Mission of Compassion inspiring story....

Well, I have a story to tell. Last May, we went on a Mission of Compassion to the devastated areas of Picher, Ok. and Seneca, Mo. See my blog entry here from last May. While there, we helped clean a couple of hay fields of debris. One of "my" kids found a picture of two toddlers smiling for the camera. We asked around, and nobody recognized the boys so I took the picture with us where it stayed clipped to my sun visor reminding me of why we do this; to help hurting people that have been affected by nature's worst, and offer them love and comfort, along with needed commodities.

I have a friend that I recently saw that lives near Seneca. I told him of this picture that I have been keeping. He said, why don't I just take it back with me and I will post it at the feed store at Hwy 43 & Iris Rd. (This feed store was destroyed in the tornado & later rebuilt). I sent the pic with him...

I got a call this morning, and Pete told me that he posted the pic at the new feed store. The next day, he noticed that it was gone! He asked about the missing pic and a nice lady working there thanked him for posting the pic and told him that the picture was taken years ago and was of her two brothers! Their home was also destroyed in the tornado. What an ending to a story, huh?

Devstation.....

Well, after our relief mission to SW Missouri & NE Oklahoma, I had to take a couple of days to soak everything in. From standing at the corner of Hwy 43 & Iris Rd., where 12 people lost their lives including a fireman/storm spotter (see pic #2), to helping clean a field for a widow that lost her whole farm (see pic #1), to seeing the total annihilation of a small community already plagued by tragedy (see pic 3 & 4), I just have a couple of thoughts to share.....

The pic with the flag was at the Racine Fire Dept. flying at half staff in memory of the one who saved several. To him, I say thank you.

The close up of the shed with the mud caked on it was from the widow's farm just off Hwy 43. We, along with several other teams, combed the fields sorting wood from metal, finding all sorts of things. We found small pieces of a home computer, countless splintered 2 X 4 studs, clothes, very small bits of roofing shingles, PVC pipe, tin, electric line that went from their pole into their house, etc. We even found a Polaroid of two toddlers that came from who knows where--I will try to get that back to it's rightful owner.

The main thought that kept going through my mind while I was picking up was that these bits & pieces were this lady's home and her livelihood. It was hard to keep from losing it...to her, I say I am sorry.

The other two pics are from Picher--words can't describe....