Iowa flooding

Dear friends,
I would first like to apologize for sending out a mass email like this, but I thought it would be the best way to actually keep in touch, instead of just thinking, "oh! I should email so-and-so!" and it doesn't happen. My intent is to be better about that this summer. We'll see.
As many of you know, Iowa has been hit pretty badly with flooding this spring. As you might not know, Waverly (the town where Wartburg College is located) has the Cedar River running right through it. I don't know the statistics, but the town was pretty badly hit, and many are unable to return to their homes, either temporarily or permanently.
I had a storage unit in town this summer, and got in yesterday to clean it out. I'm guessing it had about 2.5-3 feet of water in it at the height of the flood. Fortunately, I had given an extra key to a friend in town, and she was able to get out my electronics and important personal items before the waters rose. We were able yesterday to use the facility's power hose to rinse off my loft and futon frame, and three of six Rubbermaids were water-free: dishes, electrical cords, DVDs, and a few notebooks. Also anything that was placed up high enough was spared: pillows, blankets, the bag of every knit item my mom has made me, etc.
One of the guys working at the facility brought over a bulldozer and we filled the bucket with futon mattress, giant white board, my two small bookcases, and the three water-filled Rubbermaids that weren't sealed. The Rubbermaids were filled to about 3 inches below the top with water: the rest was absorbed by the books. Every textbook, reference book, gift book, fiction book, Bible, other scriptural book (Book of Mormon, Bhagavad Gita, etc.), and journal... completely water/mud-soaked. And, for most of those categories, that would be all of it: every Bible I owned, every textbook, etc.
I can't even imagine the difficulties that those whose houses flooded must be going through. Although it was hard to watch them haul away my ruined possessions, I am so fortunate that it wasn't everything, that they are only possessions, and that I was here to be able to go through and save what I did.
I am taking a class at Wartburg this summer, and as a class we will be going to one of the elementary schools in town tomorrow to do whatever we can do help. The building there is ruined, and won't be used for classes next year, but there are desks and other things that we can save and clean up. I am glad to be able to do whatever I can to help, and we will probably get a lot done tomorrow. It's a messy process: even just in the storage unit I had to wear gloves and a mask to protect from mold and yuck.
My thoughts and prayers are with those of you in the area who have been affected and are still dealing with the clean-up process.
Until the next,
Amanda