Sunday we took a two hour drive out to Joplin to witness the power of a natural disaster. The spirit there was just so humbling to see what it really means to lose everything. As difficult as our lives may feel some days, at the very least we still have our family and a roof over our heads. That's more than most people can say who have made their home in Joplin.
At first I thought it was just the older, weaker homes that were destroyed. But look at these quality, brick houses, nothing was exempt from destruction.
The houses were all painted. Some had inspiring messages of gratitude, and most had the name of their insurance company painted on as well. Every house had an X, and that meant it had been searched for survivors...the number on the left was survivors, the number on the right was the death toll.
These photos of just empty lots are so haunting. You truly do have to see it to believe it. Where these dirt fields are, there were once homes, trees and parks. It is just as heart breaking as can be.
The trees were stripped from their LIVE bark, what kind of force must it take to do that? Some trees had metal wrapped around them like toilet paper. These photos definitely speak for themselves, and yet still don't do justice to this disaster.
This is the high school. The elementary school looked quite similar. I'm not sure what the name of the high school was, but somebody got duct tape and added to the OP on the sign to read HOPE...I thought that was touching
This photo below is a true mystery to me. The house above is DIRECTLY across the street from the house below. How can that be? I can't imagine how it must feel to be the owners of the house that survived. Surely an overwhelming sense of gratitude, and guilt at the same time.
This is the hospital that we all saw so many images of. I just think about the women who must have been in labor, the doctors who were in heart surgery, and countless nurses who were just going about an average day at work.
I am so thankful for the day to day blessings of health and safety that we enjoy. We truly were humbled by just how vulnerable we are in this life. I am so thankful for this summer I have had to learn what is truly important in life, and the visit to Joplin just really solidified everything for me.
6 comments:
Humbling. Scary. Interesting. Mind blowing. Haunting. Thankful.
W.O.W. That is just insane! That would be so crazy to see. Cool and sad all at the same time. I had no idea that tornado was THAT bad.
Wow- thanks for sharing. It makes you truly thankful for the blessing of a home and city that are intact. I'm glad you got this experience. I can just picture Emma being very concerned about those people.
Holy cow, that is so sad! I so wish I could have come with you. That looks like it was a great experience to see that. I can't believe how much damage there was. And that one house that was not touched.. that is crazy! I'm glad you were able to go and see it all.
It sounds like you are having the best summer of your life. Fun and educational.
Sad! We are all going about our lives not even knowing what others are going through. Experiences like that really make you realize what is important, thanks for sharing it with all of us back home.
Post a Comment