We were in Joplin...

...you know, for the tornado. Driving back from visiting my in-laws in TX we had decided to drive all the way to Joplin to stay with my folks Sunday night. Driving up I-44 we heard the weather would be bad. We saw it looked bad. At about 5:10pm we got off I-44 onto Range Line (Joplin's main drag) and drove to my parents house. Its funny, because I told Brian if something happened then I wanted to be around shelter. At 5:15 we got to my parents house. Just after 5:30 a horrific EF4 tornado ripped down the path that we had just driven.

My family lives on the other side of town from the destruction. Our house is untouched and we are all fine. Only the cable is out, which means we didn't see any of the coverage until getting here to KC (just hours ago). Well, maybe we didn't see coverage, but my family and Brian saw it first hand. Once we started getting phone calls Sunday night we realized it was pretty bad. Brian and my dad left the house to check on some friends and their house. What they saw was unpredictable and horrific. Brian gave his shirt to a man bleeding from the head, but not hurt badly enough to get triaged by the ambulances driving around--helped people get things out of houses, look for loved ones, tried to locate neighbors. Many of our friends are not badly hurt, but their houses are not only destroyed, but mostly gone. The town is devastated...

I know everyone has seen many more pictures on the tv coverage, but this is what Brian took with his iPhone walking down the street an hour after the tornado. We came home tonight because there is only so much you can do since its storming there all week. Mostly, I think, they need blood and supplies, including water since we are on a boil alert.

When I have more fully processed that a third of my home town is gone I will probably blog something more emotional, but for now this is all we can manage.

Of course they covet your prayers, especially considering the weather the next few days is looking very unstable. Thanks guys.