Day 7: Tired, but thankful, on a hot Sunday in Vinton

A recurring theme at church this morning was “there are still a lot of good people in the world.”

Congregants shared stories of how they've dealt with storm damage the past week.

One member said her house would be uninhabitable for several months while it is repaired. As she and family members were cleaning up debris Saturday, a group of volunteers came by and offered to help.

Another woman randomly walked through the neighborhood offering plate of cookies and bottles of water to those working in their yards.

“My faith has been restored in humankind,” the woman who lost her home said.

Jo, a fellow church choir member, still didn't have electricity Sunday morning at her house which is just a few blocks from mine.

I asked if she was living there, thinking surely her and her husband were staying somewhere with air conditioning and lights.

“We've been camping out (in the house),” she said warily, but with a sense of humor.

It was hot, she said, but their neighbor had hooked them into his generator Friday night, making it a little more bearable with a few fans and lights.

Gail, a good friend down the street from us, didn't have any generator power through this whole ordeal.

She just got her electricity back Saturday afternoon. The first thing she did was check to see if her neighbors' power had been restored.

Friday night was the worst for sleeping, she told me, because it was so hot and stuffy in her house. The other nights she fell asleep quickly because she was so tired.

My mother-in-law, who lives right behind Gail, still does not have power as of Sunday night; nearly one week after the windstorm changed the landscape of Vinton.

She has been staying with us but really wants to go home. Hopefully, Monday morning.

Sure, there is frustration, especially among those who still don't have power. But it isn't because a lack of effort among the Vinton city crews and the countless number of workers from other towns like Waverly, Brooklyn and Maquoketa.

They all have been putting in long days trying to get everything back in order. The electric pole had to be replaced on my mother-in-law's street, like many others throughout the area. Crews worked on it today and hope to hook the lines up tomorrow.

And if you think you were hot this weekend, imagine replacing light poles and hooking up power lines for 16 hours straight.

As I write this at 8:30 p.m., a neighbor who will be replacing our roof is up there measuring the shingle space. He's been working on his own damage, but he wanted to catch the last moments of daylight today so he can get started on our roof soon.

Yes, there are still a lot of good, resilient people in the world, especially in Vinton, Iowa.