When tragedy strikes, the people affected are often consumed with the question of “why?”
Retired Newton Pastor Cleo Koop found himself in such a place in 2019 as he and his family faced the decision to move his wife, Faye, then 64, into a dementia care facility. Faye had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease two years earlier, and Koop had done his best to care for her at home. But her condition had progressed, and the responsibility was taking its toll on him as well.
“I was exhausted, weary, sleep deprived, stressed out,” Koop remembered.
A nurse who the family had met along Faye’s care journey introduced him to another Kansas pastor who had traveled the same difficult road with his wife.
That pastor delivered life-changing words to Koop.
“He told me, ‘Cleo, at some point, when you are ready, for your own health and well-being, you need to transition from asking why. You will never know why tragedies like this happen. There are no easy answers to why bad things happen to good people. You need to transition from asking why to asking, what now?’”
Koop faced a total reset of his life, including retiring from his position as the Disaster Management Program Director at Hesston College in Kansas and downsizing from the home he and Faye had shared. A longtime volunteer with Mennonite Disaster Service, he assumed the role of Kansas Unit Chair to coordinate the work of local volunteers. Koop used that role to create The Cabinet Shop, a program in Goessel, Kan., that builds kitchen cabinets for the organization’s many projects across the country.
“As I took on the responsibility of Kansas MDS Unit Chair, I wondered what we could do to energize and mobilize more volunteers for the work and ministry of MDS,” he said. “One of their brainstorming responses was, how about building kitchen cabinets?”
75 years of service
Volunteers with Mennonite Disaster Services responded to flooding in Dodge City in the 1960s.
MDS, now headquartered in Pennsylvania, celebrated its 75th anniversary in February with a gathering in Wichita that brought more than 500 attendees from around the country. The organization was founded in Hesston in 1950 when a Mennonite Sunday School decided to expand its philanthropic service projects, one of which had included responding to massive floods that hit the Wichita area that year.
“Today, our vision is to strive to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those affected by disasters as we rebuild homes and restore hope by organizing and empowering volunteers in the U.S. and Canada,” said Kevin King, MDS executive director.
Since 2005 — following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina battering New Orleans — more than 90,000 MDS volunteers have given more than 600,000 days of service to the restoration and building of homes struck by disasters ranging from tornados and floods to hurricanes to fires.
Larry Loganbill of Moundridge is the MDS Chair for Kansas. Last year, the unit recognized 188 volunteers who served on projects across the country. Many are older adults ready to lend their time and talents to a good cause, including teaching the younger generations of volunteers the ropes of rebuilding homes, Loganbill said.
“I think most of it is driven by their faith,” Loganbill said. “Mennonites have always been very interested in service to others, and we find many others willing to serve alongside us.”
Loganbill participated in his first MDS project at age 61 while he was still working as a plumber, but the transforming experience led him to pursue early retirement and focus on a more permanent commitment to the organization.
“Serving others in need changed my idea of how life is and what I need to do,” he said. “There’s more to life than working for money. There are other people that need help.”
Loganbill has since participated in more than 25 MDS missions. Most recently, he led a volunteer crew on a project in Puerto Rico, which is still suffering from the devastation of Hurricane Maria that nearly wiped out the island in 2017.
“We work very hard to get to know the natives, the people that are around us,” Loganbill said. “We’re encouraged to drop whatever we’re doing and just talk to the people. We ask, ‘Where were you (when disaster struck)? What were you doing? Did you have to jump in the bathtub?’ It is always one story after another, and we want to connect with them and just listen.”
Frozen fish and cornflakes
Loganbill is often inspired by the generosity afforded his team from people who have so little to start with. He recalls a woman in Puerto Rico who, when she learned MDS was there to repair her damaged home, ran into the house and returned with food to share.
“She brought out a frozen fish and a box of cornflakes,” said Loganbill. “Like the woman in the Bible that only had two pennies for the offering, this lady was willing to give us all she had. She was so grateful.”
Such experiences have been profoundly impactful on Loganbill.
“It makes you watch out for your neighbor. Don’t leave them out in the cold, so-to-speak,” said Loganbill. “The status quo in life is always to have to go out and get something better than your neighbor. . .but isn’t it better to help them? Help them have a meal in their house, a place for another day.”
Life-giving ministry
Loganbill also volunteers building kitchen cabinets at The Cabinet Shop in Goessel.
Koop had initially felt that establishing a cabinet shop would be nearly impossible, but as he explored the possibility he was introduced to Rod Abraham, the owner of a cabinet shop in Goessel, as a resource.
“About halfway through the visit, I turned to Rod and asked, ‘So you’re thinking about selling your shop?’” said Koop. “Well, to make a longer story short, MDS purchased the cabinet shop on Feb. 10, 2022.”
Working with about 30 volunteers, including students from the local high school, The Cabinet Shop supplied about 70 sets of kitchen cabinets built, stained and ready to install for MDS projects during its first year. In its second year, it cranked out 85. Now, six months into the third year of operation, 60 sets of cabinets have already been shipped.
In September 2024, Faye, Koop’s wife of 49 years, passed away after an eight-year battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Koop credits The Cabinet Shop with helping him survive the loss.
“It has given me renewed energy, excitement for life, direction and purpose,” he said. “The new friendships that have emerged through this work have been life-giving.”
Contact Sherry Graham Howerton at sgaylegraham@hotmail.com.
