Village Blog

Today we shifted our focus from Washington, IL to Gifford, IL.  Same story, smaller town. The tornado went right through the center of Gifford and cleared a path as it traveled. Houses leveled to the ground, nothing left.  Amazing.  The homes were strewn across fields like they were made of little match sticks.

We had a team of 11 and joined forces with another 60 or so people who came out for the day to help.  St. Paul's Lutheran Church and the Salvation Army did an outstanding job at coordinating relief efforts.  We helped them organize supplies that will be made available to the community and helped some farmers clean fields of debris. What seemed like a daunting task at first was not so bad with 20-40 people canvasing across the field and a few dump trucks following us around!  In a way, what we did individually was small, but when coupled with the other 60, a great deal was accomplished.  We were thankful to be able to help.  We talked about how we all felt too busy to take time to go, but once we got there and saw the devastation and the needs, we realized our busyness is nothing compared to the needs these families are facing.

Here's the story one resident tells about his experience when the tornado went over his house:

"I stepped outside and I heard it coming. My daughter was already in the basement, so I ran downstairs and grabbed her, crouched in the laundry room and all of a sudden I could see daylight up the stairway and my house was gone." 

The local CBS affiliate took a liking to Max and put him on the evening news.  Click the photo above to view or click here: goo.gl/6w6qfU