‘It’s who we are’: Volunteers spend hours doing yard work to help woman reclaim her home

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Mercy City Church sent out a group of volunteers Saturday to help one woman reclaim her home.

“We’re really happy that we get to be a part of it,” said Robyn Werner, the operations director for Mercy City Church.

Power tools, trucks and many supplies lined Southwest 21st Street as crews worked to shape up her yard for when she can come back home.

The owner of the home, Laraetta, has lived in the West A Neighborhood for decades, but has been away for awhile because of her health.

Werner said Laraetta only has a few months to get her house cleaned up before the city takes it, so they decided to dedicate their Saturday to the project.

“We actually were driving by and noticed she was outside pulling leaves off of a tree,” she said. “We thought ‘hey we have serve day in a week, let’s go out and see if we can be helpful.’ So, we are cutting down trees, pulling out dead bushes, we’re raking, mowing, all sorts of yard stuff.”

She said Laraetta was overjoyed by their offer to help.

“A lot of her response was like ‘this isn’t real, who set you up, who sent you, this is a joke.’ Just in disbelief,” she said. “After a little conversation, we told her ‘no really, there’s no strings attached, we just want to come and love on you. We just want to help out.’ She was excited, it was one of the most special moments we’ve gotten to be a part of.”

And she adds that it’s a win-win situation for the volunteers because they always enjoy being able to lend a helping hand.

“It’s in our DNA, it’s who we are through and through,” she said. “You cut any of us open and servant hood is going to fall out. We’ve been doing serve days since we started Mercy City ten years ago. It’s something we get excited about every year.”