Flood victims will be able to

[Guest guest]

Flood victims will be able to

http://www.poconorecord.com/topstory/tp073105_3.htm

By SUSAN KOOMAR

pocono PA

pocono record

News and Business Editor

WINONA LAKES -- Hurricane Ivan brought a flood of sewage into Janine

Bell's house last September.

Good Samaritans brought help -- and hope -- last week.

Bell, her disabled husband and their toddler son will soon be able

to go home, thanks to 12 church volunteers who resurrected the mold-

filled Winona Lakes home.

" I'm not very religious, but I feel like these guys have been sent

to me for something, " said Bell in a shower of hugs and smiles

before the workers left Friday.

The crew -- including two pastors -- gutted the first floor,

replaced floors and walls, built a retaining wall and even did some

landscaping as part of an annual effort to help disaster victims.

The program began with Hurricane in 1991.

Volunteers came from Grace Lutheran Church in Reading and Friedens

Lutheran Church in Oley.

Every day of their visit was a miracle for Bell.

" If you saw (the house) a week ago you wouldn't ever believe the

difference. The mold would have killed you, " she said.

Disaster struck when heavy rain surged through a leach field. Bell's

log house sits between Bushkill Creek and three drainage pipes that

open onto the developments ski slope.

" It was coming straight down our stairs from the front door, " said

Bell.

The kitchen and family room were ruined. Mold spread immediately,

destroying carpet, clothes, curtains and bedding.

" Everything we owned -- we had piles five feet high outside for the

garbage, " said Bell, a real estate agent for Century 21.

The family received $5,100 from FEMA, but it wasn't enough to cover

the damage and loss of personal items. Monroe County Redevelopment

Authority added a grant for materials and connected Bell with the

volunteers seeking a summer project.

" You could call it an interfaith-private-government effort. It's

really amazing, " said Ray Guernsey, redevelopment authority director.

Rev. Steve Belinski, 52, put his arm around Bell when asked about

the project.

" Every day she came and you could just see her eyes twinkle, " he

said. " It's the satisfaction of seeing people who don't know what to

expect. "

Belinski has a vacation home in Pike County next to fellow

volunteer, Jack Sparks, a retired carpenter. The crew decided to do

a project in the Poconos this year. Their hard work is followed by a

little party time.

" I like the camaraderie and helping people. We go out to dinner and

have a few nice ones, " said Sparks, 72.

The men will be back in September to install new kitchen cabinets.

Bell still needs appliances. She and her husband, , 40, bought

the house in 2000. was disabled in a motorcycle accident 11

years ago. They have a 15-month son, Aidan.

The family has been living in a rented home for almost a year.

" We cry every Sunday watching Extreme Makeover' on TV and praying

it's us, " said Bell.

Volunteer Bob Nicol, 56, of Oley, said there's much more to the

project than drywall and spackle.

" We give people hope, " he said.