On Friday, nearly the entire mission was engaged in Disaster Relief efforts in Moore. It was so weird for me to go back there because I served there. Neighborhoods that I had tracted and places where I taught people were completely gone. Moore looks like a third world country. It looks like a war zone. As if an army of bombers flew over and carpet bombed the whole thing. The destruction is almost two miles wide. Almost as far as you can see in any direction is destroyed.
It is heartbreaking to see people stand in front of a cement slab that once used to be their home. They don't know where to start. We have been doing tornado cleanup for the last four days straight.
We helped out in Moore, but it is hard to work there because there are police everywhere looking to arrest looters and robbers. There are lots of valuable things in the rubble of people's homes. We spent all day Friday digging through rubble looking for requested valuables of an owner. She wanted her cat, her purse, a gun and a few other things. It was so hard to find things, but with the help of some prayers and diligent digging, we found everything she wanted except for the cat. Miracles happen every day out there. The people who have lost their homes have great attitudes toward life. They realize that they have lost literally everything and so when we found little things like pictures of family and friends or important papers, they are so happy. They shout and laugh and praise Jesus. The lady we were helping kept saying: "The Lord is merciful, the Lord is good." I love the people in OK.
Most of our Disaster Relief efforts have been focused out in Shawnee, Little Axe and Newala. Those are little towns out east of Lake Thunderbird. They are in our stake and they were hit by a pretty big tornado as well. We have been clearing trees and tarping roofs. There was a man that we helped who had a pretty good sized farm, but everything was gone. The tornado went directly over his house and right through the middle of his farm. All he has left is one donkey, a few geese and some chickens. That area of Oklahoma has more trees than the west side of the state and you can see the path of the tornado because of the trees that have been splintered and flung elsewhere.
Serving the people in OK is the best thing ever though. Those Yellow T-shirts help a lot and there are many opportunities to talk to the owner of the house while the crew works. They are so humble and open to everything.
Yesterday we helped a man out there clear a lot of debris off of his property and off of his house. When we were leaving, he started to cry and thank each of us individually. It made me feel very united with him and all the other Okies we had served. I have learned that there is a great power behind serving others. Mosiah 2:17.
The Church has an incredibly organized way of doing Disaster Relief. (This isn't their first rodeo) The church is very good and very fast at aiding others. The Church sent 7 semi trucks full of supplies for the relief effort. Bottled water, food and all kinds of supplies have been shipped in to Moore and Shawnee to feed the people without electricity and things they need. They have tons of food and water for the people doing service. This all makes me think of D&C 35:12. There are groups of people from Colorado, Kansas, Tennessee and Texas coming to help. There are tons of church groups who have their own t-shirt uniforms that swarm the sites of disaster.
President Taylor keeps talking about how these storms are huge in the preparation of 100's to flock to the church and for the church to stand as an Ensign to the world. The good Christians in OK and the other parts of the "bible belt" will be the first ones to come flocking to the church.
Today is transfer day. It was moved to today because of the tornadoes. I am getting transferred to Midwest City. It's just east of OKC. My new comp is Elder Charlesworth. We have known each other for a while. There is a lot more that happened this week, but I have to go for transfers now.
Love ya
.JPG)
