Lancaster Mennonite School (LM) students spent the semester in their high school construction class building walls for a new Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) house for a person in Crisfield, Md., whose home was lost due to flooding and water damage.

The MDS is a volunteer network through which various groups within the Anabaptist tradition assist people affected by disasters in North America. MDS responds to disasters, rebuilds homes, and seeks to restore hope by organizing and empowering volunteers in the U.S. and Canada.

LM agricultural sciences teacher Ryan King worked with MDS on this project. MDS provided the materials and the blueprint for the house, and students cut the wood, built the frame, and delivered the completed project to the new house location in Maryland.

King and one of the construction class students, Owen Horvath, were on-site at the homeowner's property this summer helping to set up the framed walls the class had built. They joined a team of MDS volunteers and coordinators to start framing out the new house.

During the project, King and Horvath learned former LM teacher Andy Hershey was present at the MDS site, volunteering his time to construct the house. King has mentored under Hershey when he first started at LM.

To view a video about the project, search for "MDS & Lancaster Mennonite School in Crisfield" on YouTube.

To learn more about MDS, visit http://www.mds.org.