This mornings adventures began at the house of Mr and Mrs McGee. Honestly this was one of the sweetest most kind hearted old couples I've ever met. We were able to do a lot of tree work for them that others had not been able to get done. There were quite a few trees in their yard that were leaning in not-so-desirable directions. (like toward their shed) Both of them were SO excited we were able to help and just truly, sincerely appreciated all we did. Mrs. McGee told us they had been asking and asking people to come get their trees down and everyone said they couldn't do it, she told us now she was going to put a sign in her yard that said, "The Lord did it!" To me this couple made our entire trip worth while, I really enjoyed being able to help them out and I got some time to talk to Mr. McGee who was just one of the sweetest old men. He told me how he just knew the Lord had kept care of them thru the storm, he was in his little Toyota pickup when the storm first hit and one of the big trees fell and hit the corner of his house and then rolled onto the truck. The limbs caught most of the fall, and the house slowed it down or it would've crushed him with the truck. He was finally able to climb out the window to get inside his house. Someone had asked him if he was scared, and he answered by saying, "No, I didn't have time to be scared.. I had one thing to do and that was get inside to my wife, I knew a tornado was coming and I knew she didn't. In times like that all you can think about is them." He was able to get inside and he and Mrs. McGee made it in the bathtub right as the tornado went over the house. They had to have their roof reshingled, but praise the Lord that was the extent of their damage. I think before we left Mr. McGee had hugged me at least three times, he just kept telling me that he didn't know what they were going to do, but he knew the Lord would take care of it, and then we showed up. Tonight I pray for the McGees, I pray for peace and comfort in their lives, and I pray that we were able to be good Christian examples for them in the time we spent with them. I also pray that my wife and I would have the love and devotion that they showed each other after many many years of marriage! While we might be here to minister to these people, the McGee family did some ministering to me.
Our next and final stop would be the property of Mr. Roy and Mrs. Betty. Out of all of the driving we have done since we arrived this was the worst hit area. Their house, and most any houses near by were completely leveled, gone. Just driving down the road approaching the house I had chill bumps. What we did for them was help sort out a bunch of their belongings. They had a lot of equipment and tools that had been buried with down trees and we were able to get most all of their area cleaned up and the trees piled up. We also had a two person larger team today, my friend and Justin's brother-in-law, Adam and his friend Chris who both live in Alabama came up and met us to work for the day. The extra help was very nice, and especially with so much to get done. Unfortunately we weren't able to quite finish due to mechanical problems, but we were able to give them a great start. Mrs. Betty and her mother road out the storm in their storm shelter, her mom was terrified of the tornado and they ended up getting in the shelter the night before. When they came back out after the storm was over there was nothing left. Mr. Roy had to take someone up the road and didn't even know about the tornado, they had to call him and tell him. It was truly heartbreaking to see all the devastation today. Tonight I pray for this family, for peace and comfort that can only come from the Lord. I pray that they would be ok, and that the Lord would continue to bless this family!
Our entire trip I was able to just focus on the work at hand and keep busy. But while we were working at Mr. Roy and Mrs. Betty's I took a few minutes to walk down the street to catch some quick pictures. Three or four houses down there was a lot where a house used to stand, now instead there was a concrete slab and a pile of rubble. But what drew me to it was the fact that they had hung an American flag in the middle of their lot. Standing there taking a picture of this flag with debris scattered everywhere in the background, covered from head to toe in dirt and sawdust, soaking wet from sweat, tears began to stream down my face for this family. I stood there, surrounded by pure disaster and wept for all of these families. On my walk back I stopped at three separate locations where there used to be homes and just got on my knees before God and prayed for the families, all I could do was cry..
I have only been on a couple small mission trips in my life and I have always enjoyed helping people. However, this weekend will be the most memorable Mission trip for me that I've ever experienced. Just witnessing the shear devastation in these areas, even now close to a month after the storm, was heartbreaking. My heart goes out for all of the ones who fell victim to the tornados, the flooding up north, the quake in Japan, and now the new tornado in Joplin. I definitely plan on making many more trips to help out with disaster relief in the future, Lord willing. The only thing that I ask is as the headlines move to new and more "exciting" news, that we don't forget these communities in Alabama. Take a few minutes and just pray for them now. And take a moment to pray for us as we make our trip back home.
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