Anyway this past weekend we went up to NW Iowa since my husband had a job up there. The boys and I tagged along to visit some family. Apparently when I go to visit NW Iowa I bring nature's wrath with me. The last time we were up for my one Grandma's birthday party there was a major flood. This time there was an epic outbreak of tornados-a fairly rare event for October.
Before the storms hit we found ourselves with a flat tire in the Menards (a home improvement store incase I have readers not from my area) parking lot for 2 and a half hours. It took that long for us to give up trying to get the spare tire off the bottom of the van. Seriously people we have to think of a better solution for the spare tires in vehicles with stow and go! We also tried to get the tire to hold some air so we could get it to a repair shop...but found that the inner wall of the tire was cracked pretty bad. The rest of the tire looked fine but it was what you could not see that held the real danger. Even though I was exhausted, and annoyed I saw that purely as God's protection. A miracle that the tire didn't blow---and that it didn't go flat on the highway. So in the midst I gave my thanks.
After another hour or two at the tire shop we get out to find that we are in the middle of some major storm situations. Tornados on the ground to the west of us and to the south of us. We don't have smart phones so I was trying to communicate with my mom where everything was. Knowing we were probably stuck where we were I started to panic about where we should go. Honestly the last place I wanted to be if a storm hit was in a store and not in a basement. One of my biggest fears is tornados...I'm fascinated by them but yet their unpredictability and sheer power is quite scary. I know that they can tare a building like Target to shreds if it's powerful enough. I figured our best bet would be the mall shelter...and prayer that it didn't hit the city. Mom sent me the following radar in a txt.
While I was relieved and amazed (I mean it just went right around the city!) it was hard to think about the people in the path of the storms-people I might know.
We waited in the shelter until we got the all clear--
and when we walked outside the mall I saw this...
I mean beautiful right? But knowing what that huge storm cloud was carrying was sobering at the same time.
We finally made it to our destination later that night--and heard a few things here and there about how many tornados, and where they hit...a lot of things were unknown until daylight. In the end there were 8 confirmed tornados, possibly 10. They hit Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. Wayne NE was hit hardest, and many of the rural areas east of my hometown were hit really hard. You can see coverage on T.V. in pictures, but we took a drive the next day to see if what I had heard was true that one of the tornados hit one of my friend's family farm. I cannot describe in words what seeing miles and miles, home after home devastated by this storm was like...besides heartbreaking. Acres of corn gone, houses left as shells of their former selves. And this wasn't even the strongest tornado on the E-F scale. I can't imagine what those in Joplin, Moore or Tuscaloosa went through. We came upon the road of my friends family farm and we couldn't get through because of utility work etc. I came home to facebook to find that it was indeed true-the farm was hit and hit hard. The only structure standing was the house. You can see the local news story here
It's times like these I wish I was closer-I could do more hands on help, but all I can do is pray-and support from afar. Just keep all these families affected in your prayers! They have a long road ahead.
However in all of this there is a miracle...there were NO casualties. Amazing when you see the degree of the damage. And for that I thank the Lord.
aboveThe view just as you come over a big hill...it was pretty shocking to the system. This poor family had already lost so much-a daughter in a snowmobile accident in 2003. However it has given them perspective on what is really important...
Above This house has been in the owners family for 3 generations--they plan to restore the home.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the mist of a storm, in the middle of storms, or after the storm...each place has it's different set of difficulties and hardship...but if you look closely you can find the miracles.
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