When heavy rains hit California at the end of 2005, most people escaped destructive flooding of their homes. But a Christian Reformed family living north of Sacramento was not so fortunate when 6 inches of rain fell in six hours.
Ken and Rebecca Wachtman and their three young children live on a hillside in a tri-level home they purchased last spring. On New Year’s Day, Rebecca’s mother, who was sleeping on the first floor, awoke to find herself surrounded by water.
Ken, who owns a swimming pool business, was able to drain the water out of the house. The family settled into the second and third floors as the long drying-out process began.
Rebecca, who is a photographer, said that 18 neighbors immediately offered to help the family. Rev. Tim Blackmon, their pastor at River Rock CRC in Folsom, also summoned help through a mass e-mailing to the church’s members.
Blackmon said the response was phenomenal. Members volunteered financial support, child care, hot meals, and help in restoring the first floor.
The Wachtmans’ insurance will not cover the cleanup and repair or the restructuring of drains to make the home flood proof. Help from fellow church members will go a long way toward getting their lives back to normal.
