Category Archives: US. Tornadoes
Watch: OBI and NASCAR driver team up to help Joplin
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. Watch … Continue reading
Tornado victims show tenacity
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 … Continue reading
Weathering life’s storms: Couple recovers from devastating Joplin tornado
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 … Continue reading
Rebuilding a ramp, rebuilding hope
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 … Continue reading
How do the residents of Joplin move on?
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 … Continue reading
Joplin tornado devastation “chilling”
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 … Continue reading
Joplin tornado relief: When everything else crumbles, faith stands
JOPLIN, Mo.—Today as we arrived in Joplin, I saw an image in the midst of horrible devastation that deeply touched my heart. There was a church that was completely destroyed, but the cross steeple remained. It reminded me that when … Continue reading
Reflections of a heart weathered by tornadoes
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 … Continue reading
Rebuilding Schools for China Quake Victims
“Words can not explain;” homeowners begin cleanup in Suffolk with OBI’s help
Virginia tornado victims share pain
SUFFOLK, Va. – It is day 2 …and we began by going to a local “look & leave mission” conducted by the Suffolk Emergency Management. Residents gathered on the lawn of the Parks and Recreation Department to hear instructions on … Continue reading
Tornado victim: “I thought it was the end of the world”
TENNESSEE – On Super Tuesday tornados ripped an erratic path of destruction across Tennessee. Operation Blessing showed up on Wednesday and has been helping victims ever since.
Bill Horan
David Darg
Jody Herrington-Gettys