Kelly Gindlesburger in his temporary office in Greensburg.
Kinsley pastor looks back at recovery process
By Chandra Stauffer
Last Updated: June 21, 2009
The day after the May 4 tornado, Kelly Gindlesburger, pastor of First Christian Church in nearby Kinsley, got a call to help. During his more than two years as chair of the South Central Kansas Tornado Recovery Organization, he worked to get Greensburg residents the help they needed.
Now, as the duties of the organization wind down, Gindlesburger can reflect on what he's learned and what he's going to do next. He said it will be an adjustment to put this project behind him.
"It feels really weird," he said. "We've invested a lot of emotional capital here. This gets to be a part of you."
Gindlesburger and others were in a long-term commitment to the rebuilding process. He said disaster recovery is never a well-oiled machine, and it never goes like you want it to.
"Even if you are very skilled at making those kinds of things smooth," he said. "It doesn't work that way."
Because of the dozens and dozens of different volunteer groups throughout the years, work is slower than it would be with hired skilled labor. Each group needs to be assessed for skills and abilities.
"The world starts over every Monday," he said. "It's pretty ragged."
Gindlesburger said he's learned that people don't do a good enough job taking care of each other prior to a disaster. He's found that it's more expensive to take care of people after the fact.
"We're not bad afterwards," he said. "But you pay a lot more for it than you would of if maybe you paid attention up front."
His experiences with the recovery effort put him in the position to pass along some advice for anyone else who might find themselves in a similar role. He said it is easy to become cynical and jaded when you watch people try to game the system. He said you have to set that aside and just know that's going to happen.
"You don't want to be taken advantage of," he said. "But you can't close down your heart to the work."
He said listening is part of his role because one of the ways people heal is through telling their story, and Gindlesburger said everybody has a story.
"There's funny stories," he said. "There's sad stories. There's beautiful stories. There's incredible stories. It's just pretty amazing."
Gindlesburger already knows what's next on his emptying agenda.
"They'll be some free time," he said. "But I've got plans for that."
He said he is seriously considering seminary school in the fall.
"It's been a long time since I've been in school," he said. "It sounds like fun."
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Elliott School of Communication