Calm in the Storm
Through devastation of tornadoes, floods and fire, Southern Baptists respond
By Joe Conway and Mickey Noah
The sky over Joplin, Mo., continued to spit light rain and clouds threatened on the horizon four days after one of the nation’s deadliest tornadoes plowed through the heart of the city. Search and rescue teams continued their hopeful trek through miles of debris. At least 159 were killed by the EF-5 tornado that hit the Midwest town on May 25.
And through it all, a spirit of resolute hope spurred on this city of 50,000. In the middle of the work clearing rubble were Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) volunteers by the score.
The tornado hit close to home for one of those SBDR volunteers. Gary Hunley, a “Blue Hat” for the Missouri Baptist Convention, lost his own home to the monster storm.
“You just don’t know where to start,” said Hunley, as he and his wife, Twyla, sifted through what was left of their belongings. “You don’t want to let people help you because you think other people need it more. Then you realize you do need the help.”
Twyla credited God’s protection and her husband’s devotion for their survival. “The wind was blowing so hard. We were praying. I did not think we were going to make it. Gary never let go of me. We never stopped praying, and God never let go of us either.”
Gary agreed. “It was very scary—all the noise and the air pressure. The wind was so strong it felt like 10 men trying to push the door in. Then everything started breaking apart. We asked God to help us. When it was over, everything else was gone but He held our hand,” said Hunley.
In the wake of the Joplin tornado, some 400 SBDR volunteers from Missouri, Kansas/Nebraska and Oklahoma prepared more than 18,000 meals; chaplains made 4,000 visits and contacts; 400 chainsaw jobs were completed; 134 children were cared for; and almost 900 showers and laundry loads were provided.
“We just appreciate the prayers and financial support and all the teams who volunteered,” said Rick Seaton, director of men’s missions and ministry for the Missouri Baptist Convention. “It was a tremendous response and a big operation.”
Days after a second round of killer storms ripped through Alabama on Apirl 27, Rick Luallen, pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church in Gadsden, Ala., comforts those grieving over the loss of loved ones. The April 27 tornado left little to be salvaged in its mile-wide, 200-mile path through the South.
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