Tornadoes in Arkansas....

This is an email I sent a few minutes ago. I will post more thoughts later when I have a bit more time....

Good afternoon,
As you all know, a tornado tore through Mena, Arkansas last night. The twister killed 3 and injured more. News reports says that 600 homes are uninhabitable (I am not sure how accurate that number is). I have spoken with friends in the area and they confirm that the situation is bad. Please be in prayer for the residents of Mena as well as other communities affected by the storms. And yes, we will be organizing Mission of Compassion number seven soon. Details to follow in the coming days as needs are identified….

Also be in prayer for the folks in Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and Georgia. As of now, there are tornado warnings throughout those areas.

Tornadoes in Oklahoma!

No, this is NOT video of a tornado. If you look close, you should be able to make out the base of the storm. It put down a wall cloud for a few minutes, but that's all it could muster. This storm was tornadic in the OKC area earlier, and being the tail-end Charlie, I felt like it had potential. So, after conferring with George Flickinger, I drove southwest on I-44 as fast as I could. I did have that feeling in my gut that the north storm would be the one to be on but by that time, I was already committed and would have to punch the core of this monster after dark--not my favorite thing to do. So I followed this storm as it weakend and eventually died out west of Tulsa. I called it a night and got home about 11:00pm. with the head cold that I have, I decided that was it for me & hit the sack (with the scanner next to me) and I heard the tornado warning for Mayes county just to my east and thought.......nope, I won't do it. Turns out, Mayes county had a tornado about 2:30am on the leading edge of the squall line. Missed two in one day. I was glad that there were no fatalities in Oklahoma but as I type this, my heart is going out to our neighbors in Arkansas---6 confirmed fatalities so far today--and it's only 12:30pm!! Please pray for them as I pray for them and pray about another Mission of Compassion....

God bless.

Damage pictures from Arkansas....

Here's a link to KAIT in Jonesboro, Ark. & they have 147 pictures sent in and other info on the tornodoes. It looks as though we are dealing with at least EF-4 damage.
Here is the link:
http://www.kait8.com/global/Story.asp?s=7827423

Here is the PNS from Little Rock NWS:
http://www.srh.weather.gov/lzk/cgi-bin/wxs1.php?pil=PNSMAIN&max=13

Tornado destruction.....and a relief effort?

Here's the text of an e-mail that I sent to my friends......

Good afternoon,
As most of you know, there was a tragic outbreak of tornadoes last evening in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. As of noon, there are 50 dead, and countless injured. I started sensing the Lord prompting me to head up another relief mission last night as I was listening to coverage & watching my radars. I knew that it was going to be bad, and it was. Storms moved through at 50-60 MPH and just shredded peoples' lives. Many were trapped in a dorm at Union College in Jackson, Tn. and tragically some in other areas lost their lives. I can't bear to think about the lives that were taken, and the kids that will be petrified anytime that it rains or storms now. Details of this tragedy are still sketchy at this point, but I feel the need to do something.....

What can we do to help? Well, the past our "Missions" have been very successful as far as us being able to help hurting folks to cope with their losses. I kinda have in mind loading our ol' yellow box van up with water, diapers, blankets, stuffed animals, towels...etc. and rolling east towards the damaged area and helping out as the Lord leads us. I will need help from volunteers......if you are sensing the need to help, please contact me via email or call me at 918-808-4683----I think we need to get this going fast. I know that we can help some hurting lives with the resources that we all have.

I have been in contact with a couple of folks from Ash Flat,Ark., and Jackson, Tn. and I feel that the doors have been opened, and there will be places for us to go & deliver supplies.