An e-mail from my mom:
We had over 2,000 volunteers that came form Vancouver to Bremerton to help today. It was amazing what they were able to accomplish. There is still lots to do but it hopefully helped some victims past the overwhelmed stage and shed a ray of hope that life may be restored to normal some day. Plus the president declared it a disaster so they can now get FEMA help.

Many volunteers brought with them donations of food and clothing.There were some wonderful and sad stories that came back to us from the field.

Here is the list of items needed by the United Way needs for flood victims. Gift cards are good but you can also mail donations under "other" in a tithing envelope to our Bishop(since most all of the losses were in our ward (some in Chehalis) and he will buy gift cards here. Or, what we did for Katrina victims is donated under other to our Bishop and he wired the money or something to the Bishop of the ward we adopted and they purchased and distributed the gift cards. I'll put that address and then list the items needed.
Bishop John Henricksen
Adna Ward
198 Devereese Road
Chehalis, WA 98532

Items needed:
work gloves-large and XL
space heater
underwear for kids
warm socks
bleach
storage bins (plastic)
Rain gear
garbage bags shovels
rubber gloves
brooms, mops
garden hoses & nozzles
first aid kits

1. Charity. I'm thankful that there are good people trying to help during this disaster. I feel so far away- so it gives me some comfort to hear there are people there that care.

2. Offerings. Isn't it amazing to know that our offerings can be used to help in such ways. I talked to my mom for a bit on the phone yesterday (she's been so busy, but we finally had a moment to chat) and she shared her testimony of how great our church is in helping in situations like this.

3. FEMA. I guess after Katrina they've tried to improve their efforts. My mom also shared that since its been declared a national emergency people are now able to get assistance from FEMA as well. Apparently homeowner's insurance doesn't cover floods- and flood insurance is super expensive. FEMA will qualify victims for up to $28,000- which helps- but that won't rebuild a home that sat under 5 ft of water, or farms that lost livestock and produce. There is still much need.