May 22nd was a day I'll never forget. I saw the forecast for bad weather coming toward Missouri and got a really odd feeling. Because of this feeling I packed up my two kids and husband to join us for youth group at FCCE that Sunday night. Usually family doesn't come with me for this particular event, but for some reason I felt so uneasy that they did.
As we were driving back the weather was starting to get worse and worse. We started receiving phone calls and text messages from people saying that "Joplin was destroyed". Early reports had very little information, but when the information came, it was devastating! Rangeline, the main road in Joplin had been destroyed, St. John's, one of the hospitals had received major damage. We sat watching the devastating news in our living room until a late hour with our kids cuddled up, in case the same storm might come and produce the same weather here in Saint Louis. Thankfully, it did not.
When it was finally decided that the youth would go to Joplin to do mission work, I was both excited and nervous. What would we find? How would we be changed? What stories would we hear?
Our group arrived in Joplin via a road that had no destruction on it at all. As we made our way toward the distribution center where we would be sorting out donations, we saw a perfectly normal functioning town. Except for the signs "Free lunch for volunteers here" --- "Free hot breakfast from 7-10", etc etc. We arrived at the center a little bit early so we looked around the outside of the building and began to discuss the task. Many of the youth weren't sure about just working in a center sorting clothes or diapers or toliet paper or soap. I can't say that I blame them, it seems like a task that really doesn't help anybody.
As we walked into the distribution center as Mary Lin got there, I was drawn up short. Hanging on the door was a t-shirt that said, "Everything will be alright". Such a useful message for the people of Joplin and for me. It was stunning to walk into the distribution center. FCC in Joplin is a small church and as such has a small area to work with and much smaller amount of donations than other distribution centers Their gym was wall to wall with different stations of things that people would need.
Our task for the day was to sort out items and make them easier to find, as well as to mark out barcodes on items so that people couldn't return the items for cash at stores (apparently this had started happening recently). Another large group showed up to volunteer as well and slowly we worked together to bring the room into order.
Andrew and I had the task of sorting and condensing the wipes and diapers section. It took us a long time, but it felt great to finish the task and know that victims of the tornado would have a much easier time finding what they needed in the center.
We met a few of the people who were shopping during this time. I met a young mother of two (who's youngest was no more than 1 month old) who was looking for all sorts of items including something in the diaper section. I inquired about how she was doing and she told me that times were tough, made more tough by the fact that her grandmother had lost her house too. They were all living with her mother and the stress was starting to bother them.
Another volunteer spoke with a woman, asking if she could help her. She explained that she had a broken arm. She had broken it pulling her aunt out of the rumble, only to discover that she had died. THe woman was only wearing a wrap on her arm and further explained that she had cut her cast off herself because it got in the way of all the things she needed to do.
Being in this center reminded me of other stories I'd heard. Of small children, young men, the elderly and their deaths. I said a little prayer of hope for the individuals who had lost not only their homes, but their families.
Early in the day we realized there wouldn't be enough work to do for the entire group all day since there were other groups that had come to help so we decided to go and drive by some of the effected areas. What we found was otherwordly.
*I've lived through a tornado before. In my hometown 8 years ago there was a group of storms that destroyed several homes and areas. I worked with people I know to sort through their things, to move wood, to drive people around and bring them food and drinks and it doesn't get any easier.*
Seeing destruction on this scale was mind blowing. Seeing places that you might have thought were "safe" from weather that are now mere shells. Seeing homes destroyed, a hospital in shambles, debris still littering the streets and parking lots, even a month after the storms had come and gone. It gave me new perspective on what mother nature is capable of. and what humans are capable of.
We found a park to sit and eat lunch and discuss. Many of the youth were disappointed that we couldn't work with clean up and that our trip would be cut short. I explained the rules (united way states that volunteers must be 18 or older, (though earlier it was 12 and up, this is likely because of possible injury, liability, and insurance purposes). As we drove home I thought more about the issue. I felt bad because I felt like I'd let the group down, like I somehow hadn't done something right. I felt changed, i felt like the work I did gave me new perspective on what is important when doing mission work, but others seemed generally disappointed.
So when we pulled into the parking lot at home, we had a meeting. I stated an apology that things didn't work out quite as planned (leaving early, not having a good back up plan), but that we had to remember some important things. Mission work is NOT doing what we think we should do, but doing what needs to be done. While we may WANT to go and build someone a house, sometimes sorting food is more important and just as necessary. Mission work isn't about being visible, but about being helpful and following direction. That means if the group say 18 and up, we don't consider lying, we find something we can do.
overall, I felt like the trip was a success. The youth who were old enough (and adults) have talked about going back down at a later time to do what they can to help. We were able to help make the lives of the survivors of the tornado a little bit easier by sorting out the distribution center and we were able to see that God can work through us and guide us, if we only listen.
