Devastation

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." C.S. Lewis

The tornadoes came and destroyed our city

185 homes completely devastated

We went yesterday to try and help pick up the pieces

Fallen trees were cut and taken to be burned

Food and water were distributed to those who needed it

Undamaged items were salvaged from demolished houses

We couldn’t get much though because the insurance companies have yet to come out and assess the damage

Midge's House

I went over to help Midge salvage her house but spent most of the time hugging her and listening to how she survived

Although I had taken a crisis intervention class for this very reason, I hated that I actually had to use it

She’s still in survival mode but the exhaustion and mourning is starting to set in

Aerial view of the neighborhood

Pain is mixed into the air as much as the smoke is from the burn piles

Everywhere there’s brokenness

But as we hauled trees away, more hands came to join us

Men and women from the community brought their chainsaws to help us

Churches and businesses made more than enough food for us and even passed out sunscreen

Neighbors emptied out their spare bedrooms for other families to join them in their homes

Friendships were made and healing started to grow

Through the sweat, laughter emerged.

Many things were destroyed Wednesday

But yesterday, community was created

"The American city should be a collection of communities where every member has a right to belong. It should be a place where every man feels safe on his streets and in the house of his friends. It should be a place where each individual's dignity and self-respect is strengthened by the respect and affection of his neighbors. It should be a place where each of us can find the satisfaction and warmth which comes from being a member of the community of man. This is what man sought at the dawn of civilization. It is what we seek today."

Lyndon B. Johnson