Christ's Call 
 
    by Vicki Fogel Mykles 
 
FORT COLLINS, Colo.--For weeks northern Colorado's temperatures had hovered 
around the 100- degree mark, leaving lawns parched and conversations 
sprinkled with wishes for rain. 
 
    As morning dawned on July 28, heavy clouds obscured Fort Collins' blue 
skies.  Temperatures dropped and short, intense showers punctuated the day. 
The water was a welcome event for a region that was three inches below its 
rainfall average.  At 6:30 p.m. another heavy downpour began.  But this 
time it didn't stop until after 11:00 p.m.  Within a span of four hours 
more than 8.5 inches of rain had pounded this quiet community of 100,000. 
 
    No one was prepared for the resulting deluge of water -- not the 
residents of two mobile home parks who lost all their possessions and the 
lives of five neighbors to over ten feet of raging water, not the engineer 
of the train that was derailed by the surging flood, not the officials of 
Colorado State University who estimate more than $100 million worth of 
damage to their campus.  While these images captured the nation's attention 
in the hours and days following the disaster, the devastation wasn't 
limited to the small area dubbed "ground zero" by the media. 
 
    Fort Collins' residents slowly emerged Tuesday morning and the full 
impact of the storm began to unfold.  Hundreds of homes and small 
businesses throughout the city experienced damage from the freakish 
monsoonlike rains.  Standing water in basements was measured in feet, not 
inches.  Sewers, irrigation ditches, city lakes and stressed storm drains 
had backed into homes.  Residents slogged through the mud, pumped water out 
of basements, piled ruined carpets, furniture and appliances on curbs and 
spread salvageable possessions on lawns to dry. 
 
    "We had decided to downsize our lifestyle," said Presbyterians Jim and 
Earlene Bell as they surveyed the damage to their home.  "But this wasn't 
quite the way we'd planned to do it.  We cleared most of the stuff from our 
daughter's basement room, but the water got deep too fast so we had to 
quit."  They pointed to the six-foot-high watermark on their basement wall. 
"We've lost a lot and I don't really know how we will deal with this 
financially," said Jim with tears in his eyes.  "We don't have flood 
insurance.  I guess we can draw from our retirement fund. ... I just don't 
know what we can do." 
 
    But after Rocky Mountain storms, brilliant rainbows are common.  Fort 
Collins' colors shown brightly in the form of helping hands and human 
compassion.  Those who weathered the rains in good condition set off to 
help those who had not.  In the Bells' front yard, the youth group members 
of Fort Collins' Harmony Presbyterian Church were already at work 
recovering what they could.  Youth group leader Charity Kunter had assessed 
the Bells' situation and called her senior highs into action.  The kids 
pumped water from the basement, hosed off furniture and did what they could 
to salvage the memories of a lifetime. 
 
    "I can't believe how helpful people have been," Earlene said.  "Our 
church was here right away with food and support.  A neighbor we've never 
met gave us Kentucky Fried Chicken so we could eat.  And a UPS driver from 
my husband's office came by to see if we were okay."  Jim pointed to a band 
on his wrist embroidered with the letters "wwjd," saying, "I got this just 
last week.  It means `What would Jesus do?'  Well, we've experienced what 
Jesus would do through all these people!  They've been just incredible." 
 
    Ironically, Harmony's youth group had just finalized plans for their 
summer mission trip to help the flood victims in Grand Forks, N.D.  "I 
guess we're getting some practice for our trip," Charity quipped.  "But 
really, we've decided to stay right here in town for our mission 
experience.  It seems kind of dumb to go to Grand Forks when things are so 
much worse here.  Our kids held a `Flood Fest' at church this past Sunday 
to raise money for the trip.  The $850 we made can help out locally."  The 
Fort Collins group is thinking about inviting the Grand Forks youth group 
to come to Fort Collins instead. 
 
    Across town, Lyn McCormick was mopping six inches of water out of her 
house.  "We had five feet of water in our backyard last night," she noted. 
All of the houses on Lyn's street were ringed with rows of sandbags "just 
in case the weather gets weird again."  The Salvation Army had already been 
through handing out food and cleaning supplies.  A Methodist youth group 
showed up in the afternoon and helped the neighborhood with whatever was 
needed. 
 
    "I don't know who they were or where they came from, but they were just 
amazing!" Lyn said gratefully.  The youths were among several thousand 
attending an international Free Methodist youth conference on the CSU 
campus.  This particular group peeled away from their event to lend a 
helping hand to local residents.  Trinity Lutheran Church sent its members 
through the streets to invite their washed-out neighbors to a spaghetti 
dinner.  They continued to provide food and assistance throughout the week. 
 
    The Rev. Glenn Perica, associate pastor at First Presbyterian Church, 
emptied the Deacons' Food Closet and took the items to a local food 
distribution center.  "We will be collecting food and clothing to 
contribute to the community's needs," he said.  John Jones, the church's 
custodian, lost his mother, Sarah Payne, in the flood.  The church will 
help with her funeral expenses and is offering the family ministries of 
support and compassion. 
 
     "The challenge for Fort Collins' churches will be to meet the 
long-term needs," Perica said.  "Immediate assistance is coming from all 
over the state.  But when things calm down, those who have been left 
homeless will need help getting into affordable housing, and those with 
damage will need help with repairs.  This is when our congregations can 
really be helpful." 
 
    Harmony Presbyterian Church called all their members to assess the 
needs.  "But we're not just helping our own members," said the Rev. Larry 
Kunter, pastor.  "If anybody asks, we're working with them.  If they need 
help, we'll coordinate it or get it to them."  St. Andrew Presbyterian 
Church, 45 miles to the south in Boulder, sent up a shipment of clothes for 
the Harmony Church to distribute. 
 
    The Rev. Robert Dooling, pastor of Loveland's Mountain View 
Presbyterian Church, and the Rev. Tom Phillips, executive for Plains and 
Peaks Presbytery, visited each of Fort Collins' four Presbyterian churches 
to check for damage.  There was none.  The presbytery will coordinate local 
assistance when the churches request it. 
 
    The national Presbyterian Disaster Assistance office in the Worldwide 
Ministries Division, is also on standby, waiting to see what needs arise 
from this Colorado community.  Stan Hankins, associate for disaster 
response in the United States, said, "We can organize volunteer relief 
teams, provide financial assistance from our One Great Hour of Sharing 
offering and provide "Gift of the Heart" kits for clean-up, health and 
school-related needs.  We wait for directions from the local region and 
then work in partnership to meet those needs.  We're here to help in any 
way possible to provide relief." 
 
    Jim Bell is right: the residents of Fort Collins have experienced the 
Christ in their midst, in the caring rainbow of people who make up their 
community. 
 
(Vicki Fogel Mykles, an ordained Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) minister, is 
currently working as a free- lance writer and graphic artist.  She has 
served for more than 20 years in parish ministries and on the staffs of 
synods and presbyteries.  She lives in Fort Collins with her husband and 
son.) 

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