All Who Wander Are Not Lost: May 2011

As many of you know, Joplin, Missouri, was hit by an F-5 tornado on Sunday, May 22, 2011. The three-quarter mile wide tornado stayed on the ground wreaking havoc for nearly seven miles.

This kind of damage was unfathomable to me until just a few days ago when I was called as an AmeriCorps member to help with tornado recovery. Even several days after assisting I am still processing my experience. This post is mostly just an overview of what we did, but I've tried to capture a little more as well. There are so many things about the whole experience that just can't be put into words.

Our team of 11 Energy Corps members from Fayetteville drove the 80 miles up to Joplin on Wednesday morning not knowing what to expect but ready to help however needed.

Due to some organizational challenges associated with coordinating hundreds of volunteers, we initially experienced some down time when we arrived (a frustration that was really difficult to accept, but definitely a personal learning experience). By the afternoon we began assisting in the Red Cross shelter moving cots and personal items for people staying in the shelter. I heard some heart wrenching stories on Wednesday that I can't begin to do justice to by retelling here. There were some amazing people who had just had their lives literally torn to pieces just two days ago, but yet they were thanking us for moving their cots. It really put things into perspective.

During a break in the afternoon we drove down to the area worst hit by the tornado. Every picture I'd seen on the news and online of the devastation was completely accurate - except the damage just kept going. There is absolutely no way to capture or describe what 7 miles of tornado destroyed land looks like. Below are a few photos of the damage, but it's just a small sampling of the damage.

After coming back to Fayetteville late Wednesday night and being extremely thankful for our own families, homes, and beds, a smaller group of us returned to Joplin early Thursday morning. Because we had already made connections with the AmeriCorps leaders we were put into service much more efficiently and went out in the "field" to lend a hand with cleanup.

We spent the day Thursday clearing tree branches and debris from houses "on the edge" of the tornado path. These were homes that people were still living in or returning to shortly (they had just turned the water back on in many of these neighborhoods Thursday morning, but generators were the only source of power). Initially it felt like we should be doing something more but the worst areas were so damaged they are beyond repair at this point so helping the people who still have homes is vitally important.

I worked closely with another AmeriCorps volunteer from Colorado to manage a group of approximately 40 volunteers moving from house to house with chainsaws cutting and moving trees. There were some amazing stories and people who from all over who were helping. It was simultaneously heart wrenching and inspiring to work beside some young people whose rental house was completely destroyed by the tornado while they huddled in an interior room. As they showed me pictures on their cell phones of where there house used to stand I was speechless - unable to relate to their experience and humbled by their willingness to help other people.

I didn't take any pictures on Thursday, but just imagine the worst ice storm damage to hundred year old trees you've ever seen and then apply that to thousands of homes. It's an image I will not soon forget.

I'm definitely still processing the experience of helping in Joplin. The amount of damage is still hard to comprehend - even after seeing it firsthand. The recovery is going to take years, but I am comforted by the courage and strength I saw in the survivors and the outpouring of assistance from people all over.

These are pictures I took on my phone from the car on Wednesday. You can see more pictures from our trip taken by a fellow EnergyCorps member on the Arkansas EnergyCorps page here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.230242866990179.79286.178196745528125

(notice the American flag hanging on the house)

Houses were spray painted with an "X" and often numbers after they'd been searched by the search and rescue crews.

This was the Home Depot

**I promise an update post soon of all that is growing and greening around here - this just felt more important to share right now.

In the words of Forrest Gump: "we been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain....and big ol' fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath. Shoot, it even rained at night......"

As a matter of fact it's still raining tonight. I started to lose count after we had 12 inches in less than 72 hours, but suffice it to say, we've had A LOT of rain. With all of that rain, we've also had flash flooding.......and regular flooding. And our roof even leaked (we haven't fixed it yet because it won't stop raining long enough).

My lettuce was under water for a few days. I planted tomatoes in the mud Saturday morning.

Alas, we did have a little break in the rain last Thursday and again Saturday. So what did we do????

Hosted rain barrel making workshops!

Actually, they were scheduled long before the never ending rain, but the timing could not have been more ironic.

Thanks to a partnership with the Washington County Cooperative Extension, Cargill (the Tyson equivalent for processing turkeys headquartered here in NWA), and the school district (me), we were able to host two "make and take" workshops where people could come and learn to make a rain barrel for just $15. The co-op folks are incredibly awesome and really did most of the work, I just helped secure some funding, organized the location, hauled some barrels, and then showed up and took photographs. It was awesome.

The workshops were set up so people did most of the work on their own barrels creating a genuine sense of accomplishment when completed. Oh, and they learned while doing! Where I come from they call that experiential education :) If only we could get more of it in the schools......

Anyway, the workshops were great - 40 people in Fayetteville now have bright blue rain barrels to catch some of this rain. Two participants have already happily let me know their rain barrels are hooked up and flowing over.

Here are some photos of the happy barrel makers in action........