I was so impressed with the relief effort and I made the comment that this was the best effort that I have seen so far. I was also impressed with the church that we teamed up with. They sacrificed their area for their children’s church, fellowship hall, and youth worship area to house relief supplies! Now that is what the church is supposed to be doing--helping hurting people and showing them the love of the Lord. I have to mention Debbie—she is the food pantry coordinator for the church that had just had her territory really expanded!! Debbie is in charge of all the donations. She told me that she worked for about four days straight right after the tornado!! Great job Debbie!! As we were unloading our items, some mops came off the trailer and as soon as they were off, there were some folks there that took a couple to clean up their damaged home. Talk about just in time! It was awesome to see needs being met as we unloaded our trucks!!  The church was providing shelter and meals for victims and relief volunteers as well-I can’t say enough about how generous the 1^st Assembly folks are! Big shout out to you folks!! If you want to know what a church should be doing, check out Mena 1^st Assembly.  

   After a delicious meal at the church, we visited with some of the church members and I met Pastor Ron Tilley and he thanked us for helping out. I had some gift cards that I felt needed to go to some of the children that lost their toys and gave them to Debbie. She went on to say that there was a family that lost everything in the tornado. The family is a family of 8—a young pastor, his wife and 6 kids. Two of their kids have very serious medical needs. They have a rare form of cancer requiring constant medical treatment. We were able to leave a small donation for the family but I am sure that they could use some extra help-contact me and I can put you in touch with Debbie.   

   After a prayer at the church, we then headed out to the streets of Mena where one of my goals was partially realized. My desire is to go into affected areas with supplies and hand them out directly to the victims. We parked our trucks and went walking through the streets, offering help where we could. The damage was surreal-you could look in any direction and there was destruction as far as you could see. Samantha pointed out several cases of water on a porch of a damaged home—that was the Sobe vitamin water that we brought to the church!! How the water got there that fast, I do not know but it’s sweet to see needs being met in this way.

   We were privileged to be able to visit several victims. One was Paul. Paul owned a small engine repair business at ground zero. He described how he and his family went into the storm cellar just in time, and his son not being able to shut the door until the tornado was very near and the suction slammed the door shut. They are living in his heavily damaged home at this time. After the tornado, Paul ran outside and down to the Masonic lodge and started helping people out of the rubble. He told us that there were 2 deaths in the immediate area, the elderly lady in the cinder block lodge, and an elderly man two doors down.

   Another tornado victim that we met is Betty. Ms. Betty had a very nice brick home that was destroyed. She told us how that she and her late husband built the home seven years ago. She broke down in tears as we visited with her in the street. She owned several rental homes in the area and some were totaled. She has insurance, so she will be ok and her outlook is good—she is just thankful that her and her family is ok. They rode out the tornado in the brick home. The front wall was caved in, the roof completely gone, and windows were smashed. They took refuge in an interior closet and were unscathed. We had prayer with her in the street and then went on.

   As you can see, this was an overwhelming experience for both me and the folks that went along with us. As we go on these trips, while most of the damage looks the same, the people, along with their stories of courage and survival, are always unique and a blessing to me. Please continue to be in prayer for them as they start to transition from short term needs to longer term issues.

   Our Mission of Compassion fund is shrinking due to the two trips that we have already been on this year, so if you would like to help better prepare us for our next mission, or if you would like to help the tornado victims of Mena, please contact me. Thank you to all that have donated their time, money, and resources to help us realize our goals—to help people that are suffering from natural disasters and to help show them the love of our Lord. We have much more to do!

HERE IS A VIDEO CLIP FROM OUR MENA MISSION (it may take a few minutes to load)...more coming soon!!