Apison, TN Tornado Relief May 2011
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April 27th was a day that unfortunately broke many records in tornado
history. Many lives were lost and many, many homes were damaged and/or
destroyed. I was working on an entertainment system all day on the 28th
and was able to watch and listen to many different storm stories, all of which
broke my heart. I also realized that the media would only focus on big news
items so I knew there were many communities that had been affected by the
storm that I had no clue about.
I immediately began contacting different churches to see if we could be of
any assistance. There was one glitch, I had committed to take 26 people to
the Bowery in NYC for a week beginning the following weekend and I would
be gone for 8 days. I knew there was a lot we could offer, but I also knew I
needed to honor my commitment. I spoke with a couple of different people
who were in the affected areas and it was determined that we would touch
base when I returned from NYC and put together a relief effort the following
week as I also had some work commitments to fulfill after NYC and before
responding to the tornados.
After we returned from NYC the Lord led us to respond with Calvary Chapel
Chattanooga. There was a small community outside of Chattanooga called
Apison that had experienced extensive damage from the tornados. We
quickly put out the word and began assembling our response team, while
Darren from CC Chatt worked on setting us up with a place to stay.
As usual the Bowery quickly responded with the ability to send five guys
from NYC, Curtis, Sheldon, Miguel, Rafael Darrin. We were also joined by a
husband and wife team, Jeff and Carol from CC Merritt Island, one guy from
the local Barnabas House, Gerald, and another local guy who just wanted to
go help out, Alex. We all headed out early Sunday morning and converged
on Apison, TN.
We arrived in the late afternoon and hooked up with Darren; they fed us and
got us out to Apison. They had arranged for us to hook up with Pastor Todd
from Apison United Methodist Church who had plenty of work for us to do
and a place for us to stay and eat. They had also arranged for us to get
showers at the Little Debbie rec center which came complete with snack
cakes on the way out!
We immediately were taken around the area to see the damage done and
where we would be serving. Within a four mile radius of the church 20
people lost their lives and more property than we could count had been
damaged including many homes that had been condemned.
The first home we were going to work on had a snag and it was raining in the
morning so we took some time going over some safety issues and spent an
extra long time in the Word. The Lord led me to go through the book of
Philippians so we dug right in. It turned out to be just what we needed during
our time in TN. We did Philippians in the morning and the Proverb of the
day in the evening until a few of the guys wanted to hear some teaching on
relationships so we diverted to that during the evening for a few days. Since
we were there for two weeks, we finished Philippians and we also went
through Philemon and Jude.
At our first home a couple from California, Jim and Martha came up and
asked if they could help clean up as they had some equipment that would
make hauling stuff easier. I asked them how much they charged and they
said they were volunteers so I said, let’s get to work! After we finished for
the day I asked if they would join us for dinner and then found out they had
just arrived in town and didn’t have a place to stay. We invited them to join
our team and what a huge blessing that was! Jim is a very handy,
resourceful, and a get it done kind of guy! He is very mechanical inclined
and was a huge blessing to us in many areas. Of course he couldn’t do
anything without the support of Martha who worked very hard with us! We
look forward to serving with them again as the Lord leads! They decided to
stay on for a week and a half after we left.
Jeff and Carol took off Friday evening; Danny from New Mexico also joined
us the first week from Tuesday until Saturday. The second week we were
joined by Jason who searched us out on the web. He was visiting his parents
in Tampa and headed home to Vermont and wanted to help for a few days on
his way home. He stayed on an extra day after we left. Ken from Sarasota,
an old friend, joined us the second week along with David, a local guy,
another David who came in from a United Methodist Church in Indiana and
our friends from CC Mechanicsville in Virginia, Jason, Amara and Jessie.
The Bowery guys left early Thursday morning of the second week. Kenny
and Jason stayed an extra day; David from Indiana was staying a few extra
days, Alex and extra week and Jim and Martha for an extra two weeks. The
rest of us left after we’d been there for two weeks.
