Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Scenes from Oklahoma...

A Lifesaving Storm Shelter. The flood plain is too high to allow for basements. 

Destruction. 

Rob and the copperhead.

One thing I didn't know about tornadoes even though I live in tornado country. Apparently, cars are extremely dangerous. 

If a tornado sucks up a car and it remains in there long enough it becomes crushed into a large rolling ball and can shoot out create secondary damage to homes, structures and even people. 

Our crew found a copperhead snake which unsettled the whole group. On a good note, they found some lost treasures and heard stories that reinforced their faith. And they were able to bring blessings to so many people and were blessed in turn.  

One family told them about a litter of kittens born the night after the tornado. The little girl carefully named them. 

One was named tornado. Another stormy. A third one was named destruction. And number four, she named hope. 

Faith, in spite of it all.

The team we sent went through an organization,  Service International and had a good experience. The organization was efficient and organized and the people they worked with were a blessing as well.  Service International provides equipment and work with local churches. 

Metal driven into a tree.

A found treasure

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Where the Wind Blows...

My hubby just returned from the Moore Oklahoma area. 

This picture is of a survivor. One site that they cleared had dozens of bouncy balls scattered amidst the debris. 

He brought one home to remind us of the blessings we so often take for granted. 

Our home, the forever work-in-progress stands. Our health, though we feel the creaks of middle age, is good. Our family, though imperfect in all it's glory, is family and easily touched during our busy days and nights scurrying around trying to get things done. 

A portion of the affected area in Oklahoma is called the land of the Forgotten Tornado. Much of what my husband and his co-workers did was clean up in areas hit by a tornado the night before the one that rocked the news waves. 

The first day our church group worked hit 105 on the temperature gauge. And each day thereafter didn't drop below 90. The work was overwhelming. Hundreds of people scrambled around site after site, hauling, moving, sorting. Our team wondered about the difference they were making in the miles and miles and miles of broken dreams and homes. They reminded each other that they were making a difference to that one family. 

The work is in such early stages that they would tackle a huge pile of broken lives and sort them into four smaller piles by the roadside so those items could be disposed of properly. 

Every victim's entire household was able to be sorted into brick/concrete, wood, metal or miscellaneous trash. Very few items were intact enough to be placed into a container for rescued treasures. Our team found a few pictures and some kitchen items. And a whole bunch of bouncy balls that came from who knows where and saw who knows what while they rode the angry wind currents. 

My prayers go out on behalf of these victims who've lost the physicality of what was their lives, and to those in Colorado, and even more so for those touched by the deaths in the various tragedies that seem to crop up way too often and way too close together.