ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.–The new year brings renewed hope, a fresh perspective, and a lease on a four-bedroom house for the Albuquerque, N.M., Service Adventure unit, whose members were displaced just before Christmas after a fire damaged the unit house.
No one was home at the time of the blaze, but most of the furniture and housewares were damaged beyond repair by smoke, and the unit’s kitten, Sadie, died from smoke inhalation. After multiple loads of laundry with industrial strength detergent, though, most of the participants’ clothes and belongings are almost as good as new.
The group turned the situation into a learning opportunity.
In their final worship night before Christmas break, the unit members all made a list of what they lost and what they had to gain as a result of the fire. They said the exercise helped them realize that in adversity there is also opportunity. At the time, they didn’t have a home. Melanie Pilz, one of the participants, reminded the group that when Mary gave birth to Jesus, the family also had no place to lay their heads.
Service Adventure, a Mennonite Mission Network program, gives young adults ages 17-20 the opportunity to live and serve in community with other young adults and a unit leader or couple. Albuquerque participants are Melanie Pilz, 19, from Rangsdorf, Germany; Erin Regier, 18, from Newton, Kan.; Hannah Martin, 18, from Greencastle, Pa.; and Michelle Peachey, 19, from Lancaster, Pa. Anna and Brian Yoder Schlabach, both 27, of Denver, Colo., are the unit leaders.
The Service Adventure unit’s new home has renewed their energy to resume work at their placements, as well as their commitment to each other.
"I feel like we’re closer as a unit because of this experience, because we all went through it together," said Hannah Martin of Greencastle, Pa.
Unit members said they are humbled by the outpouring of care by the Albuquerque community and the broader Mennonite Church. Albuquerque Mennonite Church members spent a day hauling damaged furniture to the dump and cleaning everything out of the old house. Rio Vista Church of the Nazarene members donated a couch, a twin-bed mattress, and numerous odds and ends, and new neighbors rushed to welcome the group and provide them with whatever they needed. Churches and Service Adventure units from all over the country donated money and gift cards to help participants get back on their feet.
“The support from the Albuquerque community and the broader Mennonite church has been humbling and overwhelming,” said Carolyn Snyder, the Albuquerque Service Adventure support committee chairwoman. “We appreciate so much the gifts of money, food household items and, most of all, prayers of support and words of encouragement.”
Unit members said they were grateful that families in the church opened their homes for unit members until they found a new house. The participants stayed with three different families over the two-week period between the fire and moving into their new house on New Year’s Eve.
The new house is conveniently located near bike lanes and bus routes—the primary modes of transportation for the four participants. It is also within walking distance of the church. One of the Service Adventure support committee members saw a “for rent” sign in the house’s front lawn during a trip to the grocery store.
While the unit leaders describe the fire and its aftermath as "extremely stressful," unit members are ready to begin the new year with a refreshed dedication to service.
"After the fire there was so much uncertainty and despair, almost," Regier said, "but now there’s so much hope."
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Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact Andrew Clouse at andrewc@mmnworld.net, 574-523-3024 or 866-866-2872, ext. 23024.
