Proud to be an American

smithville, ms

After church yesterday we ran by the infamous Wal-Mart to grab some necessities and traveled over to Smithville to drop off donations and help out where needed. I have been keeping up with the coverage on WTVA and national news stations however I knew I must prepare myself and Stephen for what we were about to see. Stephen had yet to really sit down and watch any coverage so I told him to get prepared mentally as well. As we came closer and closer to the small town we noticed trees down, generators out, etc. But nothing too serious. The instant we rolled across the Smithville line it was like entering a war-zone. Directly to our left was the remains of the local school, like what I'm used to, K-12 all on one campus. The army was set up here, directing traffic in it's proper place, signing in volunteers, giving assistance where needed. On down was FEMA & NEMA (I think is what they called it). The American Red Cross was set up to give assisstance where needed. Local Human societies were even set up to house and take care of found animals. The town was rubble. It is just unspeakable. I snapped some pictures along the way. 

Here is a link to my Picasa if you'd like to view more pictures. Click here to view Smithville, MS photos. You can see the remains of... well.. nothing worth savaging in these pictures however these pictures just do not give the town justice. It was very disturbing for me and Stephen both. While viewing these pictures you will notice orange writing on the remains of buildings. The army informed us of what this means. The X means the building has been thoroughly checked. The initials stand for the base that checked the building and the numbers are the date/time the check was complete.

Kendal's, a friend of Shanda's (who invited us to go) grandparents lived directly across the street from the school. The school that got blown away remember... Her grandparents house was barely even touched! A few broken windows and holes in the roof from flying debris but what is that compared to your house being leveled? They were truly blessed in every sense of the word.

Shanda, Kendal, Stephen, & I loaded up at Wal-Mart before leaving town. We had Nat's ranger from a previous trip so we loaded it up to help as well. So thanks so much Nat, your ranger helped us help this town more than you know. After delivering the supplies to the distribution center we headed back to the sign in point to see where we were needed from there. The Sargent met us first and ask us to stay there and help them direct traffic and volunteers to the correct place. While this is definitely not what we had in mind, it is what we were asked to do. We came in jeans and boots ready to get our hands dirty, however, this is what they had in mind for us and this is what we did. Me, being a people person, got a chance to speak to those pulling up. As I was giving them their directions, it was my job to ask, "Are you familiar with the town?" That led to the conversation of where they are from. It is just amazing at the people that drove miles and miles to help this town for just 1 day. Some even drove up just to ask what to bring and where to go when they come back on Wednesday, or whatever day they had in mind. While volunteers were working, other volunteers were riding around on 4-wheelers delivering water and food  to those working. With American flags posted everywhere and tears filling my eyes, you can't help but think how awesome it is to be an American and to have strangers care about you so much. God love this amazing country!

This town needs helping hands for those that are able drastically. Work gloves are needed so be sure you stop and grab some on your way up. Like I said before, I have an open couch and a full size air mattress for you if needed. If you can't help physically or financially then there is no excuse for you not helping spiritually. Say a huge prayer for these tornado victims, the volunteers, and the rebuilding of this town. We received word that the students had been redirecting to two different local schools and started today. The main reason for this is for these kids to be around there friends to help get through this tragedy.

osama bin laden

If you know me, you know that history is my weakpoint so I don't know much about this other than - HE'S DEAD! Finally! I missed the speech by Obama last night but I did hear there was a big party outside the white house last night. I also heard that there is already someone else in Bin Laden's place, so what does that mean for us? I don't really know. Obama will be at ground zero tomorrow so I guess I'll hear what he has to say then.

Finals are this week so say a prayer for me.

All in 1 Sunday I have an amazing church service, go help the tornado victims, have dinner with 2 of my best friends Keely & Stephen, and find out Bin Laden has been killed - Doesn't that make you proud to be an American?? I know it does me! Thanks Jesus for our freedom in this country!

Have a good week!

Jess