November 16, 2011 Update

One of our volunteers remembers a man who came by Mission Joplin in June. She called it, “The most heartbreaking story of all: David called his wife about five minutes before the tornado struck and told her to get herself and their 13-month old son into a safe place. David waited out the tornado under a bridge on I-44 near Joplin. After the tornado was over, he finally made it to his house and found it totally destroyed. He then pulled his wife and baby out of the debris, but both of them were dead. He came to Mission Joplin saying he needed to “pick up a few things”, but I think David was just needing to be close to compassionate Christians and to tell someone his story. I spent time with him looking at pictures of his baby and his wife on his phone and we both cried. Several of us gathered around David and prayed for him. It was one of those days.”

Although signs of progress abound in Joplin, deep emotional wounds take a long time to heal.  Pray for us as to show God’s compassion to people who are still grieving. If you want to help in a tangible way, we need canned meat, canned fruit, canned meaty soups, socks, underwear, mac ‘n chese, instant potatoes, jelly, soap, space heaters, and queen sheets. We are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow. We’d also love to have you serve as a volunteer. You might meet someone like David. He still needs us.