I noticed several people asking about
Joplin, Missouri and my daughter and I just got back from
volunteering a few days there. I can tell you that it was nothing
like the pictures. You just can not imaging that kind of
destruction. It was amazing.
The first day we were there we worked
several blocks away from St. John's clearing away debris. You could
look any direction and see nothing except piles and piles of debris.
St. John's was the only building we could see standing from where we
were. The trees that were still standing were bare except for the
occasion piece of metal wrapped around it or perhaps a mattress
hanging in the branches. Cars were piled on top of each other or
turned over. The foundation of the houses were all that were left
except for an occasional wall. Like a kitchen wall, or a bathroom
wall. Nothing else. It would just be standing alone in the middle
of nothing. Looking around I have no idea how ANY one could have
survived. Really. There was nothing there. Amazing. How
overwhelming for me and my eighteen year old daughter to take in. It
was a real reality check.
That day we picked up tree branches and
make piles by the curb. We also picked up wood from the house being
careful with the nails and put it in a pile also One volunteer
stepped on a nail before we even got to our site. Other piles we
made were general trash, appliances and hazardous waste.
We worked hard and if it hadn't been
for the volunteers that drove by with water and snacks we would not
have been able to work for long. It was easy to get dehydrated and
I, being diabetic, needed to make sure my sugars did not go to low.
We found pictures, childrens toys, a
checkbook, even the deed to a house. We were specifically looking
for medical papers from St. John's. Every time I found something
personal, I would feel a twinge of sadness and a little connection
to the people we were helping.
That night we were dirty, tired, and
sunburned but we had a good feeling about what we had done.
Unfortunately, I also had a feeling that I had not even made a dent
in the destruction.
We gladly ate the hamburgers and
hotdogs they offered us when we got done with the pick up that day.
It was the first time we realized how grimy we were. We ate our meal
surrounded by other volunteers and listed to their stories. After we
ate we didn't stick around because we were exhausted and all we
wanted was a shower and sleep!
The next day we woke up and headed out
to a warehouse were we sorted the donations that people from all over
had given. It was a lot easier work than the day before but
definitely necessary.
Around noon we went over to the humane
society to see if we could help there. They put us to work washing
dog dishes. Lots of dog dishes! We were outside the warehouse
where they were keeping the animals abandoned and lost during the
tornado. The noise was deafening! Before we left to go home, we
signed up to foster a dog if needed. Then we got back in the car and
headed for home. What an experience.
I have some pictures of our time there
and also some pictures from a respiratory therapist that was working
at St. John's the time the tornado hit. She also told me that
although her home was fine, there was 4 therapists who lost their homes. http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=7445171013/a=131077253_131077253/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
Thanks for reading my experence. If
you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write me.
Sincerely,
Holly