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Good Morning! Just to let you know that we are safely in Texas. We traveled to east of Dallas yesterday and spent the night. Thank you for praying for us. God is good to us. No injuries or problems.

We are headed to church this morning where we will worship with the folks at First Baptist Church, Forney.

Again, thank you so much for praying for us. We will see you at home.

bev

Day 6 - Robin

Today the team worked at the Forest Lake Baptist Church distribution center. We helped survivors shop for items such as clothes, toiletries, stuffed animals, furniture, etc. My favorite part of the day was meeting a little boy named Joshua. Joshua is about 10 years old and his home had been completely destroyed by the tornado that hit Alberta, a small neighboring community on the outskirts of Tuscaloosa.

Joshua and his family went into a closet to ride out the tornado. Are you ready for a miracle story? There was a king bed that was in the bedroom adjacent to the closet where the family was staying. In the midst of the storm, that king bed was blown away but a twin mattress was blown into the home and against the closet door; this mattress protected the family from the flying debris and glass that could have easily caused injuries or even death. Isn't God amazing?!

As I talked with Joshua today he told me about his experience during and immediately after the tornado. He described in vivid detail the mangled bodies of those that did not survive the storm. The things that this little boy saw in the minutes following the tornado simply amaze me. What amazes me even more is his resiliency. Despite the trauma he had endured he was still able to see hope. When I asked him how he was dealing with everything that had happened to him he replied that he prays a lot and asks God to give him strength and comfort. I was in awe of this small boy with such a large faith. I could see how God has already been working in this child's life...please pray that Joshua will continue serving the Lord and staying strong in his faith. After Joshua's mom loaded her furniture it was time for him to go. He gave me a hug and said he hoped to see me again. With that he walked to his car and he and his mom drove off.

As I watched him leave my heart began to ache. I wondered to myself where life will take Joshua. What trials will he endure? What happy memories will he make? I asked God to watch over my new friend and I have to trust that God will be faithful in answering that prayer.

To say this trip has been amazing is a gross understatement. This trip has been one of the best experiences of my life! A piece of me will always be with the people here in Alabama. They have blessed me and I am grateful to them for teaching me about what it means to continue living when life looks the darkest. I am also grateful for those that have served with me on this team. I have bonded with them and am so blessed to have grown alongside them this week.

God is ALWAYS faithful and He is at work all around us, we just have to be open to letting Him use us to carry out his perfect plan!

Blessings to you all!

Robin

Day 6 - Bev

Our last day here working with Tuscaloosa was extremely rewarding. The people here loved us easily. They are so easy for us to love. We truly are God's hands and feet here.

Today we worked in the distribution center. Friday is Furniture Day. There were 47 families lined up outside the church (distribution center) to hopefully take some furniture home. After the survivors proved their eligibility, they were allowed two pieces of furniture. I spoke with each one as they came through the door to get their approval ticket. Every one of them had totally lost everything. Two families had lost loved ones. The survivors did not mind talking about their stories. They talked easily among themselves even though they were strangers. They shared a pain.

The church that is housing the distribution center plans to be open for years. They still need everything that you can send and they still need volunteers. Forest Lake Baptist Church was the center where we worked but there are several in the area.

We met a little boy names Joshua. Robin will tell you more about him. He is amazing. He has been through a tremendous trauma that no one should go through.

A community that we worked in said the were 98% cleaned up. The rest of Tuscaloosa is 16% cleaned up. They still have a ways to go but....Tuscaloosa will be back.

Links to Tuscaloosa

Check out these sites for additional pictures.

website : www. texasbaptist.org/sharechrist

Facebook: txb_Share Christ

Twitter: txb_BeOnMission

Facebook: Tim N Nancy Carlisle

Day 5 - Bev

Tuscaloosa is such a beautiful place. The vegetation is lush and beautiful. The massive thick green trees have vines growing on them. The crepe myrtles and magnolia tress are just beautiful. Then you drive upon the mile wide path where the tornado was and you see devastation. The massive trees were stripped and splintered. The trees have begun to put out again and there is greenery in the horizon again. The people that live here say; "I wish you could have seen it before the storm. It was beautiful and green."

There are signs everywhere that read; "We will be back." The spirit of the people is strong and positive. Everyone that we have listened to speak about how the Lord saved them. People are very conscious that God has spared them. Some say God is moving and He isn't finished yet.

We met a lady (Earline) today while we were working at the distribution center. She has been volunteering at the distribution center since the storm. The distribution center is in her church, which sustained massive damage. Earline is a survivor of the tornado. She barely made it to her closet before the tornado hit. She said in just a matter of seconds the tornado had passed over her. There was nothing left of her house. She said she had replaced her roof with metal just a couple of months before. Having the metal roof saved her. She could not find her companion, her cat. She struggled with this. In a few hours he finally came back. She had a really hard time telling us her story. She had to stay in her "house" for two days before she had any place to go. She had not driven around Tuscaloosa since the tornado so she volunteered to show us her house... and the campus of the University of Alabama. She is a die hard Bama fan. Has been for probably 80 years.

The distribution centers are setup to send the donations out to the survivors. It is amazing how much has been donated. To be able to take some of the stuff, you must be a survivor and cleared by FEMA. We were told that 11 tons of donations came in yesterday from California. The volunteers sort, organize and shelve it. Everything that you can imagine has been donated. Some of the people that come to these centers have lost absolutely everything. Some lived in their cars for weeks because they had no place to go. Just think about it. What would you do if your house and car was destroyed and the place that you go everyday to work was blown away.

