Last Thursday Kyle, Tyler, Colby and I left with a group from our church for Pleasant Grove, Alabama to help the residents there clean up their houses/yards.
It was heartbreaking to see what kind of damage the tornadoes had done. Where I am from all we have to worry about are hurricanes, and we have plenty of warning and so we are able to pack up all of our important things and get to safety. I can't imagine having all of your belongings blown away or damaged beyond repair and having to start over from scratch. While we aren't to set our minds on earthy possessions, I know it must be hard to lose pictures, baby books, family keepsakes and sentimental things like that.
We were so blessed by all the residents we came in contact with. Everyone was so friendly. We had a lovely couple that some friends from church knew that opened their home to 10 of us, cooked dinner for us, and bought us the best ribs at
Dreamland in Tuscaloosa! We had a church that was providing disaster relief and hot breakfast and lunches. We had a guy from our church (that wasn't able to come) who's mom lived in Pleasant Grove that made dinner for us one night. There were vans driving around neighborhoods giving out ice cold water and Gatorade to people that were working.
It was a great experience for the boys too. I think they learned a lot about sacrifice and being a servant. And they learned that they LOVE Alabama and want to move there when Kyle graduates : ) They just couldn't believe how "hilly" it was and wished they had been able to bring their bikes.
"...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Matthew 20:28
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| Church Gym |
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| A house pushed back off of its foundation |
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| We helped clean the trees out of this yard. |
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| Colby looking through the debris... |
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| Getting to work! |
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| Closet where the homeowners were during the tornado |
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| Tornado path |
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| Awesome ribs in Tuscaloosa! We ate with some lovely people from a church in Pleasant Grove that we attended Sunday morning. |
