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Wyoming church opens doors to families without power

Posted at 10:21 PM, Aug 21, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-21 22:21:43-04

WYOMING, Mich.-- For a lot of people, the 'waiting game' continues, with many families still in the dark more than a day after the powerful storm system pushed through.

With the heavy damage comes the support of neighbors, coming out to help those in need; including the Eighth Reformed Church in Wyoming offering free meals and power to charge cell phones.

Over in Grandville, people like Fred Viviano are outside cleaning up the mess from Saturday's storm.

"We came over to my sister-in-law's house just to help her out and cut the trees up and stack them by the street," said Viviano.

Viviano isn't alone; hundreds of neighbors were out walking around with food and water, also offering their assistance with clean up.

"A group of people just came by this morning and asked if we needed any help and we said sure," said Viviano. "In a situation like this I think the good side of people comes out."

"It's nice, people are coming around with water, people that we don't even know," said Adam Lewak, who was helping a friend clear a tree out of their yard. "It is really bringing everyone together. It's beautiful."

Lewak spent the morning at a friend's house trying to chop down a tree that fell over into their yard.

"This could've been much worse," said Lewak. "There's much worse things going on in the world. This is just a minor little natural disaster that has really brought the community together."

Crews from Consumers Energy are working around the clock trying to restore power to homes Sunday night. Over in Wyoming, the Eighth Reformed Church opened their doors to offer a free meal and power for people to charge their phones.

"We decided to open up our building if folks want to charge their phones, use our internet, we have some hot dogs on the grill," said Pastor Mark Milkamp. "It's just a way for us to show hospitality to our neighbors."

A small crowd gathered at the church early Sunday night, but Pastor Mark Milkamp says it's worth having even if one person showed up.

"We are here Monday and we are here the next day if anybody needs anything," said Milkamp. "We're just showing hospitality to our neighbors and if anybody needs anything we're here to help.

Hundreds of people are still in the dark, but it's easy to see the comradery with neighbors helping neighbors.

"It just makes me proud to live in Wyoming," said Rick Jekel, who was in attendance at the church Sunday night.

The Eighth Reformed Church has their doors open to anyone in need of assistance. They are located at 841 Burton St. SW in Wyoming.