There was a group of local volunteers who had set up a camp and was taking
care of as many things as they could. We had rented a bobcat to make our
work go quicker (without it we probably would’ve only gotten one or two jobs
done instead of twelve). The local outreach started giving us some diesel for
the bobcat and offered us some food that other local folks had prepared.
Most of the locals were a little stand offish, not knowing us or what we were
up to, which is typical in most of the areas that we respond to. After a couple
of fill ups on fuel and a couple of meals there still seemed to be some tense
feelings in the air when we were at the “tent city” after all we were the
outsiders!
We were serving down the road working on three side by side properties. To
move the trees on one of the properties we were using an easement driveway
next to the property. On one of the trips a lady standing on the property
next to the driveway said we could put all of our stuff on their burn pile if we
wanted. I went ahead and we were pretty much finished up for the day and
the trees in that area so we headed out. The next morning we came back and
had to tear down a small storage building and decided to move it to the burn
pile as well. While moving it I struck up a conversation with a guy on the
property. It turned out it was his in laws property. Their mobile home had
been destroyed in a fire last year and it was just replaced in October. Now
the tornado had destroyed it and they didn’t have any insurance. They were
going to build a slab house on the property and only needed to cut down two
huge trees that weren’t damaged in the storm. We typically don’t cut down
anything that isn’t damaged but decided that we could cut these down to help
these folks out. It turns out that these folks were heavily involved with the
locals at the tent city. After that we became everyone’s best friends!
The next property we worked on was next door to the tent city. Evidently we
amazed everyone with the amount and quality of our work. The tent city
asked us if we could start working on some of their projects. We cleared it
with Pastor Todd and began serving with them on our last few homes. Keep
in mind that homes in TN have huge lots with many huge trees. It was no
small thing to go in and cut and clear the timber, but our team worked hard
and we did and awesome job. Many people said they couldn’t believe what all
we accomplished and that it was a huge help in the recovery process. I have
no idea how many tons of trees were cut and moved by our team, but it was
huge, not to mention the debris that was taken down and moved.
Our trip was met with problems, as they all are, but God was faithful and as
we relied and trusted in Him, He got us through the issues, taught us many
things and we were able to bless many people, all in the name of Jesus!
Pastor Todd and his wife Liz from Apison United Methodist Church have
spent a ton of time with the community through this time. We were blessed
to attend one of their Sunday services where he taught “It’s a beautiful day
in the neighborhood.” At first glance this may sound like a pretty insensitive
thing to say, but he was saying that amidst all of the storm issues that have
come up, God was working in many ways. Neighbors were helping neighbors,
strangers were helping strangers, language was cleaned up and through it all
Jesus was being glorified through many! Their church was a major hub for
relief victims, offering tangible goods to all those who needed it. They had
also distributed tons of gift cards to folks who needed to purchase goods and
didn’t have the money. As needs arose that included physical work, they
were doing their best to accommodate the affected people.
They also have taken the time to minister to the people spiritually and as the
remnant that will remain there after we’ve left, they will continue to do so
into the future. They are a really small church but have accomplished a lot
in the Lord’s eyes during this time. Please keep them in your prayers. Todd
has a list of the homeowners that we served and he will be following up with
them in the coming months.
Since we responded to Apison there have been many other storms that have
hit across the nation. I’ve been asked to go to Missouri and Arkansas and at
this time have declined both. Recently some storms hit in the Massachusetts
and I just got word that one of the Bowery staff is from the area that was hit
and he will be taking a team there this weekend to help cut down trees. It is
awesome to see what little we do turn into even bigger things as other’s
follow the Lord’s leading.
