February 15, 2023

Hello Jesse,

John Zuck, who lives in northern Pennsylvania, crafted this stool [picture] from six different types of wood, most of which were submerged in muddy water on August 18, 2021. John and his wife, Connie, had less than two minutes to leave their house as flash floodwaters, spawned by Tropical Storm Fred, rushed toward their home. 

A crew of local MDS volunteers, joined by masonry students at Alfred State College in New York, helped the Zucks repair their house.

“I was certainly appreciative of MDS,” said John. “They really helped in a big way.”

While recovering from this flood disaster, John took time to dry out the wood, and then crafted this stool from cherry, white oak, white pine, black walnut, basswood, and virgin white pine root. It stands today as a symbol of the way MDS volunteers help people transform their lives after they have been through a disaster.

Proud to serve with MDS

I thank God for the opportunities I’ve had to serve with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), most recently last October in Monte Lake, B.C. What I experienced there is hard to put into words, but I will try.



At that project, I had the privilege of leading a team that worked, for the most part, on the last home to be built. For all of us, the greatest joy was working with the homeowners, the Eager family, and getting to know them first-hand.

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MDS has volunteer opportunities for you!

See the full list of volunteer opportunities when you click here.

  Contact volunteer@mds.org) or 

call 1-800-241-8111 with any questions or to schedule a week. 

Your continued support helps with recruiting volunteers, moving equipment, setting up accommodations, replenishing supplies, and many other things needed to get going.