On December 12, a group of students and faculty from Bush High School in Seattle arrived in Adna for a full day of hard work.  Please click here to read some very inspirational stories of volunteerism.

"...I appreciate more than anyone will ever comprehend the help I have received. I have been working non-stop on our home and last Wednesday I had a real melt down and couldn't stop crying. It was the crying I had about 2 weeks after the flood first hit and I was scaring myself. I just felt so hopeless working all day by myself day after day and not making as fast a progress as I had hoped for. I'm assuming everyone has had a day like that. Then on Saturday a group of bus drivers came from Seattle and they were a party group. They wanted to work, plus they brought the food and a box that had some Avon Bubble Bath for me and Bath Wash and I thought wow somehow the weekend help really has a way of helping one make it through another week. So I thank you for sending me the help on weekends. Even if it was a bunch of teenagers the week before, there hearts were in the right place and it made me feel good to know they were out trying to be of service. I just want whoever in Adna to know how appreciative I am for all the service I have received. Thank you." Cindy Wilson

THE FLOOD
The lone Eagle circled high above us. We stood, a small group of wet, muddy people, on high ground while the cold muddy water crept higher around us. The gray sky was getting darker and we all wondered what would happen next. We could see and hear the helicopters whirling above us and dropping down to pick up the most needy people first. I was aware of the Eagle circling directly overhead, which I thought was a very good omen. Everything is going to be okay resonated through me. In the now semi-darkness, a King County helicopter whirled closer and set down on the asphalt near us. I remember being herded in with some kids and their Aunt. A little boy sat on my lap and I put my arms around him as we lifted off. A warm and fluffy puppy stuck its head to be petted from beneath the boy’s damp sweatshirt. I hung onto them both as we reached the hilltop above Adna where the old High School was located. We were then shuttled to the Adna Elementary School Gymnasium. Several volunteers were already there with steaming hot coffee and food. The gym was filled with people, dogs, kids, blankets and towels, sleeping bags and pillows. Donations of bedding and towels were arriving. I sat and talked to a fellow that had his pickup truck swept away but he managed to save himself. A pleasant looking young man approached me and asked if I would like to have a place to spend the night. Paul Parker drove me to his neighbors Ed and Marge Williams. They had offered to help an older person. What wonderful hosts they were! The homemade pea soup and cornbread was perfect to warm a cold and wet "older person". My new friends were good company and I welcomed a good night's sleep. I now had a warm bed to comfort me, yet I lay awake thinking about my next door neighbor Brad, yelling from my front porch, "an! You've got to get out! NOW!" I remember putting on my rubber boots and looking for my cell phone. I found the cat carrier but I couldn't find B.B. my beautiful white cat. (She is a lot of fluff and has one blue eye and one gold eye) I found my overnight bag, which
I keep packed for impromptu trips to visit my kids. There were two identical black bags; I grabbed one. I realized I couldn't carry Hannah, my dog, so I put her upstairs. I had to give up on finding my kitty and ran to the front door. From the urgency in Brad's voice, I knew I had better get out. Water was already to the top of my tall boots as I stepped off the porch. The current was very strong. I looked at the garage. I had, as usual, put my car safely inside it. (I marveled every time I came home that I had a garage door opener!) I saw the water had already bent the steel garage door. I knew my car was going to be toast. I got in Brad and Danielle's big four-wheel drive crew-cab truck and sat in the back seat with the kids. Sandy, their dog, was in the bed of the truck acting like this was a real fun thing. I thought of Hannah upstairs and hoped and prayed she and B.B., wherever she was, would be safe. The water was everywhere. We sloshed through to a higher spot in front of the High School. I watched as a man swam across a big ditch and rescued a farmer standing in the water on the other side. I wondered if everyone that needed to be rescued was getting the help they needed. I saw a house that was floating loose. After all of the flood trauma and the helicopter and ending up in this nice warm home, I felt so incredibly fortunate to now be taking a hot shower. I was also grateful that at least I had my black bag with my essentials and p.j.'s in it. I opened my overnight bag to find not my pajamas and toothbrush but a white Halloween mask with a smirking grin looking back at me. I had grabbed the wrong black bag! This one was filled with party stuff for a family Halloween Party. That white mask with the smirking grin just made me laugh! How crazy and incredibly bizarre that I was here - flooded out and laughing with this white face smirking back at me. As I lay at last in bed that night thinking back on the events of the flood, I thought again of the Eagle and knew that everything was going to be okay. And it is! Only one life was lost in this area in this unbeleivable flood. People everywhere are helping each other. The volunteers, donations, loving, helping, and caring people just seemed to come from everywhere. I have the
most wonderful friends and family all jumping in to help in so many ways. They can never know how grateful I am. B.B who was missing for three days was finally found upstairs safe, warm and dry. Hannah, my dog was fine and taken out of the house the next morning after the flood to a safe place. It may take some struggles to get things back to normal but I am very sure everything is going to be really okay. Both my sons, Erik and Casey and their wives Kathy and Ce have been down almost every day for two weeks gutting out my house so it can be rebuilt. We have torn out the lower kitchen cabinets, island, flooring and all the appliances and bathroom fixtures I have saved some of the
wooden furniture and personal things that were above the 3 and 1/2 foot water level Friends, family and complete strangers showed up and just started helping with the hard work . Volunteers from my Adna neighborhood, TransAlta, churches, temples; the response was and is just terrific. I am overwhelmed at the help, gifts, and kindness shown to me. The Eagle is the symbol of strength and courage and determination and I am aware of these traits every day, everywhere in the people around me and in those helping and those needing help. I am so Blessed, happy and grateful.