We are always praying about responding to every disaster that we hear about
and go as the Lord leads. We are praying about returning to the Apison area
as what we did there was only a drop in the bucket for all the work that will
need done.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we seek the Lord’s direction
for our lives and the ministry that He’s entrusted us with. We desire to be
out in the field more and see the Lord continually pushing us in that
direction, all in His timing! Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support.
history. Many lives were lost and many, many homes were damaged and/or
destroyed. I was working on an entertainment system all day on the 28th
and was able to watch and listen to many different storm stories, all of which
broke my heart. I also realized that the media would only focus on big news
items so I knew there were many communities that had been affected by the
storm that I had no clue about.
I immediately began contacting different churches to see if we could be of
any assistance. There was one glitch, I had committed to take 26 people to
the Bowery in NYC for a week beginning the following weekend and I would
be gone for 8 days. I knew there was a lot we could offer, but I also knew I
needed to honor my commitment. I spoke with a couple of different people
who were in the affected areas and it was determined that we would touch
base when I returned from NYC and put together a relief effort the following
week as I also had some work commitments to fulfill after NYC and before
responding to the tornados.
After we returned from NYC the Lord led us to respond with Calvary Chapel
Chattanooga. There was a small community outside of Chattanooga called
Apison that had experienced extensive damage from the tornados. We
quickly put out the word and began assembling our response team, while
Darren from CC Chatt worked on setting us up with a place to stay.
As usual the Bowery quickly responded with the ability to send five guys
from NYC, Curtis, Sheldon, Miguel, Rafael Darrin. We were also joined by a
husband and wife team, Jeff and Carol from CC Merritt Island, one guy from
the local Barnabas House, Gerald, and another local guy who just wanted to
go help out, Alex. We all headed out early Sunday morning and converged
on Apison, TN.
We arrived in the late afternoon and hooked up with Darren; they fed us and
got us out to Apison. They had arranged for us to hook up with Pastor Todd
from Apison United Methodist Church who had plenty of work for us to do
and a place for us to stay and eat. They had also arranged for us to get
showers at the Little Debbie rec center which came complete with snack
cakes on the way out!
We immediately were taken around the area to see the damage done and
where we would be serving. Within a four mile radius of the church 20
people lost their lives and more property than we could count had been
damaged including many homes that had been condemned.
The first home we were going to work on had a snag and it was raining in the
morning so we took some time going over some safety issues and spent an
extra long time in the Word. The Lord led me to go through the book of
Philippians so we dug right in. It turned out to be just what we needed during
our time in TN. We did Philippians in the morning and the Proverb of the
day in the evening until a few of the guys wanted to hear some teaching on
relationships so we diverted to that during the evening for a few days. Since
we were there for two weeks, we finished Philippians and we also went
through Philemon and Jude.
At our first home a couple from California, Jim and Martha came up and
asked if they could help clean up as they had some equipment that would
make hauling stuff easier. I asked them how much they charged and they
said they were volunteers so I said, let’s get to work! After we finished for
the day I asked if they would join us for dinner and then found out they had
just arrived in town and didn’t have a place to stay. We invited them to join
our team and what a huge blessing that was! Jim is a very handy,
resourceful, and a get it done kind of guy! He is very mechanical inclined
and was a huge blessing to us in many areas. Of course he couldn’t do
anything without the support of Martha who worked very hard with us! We
look forward to serving with them again as the Lord leads! They decided to
stay on for a week and a half after we left.
Jeff and Carol took off Friday evening; Danny from New Mexico also joined
us the first week from Tuesday until Saturday. The second week we were
joined by Jason who searched us out on the web. He was visiting his parents
in Tampa and headed home to Vermont and wanted to help for a few days on
his way home. He stayed on an extra day after we left. Ken from Sarasota,
an old friend, joined us the second week along with David, a local guy,
another David who came in from a United Methodist Church in Indiana and
our friends from CC Mechanicsville in Virginia, Jason, Amara and Jessie.
The Bowery guys left early Thursday morning of the second week. Kenny
and Jason stayed an extra day; David from Indiana was staying a few extra
days, Alex and extra week and Jim and Martha for an extra two weeks. The
rest of us left after we’d been there for two weeks.
