Wow!  I was privileged to participate in a massive cleanup effort today.  I grew up near the Nappanee, Indiana area that was hard hit by a tornado on Thursday evening.  When I saw the notice in the South Bend paper on Saturday that volunteers were needed to help with cleanup on Sunday, I knew I had to go. 

I’m not sure anyone anticipated the response that was given by the surrounding communities.  I’ve read a report tonight that those in charge of the cleanup effort were expecting, or hoping for, about 1,000 people.  Estimates of those who helped, and those who tried to help far exceed that number.  I had a pretty good idea that the response was overwhelming when it took me an hour to drive the 5 or 6 miles between Wakarusa and Nappanee.  Traffic was inching along toward the Northwood High School parking lot where the volunteer work crews were to be sent out from.  Once I did arrive at the school parking lot, I joined a massive line of people waiting to board a bus for transportation to a work site.  Bus after bus arrived to be filled to capacity with people and then head off for an area of devastation needing cleaned up.  I finally moved forward enough that I would make the next series of arriving buses. 

That is when the announcement came.  There were no longer any safe areas left to transport people to.  The remaining crowd, which was still quite numerous, were told, “thank you for your willingness to help, but we don’t have work for any more people.”  Wow!  All of this devastation and more than enough people to meet the current need.  The crowd broke into applause; knowing that while they wouldn’t help today, it was a day to celebrate the outpouring of assistance being given.  And so, people quickly and quietly left.  They had come to work, to express their compassion, and to give of themselves.  For what some are estimating to be a couple thousand people, the thought and intention had to be enough.

As one of those being turned away, I wasn’t so sure it was enough for me.  While most of the multitude left quickly, I stood there — part in disbelief, part in wonder, and more in prayer and listening to God.  You see, I was confident on Saturday that it was His voice that was telling me I needed to be here today.  So, what’s with being sent home?  As I was reflecting and listening, I noticed a group of people getting on one of the empty buses that had returned from a cleanup area.  I quickly went over to see what was up and found out that the officials in the field had just radioed in that they could use another bus load of volunteers at the BP gas station site.  As I made my way to board the bus, the driver stopped the people in front of me and said we had to wait, the bus may be full.  Everyone in front of me had part of their group already on the bus, so they were allowed on.  Then it is the driver telling me that the bus is full.  I don’t know if it was a look of disappointment, or simply the hand of God, but she then stated that if I was by myself and didn’t mind sitting three to a seat with people already on the bus, I could get on.  I was on before she could change her mind.  As we pulled away, I thanked God for the hesitation I had that kept me at the right place to do the work He had for me.

Our work site was centered at what everyone called the BP station, although what signs were left seemed to indicate it had most recently been a Marathon station.  It isn’t either of them now, it is simply several piles of rubble waiting to be hauled off.  The canopy over the pumps was still partially there, but the building that used to house the convenience store was no longer in existence.  Our group picked up chunks of drywall and insulation that used to be part of the store from an adjoining property.  We would pile debris in huge mounds so that it could more easily be scooped up and loaded onto dump trucks for removal.  The remains of the building itself were gone through and piled into heaps of lumber and twisted metal framing.  It was satisfying to know that my day was useful and the path to recovery for this site had advanced at least another step.

While the devastation from this tornado was immense, the willingness of people to help was even greater.  It has often been said that a tragedy will show what a person, community, region, or even nation is made of.  From all appearances today, the destructiveness of this tornado was met with an even greater power in the response of people to care, share, and bear one another’s burdens.  How many came out to help?  My guess is that it is innumerable!  The bus driver on the way back to the school when we were done said that they had 22 buses running that each made 4 trips full of people out to work sites.  She stated that a full bus of adults would average about 50 people.  By my math, that would have had over 4,000 people who made it out to a cleanup site to work.  In addition to those who were able to help, there were hundreds, if not thousands, who waited in all of the lines only to be turned away.  Who knows how many others responded to the call for help but gave up when the wait appeared to be too long.  During my hour drive for those last 5 miles, many cars were doing u-turns and going somewhere else.  The wait was too much for them, or more likely, they decided the response was more than adequate to meet the need.  Either way, they made some effort but weren’t able to fully participate.

I think I had a point when I started to write this, but now I think it is more just chronicling my day.  It was so rewarding to give of myself and of my energy.  I was able to physically help and also had ample opportunity to pray on-site as I was cleaning up debris.  It was good to work together with people I had never met before and to talk with some of them about the prayer ministry God is doing through me.  All in all, it was a great day of serving God by helping others.

Pray for the community of Nappanee and the surrounding area as the rebuilding and recovery will take quite some time.  The National Weather Service states that this tornado was on the ground for 20 miles beginning just west of Bourbon and finally lifting a little south of Goshen with Nappanee right in the middle of that.  While the city of Nappanee will get the most publicity because of the amount of destruction there, the path of damage really stretches out over that entire 20 mile path.  Pray that people will not forget the “good neighbor” attitudes that were abundant this weekend.  Pray that you and I will always be attentive to what God would have us do and that we would be obedient to that direction.