[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 16, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3412-S3413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          ANGELS WITH HAMMERS

 Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, my home State of Oregon has been 
hit hard in recent months. With the damage wrought by this winter's 
violent windstorms and recordbreaking floods, many Oregonians were left 
to wonder if God was somehow angry with us. The helping hand that a 
Mennonite group has provided to a small Oregon town reminds us how 
faith can be a powerful healer for a community.
  A recent feature in The Oregonian newspaper, titled ``Angels With 
Hammers'' by Bryan Denson, related the assistance the Christian Aid 
Ministries Disaster Response Service has brought to the tiny town of 
Vernonia, OR. Vernonia suffered $9 million worth of damage last 
February, when the cresting rivers flowed into the community's schools, 
homes, and businesses. Emergency services pulled out of town when the 
immediate crisis of the flood passed, and Vernonia's 2,250 residents 
faced the daunting task of rebuilding their community.
  They found help from a most unexpected source. The first of a wave of 
Mennonites arrived, led by Paul Weaver and Dan Hostetler. These 
volunteers were soon joined by some New Order Amish and Apostolic 
Christians. they offered to repair the dining hall of a local outdoor 
school in return for shelter. Then they volunteered their free labor 
and construction expertise for a number of the community's rebuilding 
needs. For the last 6 weeks, the Mennonites have worked side by side 
with the people of Vernonia, rebuilding homes destroyed by the 
flooding.

[[Page S3413]]

  By late May, the group expects to have renovated at least 30 Vernonia 
homes. Then they will quietly move on to another community in need of 
the same assistance. The Ohio-based Cristian Aid Ministries Disaster 
Response Service was formed in 1992 in the wake of Florida's Hurricane 
Andrew. They have helped rebuild hundreds of homes in disaster-stricken 
communities all over the Nation.
  I am always heartened by stories about the generosity of strangers, 
and the help these good samaritans have brought to one Oregon town is 
exceptional. I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank these 
Mennonite brethren and the volunteers working with them for the healing 
aid they have brought to Vernonia. Through their quiet and unexpected 
efforts, they have relieved a community in great need and inspired many 
with their faith. The mayor of Vernonia, Tony Hyde, summed up this act 
of selflessness perfectly when he said, ``It's pretty special--
Christianity at its best.''
  As an aside, I would also like to commend the reporter that produced 
the account of this effort in Vernonia, Bryan Denson, and The Oregonian 
for publishing this piece. Oftentimes reading the morning paper causes 
one to want to crawl back in bed. The inspirational tone of this 
article would make any reader anxious to greet a new day and to lend a 
hand to their neighbor. 

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