This was a busy area of Joplin. The team toured the devastated areas on their bikes.

Wow, it must have been an emotional day for the team.

They rode their bikes to Convoy of Hope headquarters. Jeff said they rode right by our first home on Oak Grove Street. It looked the same as it did when we left it 15 years ago. They then went to Joplin for a bike tour of the destruction and a chance to meet survivors and hear the tragic, amazing, and blessed stories of loss and near-loss. Jeff for once was full of information. I wish I could put it all down here, but I can’t do it justice. I’ll do my best.

Jeff said that no camera can adequately record the true devastation of the area. Sometimes as far as you can see is row upon row of outlines of foundations. Every so often you’ll see a partial house or a business with a car or two inside, resting where they were tossed during the storm like wrecking balls that had been flung without the cable connection. Streets were only definable where the street names were written on pavement with spray paint: Wisconsin Ave., Indiana Ave., Pennsylvania Ave…. In one area they went by a foundation that was indistinguishable from the others except for the big vault that was still standing. The rest of the building had been blown away, but the vault sat there as testament to what had been a local banking institution.

The team spent time at St. Paul Methodist Church. Aaron is the pastor there. They found the church filled with volunteers rebuilding the church and doing things to help the community. Jeff said there was story after story. It was fascinating and heart-wrenching. From that one church, 80 families lost their homes. Many funerals were presided over by Aaron. Each family, each person has a story….

One man is the theater director for the local Stained Glass Theater. They were in mid-production when the tornado hit. They heard sirens. He looked up at the catwalk and saw two men looking out the windows above the stage. He looked out the window backstage and saw the tornado coming right at them. When he turned back around to warn the guys in the catwalk, they were standing right beside him. They have no idea how they got down, only that one minute they were up and the next they were standing beside him. All three men ran for cover. The director threw himself between a row of seats and rolled up in a ball. The seats were sucked right out of the theater as he would have been had he hung on to them. His wife, however, did not make it to safety. She was caught in the debris and died a couple of days later from complications.

One woman told Jeff that she and her husband were going to go to that theater production but decided against it. Then they were going to go eat at the Golden Corral. They finally decided to stay home. So the lady went to the grocery store for a couple of things. On the way back the sirens went off. She made it home and grabbed the body pillow from her bed to put over her head as she hunkered down in the hallway. That pillow was all that was between her and the debris of a well-loved home reduced to bits and pieces. The theater they were going to was destroyed. The restaurant they thought about eating at was demolished. The grocery store she shopped at didn’t make it either. But she and her husband made it and are now in the church helping others.

If there was ever a time the members of the team wondered why there were compelled to join the team, today answered that question. The wonderful people of St. Paul’s, who are suffering loss and tragedy, opened their arms and welcomed the team—they hugged them, encouraged them, thanked them, and fed them a wonderful dinner. Jeff said the people were so warm and real and wonderful, they really touched his heart. More than ever the team felt unified in their mission.

Half the team stayed all night in Joplin to celebrate the Sabbath with the folks at St. Paul’s. The other half returned to Hope Community Church to be part of their service. Jeff is staying in Springfield and hoping our kids can make it over to be in church with him. Since none of them, Jeff, Joel, or Jasmine, have a car right now, the logistics are up in the air. After church, both groups will start the bike tour by riding to Branson.

Lord, thank You for the stories You have written on the lives of the people of Joplin and Tuscaloosa. Lord, please continue to work in their lives, protect them, and use them to offer hope to their community. Thank You so much for the call on each member of the Present: Hope Tour team. Protect them as they ride tomorrow. Keep the passion of the mission alive every mile of the way. Thank You for the courage and obedience of my husband to follow You even when it is hard. Amen.