Monday, May 16, 2011

Tuscaloosa, AL May 2011

On April 27th parts of Tuscaloosa were totally destroyed by a massive tornado. It only took a few minutes to maim, kill, and destroy much of what was in its path. Dozens of people were killed, many were injured, and I think some are still missing.

A few days after the tornado came through, I received an email from the Churches of Christ Disaster Response Team. They go wherever disaster goes to help in various ways. I always wanted to work with them, and I felt like this was the right time. Tuscaloosa is only 8 hours away.

I put out an email to my church family and got some response, and then I decided to make this a community effort. I invited, via Facebook, anyone who wanted to go to come along. It was risky, but it worked out really well.

We ended up with 12 men:

Randy Andrews
B.A. Barlow
Darrel Burkett
Allen Burris
Brad Clark
Troy Guthrie
Greg McBride
Bob Miracle
Ryan Roberts
Zach Seaton
Ken Sullivan
Alex Thoms

Bob, Darrel and Zach left at 1 p.m. on Sunday, May 8th, and the rest of us left at 3 in a church van without AC. (It got hot, especially on the return trip! It was 94 in AL.) Seven hours and 45 minutes later, after two brief stops, we arrived at the University Church of Christ. There we had a large class room where we inflated air mattresses and unrolled sleeping bags. The DRT supplied us with meals and a shower trailer.

The next morning we headed down to the Central Church of Christ. Immediately we were struck by the devastation everywhere, as we had the benefit of the morning’s light. We had arrived in the dark and only could see bits and pieces.

The Central Church was a mess. It will have to be bulldozed. We were one of the first volunteer crews to arrive, so we began doing whatever we could do as organization was unfolding. We started by unloading supplies and sweeping the parking lot. Then the opportunities to go out and help specific people started happening.

Before long all of us were out helping people remove trees and debris from their properties. It wasn’t glamorous or heroic work by any means. We didn’t rescue anyone trapped in rubble, but we did was what was needed. There was a lot of chainsaw work, which I love, a lot of limb dragging and brush piling. It was hot, and it was difficult. But it was rewarding.

A lot of times we did not meet the owners of the properties. They were not there; their houses were inhabitable in the present state. We did get to talk to people however. Some were in stores. Some were neighbors. All had a story to tell. Most spoke passionately about and with faith. They brushed up against death and survived. Some were assaulted by death and by the power and grace of God overcame it.

I was struck by the humility and the resiliency of the people. They have a perspective that one can only have by living through such a nightmare.

So what sounds like a joke...

Four Church of Christ guys, including a preacher, along with preachers from a Methodist church, a Pentecostal church, a Christian church, along with 3 Baptists, and a house church guy, go down to Alabama...

turns out to be a blessing in so many ways. We laughed together, prayed together, worked together. Together we accomplished a lot, but in the grand scheme of the all the destruction, it seemed like a proverbial drop in the bucket.

BUT, it wasn’t! This story came to my mind:

As the old man walked down a Spanish beach at dawn, he saw ahead of him what he thought to be a dancer. The young man was running across the sand, rhythmically bending down to pick up a stranded starfish and throw it far into the sea.

The old man gazed in wonder as the young soul again and again threw the small starfish from the sand into the water. The old man approached him and asked why he spent so much energy doing what seemed a waste of time. The young man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun.

"But there are thousands of miles of beach, and miles and miles of starfish. How can your effort make any difference?" The young man looked down at the small starfish in his hand, and as he threw it to safety in the sea, said, "It makes a difference to this one!"

I love the prayer of St. Francis and had not thought of it in the context of disaster – until last week.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen


To seek photos go to my Facebook photo album.

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