Tornado Relief Effort

SUNDAY EVENING, MAY 22ND, WHILE WE WERE PREPARING FOR SERVICES, WE WERE INFORMED THAT SEVERE WEATHER WAS HEADED FOR JOPLIN .
ABOUT 5:20 P.M. PASTOR HANK TOOK THOSE PRESENT OVER TO THE BASEMENT OF THE FELLOWSHIP HALL FOR SAFETY, WHERE THEY SANG AND PRAYED UNTIL WE RECEIVED NOTICED THAT THE STORM HAD PASSED THROUGH OUR CITY, DOING A INSURMOUNTABLE OF DAMAGE.

SEVERAL OF OUR CHURCH FOLKS RECEIVED CALLS THAT THEIR FAMILIES WERE IN NEED OF IMMEDIATE HELP.
SERVICES WERE CANCELED AND PEOPLE TOOK OFF TO SEE ABOUT THEIR FAMILIES WHO LIVED IN THE STORM AREA.
MANY OF OUR FOLKS JUST WENT OUT AND HELPED WHEREVER THEY COULD, EVEN THOUGH THEY DIDN’T HAVE FAMILY DIRECTLY EFFECTED. MANY WORKED ALL NIGHT HELPING OTHERS.

EARLY MONDAY MORNING, MAY 23RD, OUR PASTOR CAME INTO THE OFFICE AND PLANS WERE PUT INTO PLACE TO BEGIN CALLING, AND TRYING TO CONTACT IN SOME WAY, THE FOLKS WE KNEW AND THE ONES ON OUR DATA BASE WHO LIVED IN THE STRICKEN AREA.

LATER THAT SAME DAY WE BEGAN GETTING CALLS FROM PEOPLE WANTING TO HELP. CALLS CAME FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY: LOS VEGAS, NEW YORK, FLORIDA, NEW JERSEY, CALIFORNIA, OHIO, NORTH CAROLINA, ETC.

ONE CALL CAME FROM A PREACHER IN ARKANSAS WHO HAD A MINISTRY THAT WORKED WITH DISASTERS. HE BEGAN TO TELL US WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO AND HOW TO SET UP A DISTRIBUTION CENTER TO HELP OUR PEOPLE AS WELL AS ANY THAT WERE TOUCHED BY THE STORM. HE SUGGESTED WHAT THINGS TO REQUEST FROM CALLERS. WHAT THINGS TO ACCEPT WHEN OFFERED AND WHAT THINGS TO REFUSE.
HE TOLD US OF A CONTRACTOR BY THE NAME OF CHARLES, FROM NORTH CAROLINA, WHO WAS ALREADY IN-ROUTE TO JOPLIN AND WHO WOULD WORK WITH US IF WE WANTED HIM, WHICH WE DID. CHARLES TURNED OUT TO BE A TREMENDOUS BLESSING TO US, A GOD-SEND.

BY TUESDAY THE CHURCH OFFICE STAFF WERE ON THE PHONES FROM 6:30 A.M. UNTIL LATE INTO THE EVENING RECEIVING CALLS AND ROUTING TRUCKLOADS OF RELIEF FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO OUR PARKING LOT.

PASTOR GOT TOGETHER WITH A COUPLE OF OUR PEOPLE, AND IN A MATTER OF HOURS OUR PARKING LOT AND TEEN CENTER TURNED INTO A GIANT DISTRIBUTION CENTER STOCKED WITH DONATED ITEMS FOR THE STORM VICTIMS.

VOLUNTEERS FROM OUR CHURCH FAMILY AND FROM ALL OVER CAME AND WORKED HOUR AFTER HOUR ORGANIZING THE ITEMS. THEN CHARLES FROM NORTH CAROLINA ARRIVED AND BEGAN SHOWING US HOW TO SET UP A DRIVE-THROUGH LINE AND HOW TO PRE-PACK BOXES OF NEEDED ITEMS, SO ALL FOLKS HAD TO DO WAS DRIVE THROUGH THE LINE, NEVER EVEN GETTING OUT OF THEIR CAR, THE PREPACKED BOXES WERE PLACED IN THEIR VEHICLE AND OFF THEY WENT.

MEANTIME PASTOR HANK WAS WORKING WITH THE MEN WHO WERE GOING OUT TO OUR CHURCH MEMBERS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS WHO HAD BEEN AFFECTED, TAKING THEM FOOD, WATER, PERSONAL ITEMS AND CASH.
WE HELPED THEM LOOK THROUGH THEIR PILES OF RUBBLE FOR ANYTHING THEY COULD SALVAGE.

WE HAD CREWS REMOVING TREES, MOVING FURNITURE, ETC. OUR FOLKS WERE JOINED BY VOLUNTEERS FROM EVERYWHERE. WE HAD COUNCIL PEOPLE FROM OTHER CITIES, JUDGES, TEACHERS, PREACHERS, ETC., ALL ROLLING UP THEIR SLEEVES AND DOING WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE, FROM PACKING BOXES TO DELIVERING ITEMS, TO COOKING, TO UNLOADING SEMI-TRUCKS.

ABOUT THE SECOND OR THIRD DAY, A TEAM OF OUR MEMBERS STARTED COOKING THREE MEALS A DAY IN THE KITCHEN FOR WORKERS AND VICTIMS WHO CAME IN. THEY DIDN’T STOP THERE, THEY STARTED TAKING FOOD TO WORKERS IN THE FIELD AND TO WORKERS AT OTHER DISTRIBUTION CENTERS.

