Tornado

Last night my sister and brother-in-law (BIL) lost their home to a tornado here in Arkansas.

They live out from town and can see several miles off their back porch in the winter time. They were under a tornado warning, and saw it coming by the light of the lightning.

They jumped in my BIL's pickup and headed to their nearest neighbor's home which is the neighborhood gathering spot during bad weather since they have a basement. My sister said there were about 12 people in the basement bathroom.

The tornado took the house above them (as in literally above the basement they were in), as well as the house right down the road. All of the vehicles at the neighbor's home (including my BIL's pickup) were undriveable since they were covered in fallen trees and parts of the house.

My sister and her family had to walk to their home down the dark road, and found that they no longer have a home.

Thank you, Lord, that they are all SAFE. Thank you that they have neighbors who open their home to others. As of this morning, there are 13 people who died in the storms here in Arkansas and several more in surrounding states. Three of the 13 Arkansans are from the county where my sister lives. We haven't yet learned their names.

I'm reminded once again of the power of nature and the mystery of tornados. My sister said that while they were in the basement, they heard loud popping and banging sounds above them for what seemed like only 3 or 4 seconds and then it was all over. In that time the house above them had disappeared. The tornado was reported to be moving at 50 mph, so it didn't stay long in one place. When they walked back to their home, they found my sister's and my nephew's automobiles still in the same spots where they had left them beside their house, but the house was gone. On my sister's road, the tornado took the house where everyone was huddled, skipped the next house, and then took the very next one. Weird, huh?

My sister and her family will be staying with my parents for a while. They all live a couple of hours from us.

They will assess the damage this morning in the daylight and begin picking up the pieces (literally and figuratively).

I would greatly appreciate your prayers for them during this time.

This picture, taken a couple of years ago, is of my daughter, Catherine, with one of my sister's family's 4 dogs. Their dogs all stay outside, and when they went back to their house last night, two of the dogs were there. They are hoping that the other two will be there today.

My parents with their grandchildren (and a couple of significant others) on my sister's back porch a couple of years ago.