JOPLIN, Mo. – When Operation Blessing disaster relief teams arrived in Joplin, Mo. they found a swath of destruction through the heart of the community.

As the relief team began helping residents make repairs to their homes, they met a couple who really stood out–Larry and Sherie. (more…)

Operation Blessing’s Japan Disaster Relief Manager, Don Thomson, shares his firsthand account of the relief efforts in Japan.

SABUSAWA ISLAND, Japan – Fumio Doi, a gillnet fisherman from Sabusawa Island, lost his home and most of his fishing nets to the tsunami earlier this year. His fishing boat, the Sabusawa Maru, survived, as it was moored on the opposite side of the island. However, Doi and his family ended up living in the small hilltop evacuation center set up in a local school, with no means of income. (more…)

JOPLIN, Mo. – When John and Debbie’s house was hit by the Joplin tornado, it was one of only a few homes that were salvageable—yet without insurance, the couple had no idea how they would rebuild. Operation Blessing told them they would put a new roof on their house, but instead, surprised them with an Extreme Blessing home makeover thanks to help from The Home Depot and NASCAR driver Joey Logano.

MOTOYOSHI, Japan – For coastal fishing communities in Japan devastated by the tsunami, replacing their boats is a crucial step toward getting back to work—and eventually rebuilding their lives.

Because of the long waiting list for purchasing new boats in Japan, it can take months to get a fishing vessel. (more…)

JOPLIN, Mo. – See how Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, partnered with Operation Blessing and the Home Depot to give one deserving family the surprise of a lifetime.

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JOPLIN, Mo. – Yesterday while visiting our various projects in Joplin, I kept thinking that something was different, but I couldn’t put my finger on it until late in the day. It was the trees! Trees that looked dead a few weeks ago were sprouting leaves. The struggle of the trees seemed a perfect metaphor for the struggle of the people. (more…)

JOPLIN, Mo. – “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” The quote appears on an elegant plaque in John and Debbie’s home, but it’s more than just a saying—it’s something that defines the way they live. (more…)

JOPLIN, Mo. – Ron and his wife, Norma, live in Joplin, Mo. where their home sustained considerable damage in the recent tornado that ripped through the city, killing 132 people and leaving countless families without homes. The insurance company told Ron and Norma that they would take care of all the roof damage and structural damage to their home, but the insurance would not pay to repair the damage to Ron’s wheelchair ramp. (more…)

JOPLIN, Mo.— When I asked Randy, a 51-year-old Joplin resident, how he would move on after the tornado, he simply answered, “You’ve just got to live it every day, and the next day will be better than the day before and it will get better.” This is true both physically and emotionally. Each day in Joplin, progress is being made in the cleanup process as compassionate volunteers swarm the streets and lend their hands and hearts to the survivors of this terrible tornado. (more…)

JOPLIN, Mo.—I made it to Joplin around 7:30 p.m. Our disaster relief team was still in meetings, so I asked for directions to the area that had received a lot of damage. The sun was fading, curfew was about to start, but I wanted to see firsthand and feel the impact of what had happened. (more…)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – As I drove through the debris of what used to be Smithfield Estates, a suburb of Birmingham, Ala., I was shocked by the power a tornado has to destroy both homes and lives. The wreckage evokes a sense of awe at the power of nature, but also stirs fears of uncertainty and the lack of control we have over it. My mind began imagining different scenarios of what each family had been doing to protect themselves as the storm swept past—and the prayers that must have been prayed. (more…)

GUATEMALA – Panabaj is a community of around 75 families at the edge of Lake Atitlan. At least 40 of these families were affected when a mudslide completely buried their homes. Roads were blocked because of the mudslides and aid could not get into the community. (more…)