Tornadoes 2011-Raleigh NC.

Saturday afternoon the tornadoes covered our area. Billy and I had a house full of neighborhood kids in our home as we glued ourselves to the TV in order to see the route the tornadoes were taking.   We briefed the kids on where we would go and to go quickly.  The rain came and the wind rocked our trees back and forth. Billy and I paced the house looking at the sky and the trees while keeping the kids contained in one room. The tornado hit just a few miles away and destroyed everything in its path. Our power was out for several hours and the sun came out shinning within 20 minutes after the storm.  We had no idea of the destruction until our power came back on and we started to see the news reports and pictures.  We found out Sunday morning at church that some friends of ours, The Evans, home was one hit in the storm. However, they were in church praising the Lord for life and claimed Gods provision for their lives. Their house is pictured below.   Monday, I went over to the Evan's home to see how we can help and when I stepped out of the car, I couldn't contain the emotion.  Seeing pictures doesn't help you prepare for the damage and seeing the owners' faces.  Some homes were moved completely off their foundation and others were just a mess of sticks and debris. When you walked on the street or grass, the surface cracked with crumbled glass, nails and broken items. I did run into Amy, we hugged and I shared how sorry I was for her loss.  She quickly said it's just stuff that can be replaced and she was so thankful that everyone was alive unlike some folks just a mile from their home where lives were lost. She was pointing out things from their top floor in their home to me and said, "its crazy how one wall remains untouched, the mirror isn't even broken or tilted. A laundry basket, TV and books on the bookshelf remain untouched but everything else is gone." 

Can you believe that after all she had gone through in the past several hours Amy asked how I was doing with the move?? Amazing lady, unable to even give her a clear answer because I was blown away that even in the midst of her loss she was thinking about others. News reporters collected around us taping our conversations and Amy was so gracious to them and gave praise to the Lord for protection and the care from the community in efforts to clean up.

When Tuesday rolled around my mind and heart couldn't bear the thought of going on with my daily life and packing for PA when the need was so great in our area. Olivia and I left the house with tons of water and a willing heart for the Lord to use us in someway. Although deep within I just wanted a pair of work gloves & to get out and work but it wasn't safe for Olivia to get out.  So we went to a few streets that had damage but didn't have much help yet with response teams and Olivia helped hand water out to the neighbors that were cleaning and working. We had the opportunity to talk and pray with a few folks.  Everyone that we talked to including one home that had already been declared as condemned said they were blessed.....blessed.....yes you heard that right....blessed.  wow, my heart aches and my perspective challenged. 

This is the Evan's home, the front porch propped up with a column that had fallen and the house exposed like a doll house.

debris laying by the road

This is a shed tangled in the power lines their barn suffered much damage but the horse seems to have

faired ok.

You hear the sound of chainsaws and helicopters in the area

massive trees like this one up rooted in seconds that had stood for years

You can' t even see the floor plan of this house. Kids looking for their toys in the yards among the debris.

This house was lifted completely off the foundation and slid to the side. 

Make shift volunteer stations providing drinks and snacks for the relief effort.

Tree's across the area snapped like twigs by the force of the winds

Power lines are down across roads and transformers sitting in yards and streets along with mangled messes like this tower

Where do you start when much of the area looks like this? insulation tucked in trees and massive amounts of stuff everywhere

This car did not belong in this driveway.  It was rolled by the tornado to this home a few houses down.

power is still out for many even today

It appears almost every roof in this area has a blue tarp or a yellow/green condemned flyer on the front door. Most homes have all of the windows blown out

This was a home, just can't even make sense of the damage

Powerful moment to see N.C. Baptist Men covered the area, caught this group gathered around praying for a homeowner that lost his home.

There are several people still in serious condition at hospitals and many have passed in those few minutes that the storm swept through.  Please pray for all those effected in the storm.  We have had a dry forecast since the storm but today we have severe thunderstorms on the radar which can certainly be difficult with disaster relief and cleanup. Also, keep in mind praying for folks as they deal with the emotional impact of having severe storms this afternoon.