We woke up this morning to a thunderstorm. It was cool, cloudy and raining. It was great! It has been cloudy all day.

Tomorrow we will go back to the distribution center to work. Thank you for your prayers. The people in Tuscaloosa are very sweet people.

Day 5-Robin

Yesterday I talked about the dust devil that came through the demolition site. Clara Miller said something about this that I wanted to share with everyone. She said:

"Whether it is small and blows dirt in your face, or immense and blows away all you hold dear, it is completely out of our control and completely in His control!"

All I can say to this is amen!

As many of you probably know, I work as a grief counselor at Hospice of Lubbock. A few weekends ago Hospice of Lubbock had our annual children's grief camp. This camp is for children ages 5 to 17 who have lost a loved one in the past two years. One of the activities at the camp is a giving back activity and this year we decided we wanted to reach out to Tuscaloosa. The campers wrote letters to children here in Tuscaloosa who were impacted by the tornado. In these letters the campers talked about their own grief experience and shared words of encouragement. This morning we took these letters along with stuffed animals and a book called "A Jungle of Grief, A Spirit of Hope" to Hospice of West Alabama. This hospice will hand out these items to children they meet with in their grief recovery center. A woman named Bethany Smith gave us a tour and talked about their ministry. Hospice of West Alabama does amazing things for the community and I am thrilled that Hospice of Lubbock could extend a hand and help the wonderful people of Tuscaloosa!

Day 5 - Randy

Good afternoon,

A part of 1 Corinthians 1:6 states,"If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation." This verse has been evident this week. It has spoken it me. During our time here, the people of Tuscaloosa continue to praise and give God honor for the "Great Things He Has Done". The testimonies of 83 and 87 year old women (Mrs. Thornton's home was destroyed in the storm) makes my heart swell knowing God's grace and love has never been more evident to me.

The people of Alabama are very appreciative and are firm believers in what has happened as purpose and meaning. I will never be the same again.

Day 4 - Robin

Hello everyone!

The trip has been awesome! Today we worked hard and got the house completely demolished!

As we were leaving the work site a man named Chris drove up. Chris is the son of James who is the owner of the house we demolished, and he was in the house the night the tornado struck. Chris talked about his experience and how life has been since the storm. Before we left, we had the privilege of praying with Chris and asking God to comfort and sustain him. Imagine how hard it must be for Chris, James, and their family to lose their house and 40 years of memories. Please be in prayer for this family as they begin to rebuild a home and make new memories.

Here's another interesting story. After we finished demolition, a dirt devil blew right across where the house used to stand. It was ironic to watch this "mini tornado." I haven't yet figured out why this moment was so significant to me today, but I'll keep thinking about and get back to you.

Here's what I've learned so far:

1) Cherish every day and take time to enjoy the little things....you never know when those little things won't be around anymore.

2) Life is about giving back. It brings me so much joy to pour love into the lives of the people here in Tuscaloosa. I'll never meet most of them, but I give them my love through the work we've been doing.

3) Take time for people. Most of the people here just want to talk and tell their stories...they want to be heard. Have you taken time to listen to someone today?

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for your prayers...please keep them coming!

Robin :)

Day 4 - Bev

We demolished the house!!! After working a hard grueling day manually to demolish the house, they rented a front end loader and he helped us take the house down. I cannot speak for everyone but I think I can say we have never sweat so much and for me, I have never worked so hard.

Alabama residents are so extremely grateful of our help. We have heard so many stories. Miracle stories.

The story of a man who had just gotten off work and was headed home. He knew the storm was bad and he called his wife. His wife and kids were in their house. When his wife answered, he could hear the wind in the phone and then he heard his kids scream and he was cut off. He worked his way through all the debris and rubble to get to his house and it wasn't there. The tornado had moved his house with his family close to the school. The house had split and he found another section of the house in another direction. He found his daughter in that house. His wife and other kids were in the other part of the house. Their were all ok.

Another family told of how an oak tree saved their lives. The grandmother had lived in her house for 51 years. She watched an oak tree grow for 51 years. When the storm came, she gathered her grandkids and they ran for the bathroom. The oak tree fell on the house. The branches fell over the bathroom and protected it. The tornado blew the rest of the house away.

Tonight in worship, a pastor reminded us that God told us we would have troubles. But God is always with us. God is always there to comfort us.

Tuscaloosa Day 3

The tornado damage looks like a war zone. The damage is hard to understand. One house sits untouched with everything around it devastated. The path of the tornado goes for miles. This particular tornado was one mile wide and six miles long. Tuscaloosa had several tornadoes in the Spring. We were assigned a house to demolish. The insurance company totaled the house but did not pay enough money for the demolition. You will see the before picture and the after picture of what we did today. The heat is excessive. We have decided that we will not complain about our Texas heat again. The man that owned this house lived there for 40 years. He raised his family there. His wife died there. He has a little dog for his companion. The tornado carried the little dog one mile away and stuck him in a fence. The poor little dog stayed there for 3 days until someone found him. He was hungry and thirsty but he was nourished back to health. His owner was so excited to have him back. He is the little dog in our group picture in front of the house.

Hopefully, we will finish the house tomorrow and move to another. We have the opportunity to join Habitat for Humanity to build a house.

We do not have internet service or phone service where we are staying. We are staying at a church way out in the country. We are in McDonald's, in the cool air conditioning to post this blog.

Now, we are headed back to the church where we will have worship.

Thank you for your prayers.