Joplin, Missouri

I just returned from a trip to Joplin, Missouri where a group of friends and I journeyed to help some complete strangers whose lives have recently been devastated by a massive tornado. Like you, I saw pictures of the destruction in news reports and listened to radio accounts of the sudden annihilation of this Midwestern city. I wasn’t sure that I could do much to help, but I joined my band of brothers on a road trip to lend a hand. We all went to give, but in the end I believe we received so much more.


We departed on a Friday evening driving more than 1,100 miles straight through the American heartland and checked in at a church we had made contact with. Along the way, we had discussed just getting settled in on our first day before getting down to business the next morning. But bolstered by what we saw upon arriving in Joplin, we got to work right away. Our first job was removing a fallen tree from a back yard. It was the first of many trees we would tackle that week. It was also on this first job that we got a taste of the community spirit that comes out in times of tragedy like this. Within our first hour, we had several offers of cold water, Gatorade, ice packs, and fresh watermelon. I’m pretty sure I drank more Gatorade in one week than I might normally consume in a year. At times, the offers of support were almost a distraction, but we certainly would have been much less effective without it.


One of our team leaders, Aaron, originally hails from the area surrounding nearby Pittsburg, Kansas. What really made this trip successful was the generosity of his family and friends. We were able to stay in student housing provided by Campus Christians at Pitt State University (Go Gorillas!). We had comfy beds, air conditioning, hot showers, and cooking facilities. Not that we needed to do any cooking. Not a night went by without one Aaron’s family taking us out, cooking dinner at home, or delivering dinner to us. Were it not for the heavy lifting we did all day, surely we would have all come home a few pounds heavier. Aaron’s family also provided vehicles and tools that we put to very good use every day. The kindness and generosity his family showed goes beyond description. I’m sure I speak for the whole group in saying that we could not possibly thank them enough.


Like the tornado itself, in helping the people of Joplin, we cut a wide swath. Our efforts took us from the outskirts of town to the central path of the tornado where all that was left of many home sites was the foundation itself. We cut fallen trees, hauled debris to the curb, mended fences, cut more trees, helped people move, hauled donated food, cut more trees, etc.
The people we helped ranged from school teachers to tradesmen, to students and retirees. We helped people from the stoic middleclass to those who’d likely made some bad decisions along life’s path. One man we helped move a few belongings to another home was allegedly a meth addict, and another guy who needed help retrieving a window air conditioner had a torso which was covered in obvious jailhouse tattoos.


We helped a very nice lady whose dog had not been allowed to roam the yard because her chain link fence had been destroyed by fallen trees and telephone poles. We helped people pick through ruins looking for mementos and keepsakes. Much of what they saw they didn’t recognize. It’s not surprising since many of their own belongings were likely spread across many miles of terrain. For one retired school teacher we helped, his life’s possessions had been reduced to the contents of a small cardboard box and a couple of plastic trash bags. Just imagine that happening to you or to someone you love. For those we couldn’t help physically, we tried to help in a small way financially. On our last morning in Joplin, we passed out more than a dozen envelopes stuffed with cash and gift cards along with words of encouragement and support from some very selfless Northern Virginia teenagers.


Here’s a link to a few pictures I took. http://tinyurl.com/B4-Joplin-Photos If you’ve ever seen the Grand Canyon at sunrise you know that no photograph can truly capture its beauty…you just can’t put a border around something like that. In that same vent, pictures of Joplin serve only to confine the tragedy of the tornado and the humanity of the response. Gone from these photos is the heat, the smells, the sounds – or the lack of sounds – the laughter and the tears that made this experience both heart wrenching and joyful. Many heartfelt thanks to those who helped make this trip possible.