Tornado Recovery

 

Hey, Cobblestone,

     Somehow, we flew in under the radar. Oh, it was no act of our own cleverness. In fact, every detail of the plans we made, at some point, looked like they would amount to nothing. No, this was an exercise in flexibility. The Lord was making the plan, and we were encountering it minute by minute.

     Cobblestone’s elders approved a modest relief effort for our neighbors to the southwest who had their lives turned upside down by the tornado outbreak last Friday night. Cobblestone’s staff got to work on a plan, and four men left at oh-dark-thirty Wednesday morning with a U-Haul trailer full of supplies and tools. Only by watching for the Lord’s leading did the crew find its way to precisely the people who needed us.

     When I say the elders approved a relief effort, I should also say that we did so without knowing exactly where the funds would come from to back it up. Rather than collect donations of goods over the next few weeks, we figured it would be better to get supplies and materials onsite first and ask for financial help later. There’s not a budget line labeled “Natural Disaster in a Neighboring State,” so the hope is to refill whatever budget lines we borrow from. Please pray, and ask the Lord if he wants you to make a contribution. It’s his call, and the elders are completely willing to trust him with the outcome. Our administrator, Stacey, has set up several easy ways to give. Rather than trying to translate, I’ll give you exactly what she gave me:

     Tornado Relief should be used to designate funds - either cash with a note or in an envelope with their name on it, a check with "Tornado Relief" on the memo line, online through our giving website (https://cobblestonechurch.churchcenter.com/giving and use the Tornado Relief designation) or Text-to-Give (text a dollar amount and "tornadorelief" to 84321).

     The crew ended up in a little town called Samburg, in Tennessee. While there, we made some face-to-face connections with leaders of the locally led recovery effort, and learned that many workers are still needed for the nitty-gritty, hand-over-hand cleanup. Our offer to make a return trip was gladly accepted. So the plan here at home is to send a larger crew back to Samburg for the first few days of next week – most likely Monday afternoon through late Wednesday night, December 20-22. Just like this week’s trip, the key word is “flexibility,” but that’s the structure so far. Some of you, Church, may be thinking the Lord wants you to go. If so, here are some parameters to consider:

No minors are allowed onsite.

The work is dangerous; we’ll be working up close with heavy equipment and chainsaws.

The work is dirty and strenuous.

Accommodations are not yet firm; we’ll be indoors overnight, but it won’t be a hotel.

The weather will be cold.

There are food trucks/trailers onsite now, but by next week we might be living on granola bars.

The top three qualifications are flexibility, flexibility, and (yep) flexibility!

     When a neighbor gets the roof torn off her house, she needs some relief. Roofs are pretty handy. Trying to live without one isn’t. The good people of Samburg, Tennessee are transitioning out of relief mode and working diligently on recovery. One of the local leaders, at the Wednesday debriefing, said he’s envisioning a better Samburg than the residents have known in their lifetimes. I’m hoping we can be a part of that – mostly unseen and almost unnoticed, but a meaningful part nonetheless – simply by being attentive to the Lord’s will.

     “Jesus, lead us. Give us a witness of your Holy Spirit in our spirits, and show us what to do. Amen.”

 

 Grace and Peace (and many thanks in advance),

John