TRUCKLOAD AFTER TRUCKLOAD ARRIVED AND WAS PASSED ON TO THE VICTIMS.
FOR , ABOUT FOUR WEEKS OUR TELEPHONE CREW DIRECTED TRUCKS AND TOOK CALLS FROM PEOPLE WANTING TO SEND ITEMS AND MONEY. WE EVEN HAD A PASTOR ARRANGE FOR A SMALL PLANE FROM FLORIDA TO FLY INTO JOPLIN WITH A PLANE LOAD OF PRE-PACKED MEALS TO PASS OUT.

AFTER ABOUT FOUR AND ONE HALF WEEKS OUR DISASTER “GURU,” CHARLES, TOLD US TO CUT OFF THE GOODS COMING IN AND START DISTRIBUTING THE ITEMS WE HAD ACCUMULATED TO OTHER CENTERS, SO THAT AFTER THE IMMEDIATE NEEDS OF FOLKS WERE MET, WE WOULDN’T BE LEFT WITH A PARKING LOT FULL OF ITEMS THAT FOLKS WOULDN’T NEED UNTIL SEVERAL WEEKS LATER..

“PHASE TWO” BEGAN AS WE STARTED CONTACTING AND RECEIVING CALLS FROM SUPPLIERS WHO HAD FURNITURE, MATTRESSES ETC., AND WE BEGAN GETTING THESES ITEMS INTO THE HANDS OF OUR FOLKS AND OTHERS IN THE COMMUNITY.

WE WORKED WITH A MATTRESS COMPANY CENTERED IN TULSA WHO SAID THAT THEY WOULD FURNISH MATTRESSES FOR FAMILIES WHO HAD BEEN DISPLACED IN THE STORM. WE CALLED MANY OF THESES FAMILIES AND ARRANGED FOR THEM TO GET BRAND NEW MATTRESSES.

WE HAD A CONTACT PERSON WITH THE MISSOURI HIGHWAY PATROL WHO DONATED A NICE SIZED CHECK, AS WELL AS 70 SLIGHTLY USED MATTRESSES FROM THEIR TRAINING CENTER, WHICH WE DISTRIBUTED TO THE COMMUNITY.

WE RECEIVED, AND PASSED OUT, GENERATORS, WHEELCHAIRS, WINDOWS, DOORS, CLOTHING AND JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE PEOPLE WANTED TO GIVE.

WE DID INTERVIEWS WITH RADIO, TV, AND NEWSPAPERS IN AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, NEW YORK, ETC

OUR CHURCH HAS DISTRIBUTED NEARLY $40,000.00 IN CASH TO STORM VICTIMS AND ONLY GOD KNOWS THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF ITEMS WE RECEIVED AND DISTRIBUTED.

THIS PAST WEEK WE RECEIVED A TRUCKLOAD OF FURNITURE THAT WAS PASSED ON TO OUR CHURCH MEMBERS WHO NEEDED IT AND TO THE COMMUNITY. THIS COMING WEEK WE ARE EXPECTING MORE FURNITURE.

THERE CONTINUE TO BE PEOPLE WE HELP DAILY. AND WITH THE CONTACTS WE HAVE MADE FROM DAY ONE, WE ARE ACTING AS A DISTRIBUTION CENTER TO OTHER DISTRIBUTION CENTERS, PASSING ON TRUCKLOADS OF GOODS AS WE RECEIVE THEM.

DURING ALL THESE ACTIVITIES WE HAVE NEVER CONTACTED A TV STATION OR A NEWSPAPER TO SHOW ALL THE GOOD DEEDS WE HAVE DONE OR WERE DOING.
OUR PASTOR’S HEART HAS BEEN TO LOVE AND HELP THE PEOPLE AND TO LET JESUS BE THE SUPERSTAR!

IN ALL, WE BELIEVE THERE WERE BETWEEN 60 TO 70 FAMILIES IN OUR CHURCH ALONE WHO WERE AFFECTED GREATLY BY THE STORM, AND WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HELP THEM AND A HOST OF OTHER PEOPLR IN OUR CITY.

OUR PRAYERS GO OUT TO ALL WHO SUFFERED LOSS FROM THE STORM, AND IT IS OUR DESIRE TO HELP AS MANY FOLKS AS WE CAN TO GET THEIR LIVES BACK TO NORMAL AND TO EXPERIENCE GOD’S LOVE THROUGH US.

WE HAVEN’T QUIT; OUR RELIEF EFFORTS HAVE JUST TAKEN A NEW DIRECTION.
WE HAVE ENTERED INTO THE RECOVERY STAGE WHERE WE ARE TRYING MEET PEOPLE’S NEEDS ONE-ON-ONE AND LISTENING TO THEIR STORIES, HELPING THEM FIND PLACES TO LIVE AND HELPING THEM TO GET ON WITH THEIR LIVES. OUR RELIEF EFFORTS WILL CONTINUE DAY AFTER DAY FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES TO HELP PEOPLE GET THEIR LIVES PUT BACK TOGETHER. THIS IS A PROCESS THAT COULD GO ON FOR SEVERAL YEARS BECAUSE THE DEVASTATION WAS SO SEVERE AND WIDESPREAD.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT WE ARE HERE TO BE A BLESSING TO EVERYONE WE CAN IN JESUS NAME AND THROUGH HIS LOVE.

IF YOU NEED HELP, LET US KNOW. WE WILL DO WHAT WE CAN TO HELP YOU.
IF YOU WANT TO HELP US HELP OTHERS LET US KNOW THAT AS WELL. TOGETHER WE CAN, AND WILL, WITH GOD’S HELP, RESTORE OUR CITY TO BE EVEN BETTER THAN IT WAS.

Where do we go from here? There is a lot to do ahead. A lot we must do. Pastor Hank has helped us to see a vision of what it will look like to rebuild. Please take a few minutes and listen. RECOVERY SERVICE

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