There was a group of local volunteers who had set up a camp and was taking
care of as many things as they could. We had rented a bobcat to make our
work go quicker (without it we probably would’ve only gotten one or two jobs
done instead of twelve). The local outreach started giving us some diesel for
the bobcat and offered us some food that other local folks had prepared.
Most of the locals were a little stand offish, not knowing us or what we were
up to, which is typical in most of the areas that we respond to. After a couple
of fill ups on fuel and a couple of meals there still seemed to be some tense
feelings in the air when we were at the “tent city” after all we were the
outsiders!
We were serving down the road working on three side by side properties. To
move the trees on one of the properties we were using an easement driveway
next to the property. On one of the trips a lady standing on the property
next to the driveway said we could put all of our stuff on their burn pile if we
wanted. I went ahead and we were pretty much finished up for the day and
the trees in that area so we headed out. The next morning we came back and
had to tear down a small storage building and decided to move it to the burn
pile as well. While moving it I struck up a conversation with a guy on the
property. It turned out it was his in laws property. Their mobile home had
been destroyed in a fire last year and it was just replaced in October. Now
the tornado had destroyed it and they didn’t have any insurance. They were
going to build a slab house on the property and only needed to cut down two
huge trees that weren’t damaged in the storm. We typically don’t cut down
anything that isn’t damaged but decided that we could cut these down to help
these folks out. It turns out that these folks were heavily involved with the
locals at the tent city. After that we became everyone’s best friends!
The next property we worked on was next door to the tent city. Evidently we
amazed everyone with the amount and quality of our work. The tent city
asked us if we could start working on some of their projects. We cleared it
with Pastor Todd and began serving with them on our last few homes. Keep
in mind that homes in TN have huge lots with many huge trees. It was no
small thing to go in and cut and clear the timber, but our team worked hard
and we did and awesome job. Many people said they couldn’t believe what all
we accomplished and that it was a huge help in the recovery process. I have
no idea how many tons of trees were cut and moved by our team, but it was
huge, not to mention the debris that was taken down and moved.
Our trip was met with problems, as they all are, but God was faithful and as
we relied and trusted in Him, He got us through the issues, taught us many
things and we were able to bless many people, all in the name of Jesus!
Pastor Todd and his wife Liz from Apison United Methodist Church have
spent a ton of time with the community through this time. We were blessed
to attend one of their Sunday services where he taught “It’s a beautiful day
in the neighborhood.” At first glance this may sound like a pretty insensitive
thing to say, but he was saying that amidst all of the storm issues that have
come up, God was working in many ways. Neighbors were helping neighbors,
strangers were helping strangers, language was cleaned up and through it all
Jesus was being glorified through many! Their church was a major hub for
relief victims, offering tangible goods to all those who needed it. They had
also distributed tons of gift cards to folks who needed to purchase goods and
didn’t have the money. As needs arose that included physical work, they
were doing their best to accommodate the affected people.
They also have taken the time to minister to the people spiritually and as the
remnant that will remain there after we’ve left, they will continue to do so
into the future. They are a really small church but have accomplished a lot
in the Lord’s eyes during this time. Please keep them in your prayers. Todd
has a list of the homeowners that we served and he will be following up with
them in the coming months.
Since we responded to Apison there have been many other storms that have
hit across the nation. I’ve been asked to go to Missouri and Arkansas and at
this time have declined both. Recently some storms hit in the Massachusetts
and I just got word that one of the Bowery staff is from the area that was hit
and he will be taking a team there this weekend to help cut down trees. It is
awesome to see what little we do turn into even bigger things as other’s
follow the Lord’s leading.
We are always praying about responding to every disaster that we hear about
and go as the Lord leads. We are praying about returning to the Apison area
as what we did there was only a drop in the bucket for all the work that will
need done.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we seek the Lord’s direction
for our lives and the ministry that He’s entrusted us with. We desire to be
out in the field more and see the Lord continually pushing us in that
direction, all in His timing! Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support.
darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. Isaiah 58:10
