If you could picture half of a banquet room with 300 children 5th grade and under, sitting orderly in rows against the inside walls, along with many adults singing praises to the Lord…. "Jesus Loves the Little Children"… The lights flicker, then black! But just for a second, as the adults wisely turn their smart phone flashlights on. Kids scream a bit, but then order is restored and worshipping begins again. "Our God is so Big, so Strong and so Mighty"… This is how it went for 45 minutes…."10,000 Reasons"… Bible Story … parable … more worship songs… No panic, no screaming.
To see my 6 year old have one boy leaning his lead on his shoulder and another boy grasping his other hand for 45 minutes, and all Ethan did was say it is ok, it will be ok. A 6 year old should not be in a position to have to be supporting his buddies like that, but Ethan knew just what to do. Jonny, had a sweet 4 year old crawl into his lap for comfort, this sweet boy knew just who to go to in his time of need. Sean was supporting his best buddy in that room, as occasional fears would set in and he needed reassuring, that Sean knew just how to give. Through the entire room, kids were support kids, friends supporting friends. They were not trained in this, they just knew what to do.
While 400 yards away there was a 160 mph tornado tearing up houses, up rooting trees, tossing cars, and changing lives forever. The tornado was devastating, as neighborhoods are completely destroyed, hundreds of houses look like there were put into a blender on full speed and dumped out. But, God is sovereign and He did not let anyone in this room know the devastation happening outside. For if even one of us did, panic would have set in and the kids would have picked up on that. We praise God for being oblivious about how close we were.
Once the all clear came and the children were matched with their parents, we emerged to hear the neighborhood right behind out church was gone…. our neighborhood. The fewer people out in a disaster the better, so we waited, not knowing what we would see when we returned to our home. Trying to stay calm for our children, but silently thinking about .. our adoption paper work! I really didn't care about my house or anything else in it for the next hour. Yikes, my passports and documents to bring to China … will this delay us even more! We were supposed to leave in 3.5 weeks. Phones calls wouldn't go through, but texting did. We finally got word from neighbors that our street was safe, other than our lost trampoline and broken fence.
Life was spared, not only the 700 at our church, but every church through town, where people were gathering to worship the Lord! Yes, he is in complete control, and he skirted his tornado around every church in Washington!
As we drove through the destruction to get to our house, it was surreal. Those first images of loss, shredded lumber, destruction, mangled cars and dust and debris in the roads, beautifully mature trees flattened. The odor of gas and ripped lumber. Then came the sounds of sirens … for the next 4-5 hours, and helicopters. We slept as a family in our house, cuddled together in our living room, while outside the flood lights and generators ran.. looking for life, fixing gas leaks and water main breaks. We awoke at 6:00 in the morning to more helicopters and then sirens again.
This community exemplifies courage, integrity, and a passion for loving the Lord and lifting each other up. Those with the most damage, seem to have the best spirits, I guess perspectives change when your life changes so much. Happy to be living, is what we should all find joy in.
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