A note of introduction:  This blog has been started due to my service in Joplin, Missouri after an F5 tornado decimated nearly one third of the town on Sunday, May 22, 2011.  Joplin seems to be in my blood.  My parents met in Joplin at what was then Ozark Bible College.  I was born there and eventually went to college at the same college my parents had attended, but had since been renamed Ozark Christian College.  I fellowshipped at College Heights Christian Church and often hit the dollar movie theatre for cheap fun.  I managed a Taco shop and waitressed/hostessed at a restaurant both of which were on Range Line in the path of the aforementioned tornado.  I shopped at the JoAnn's Fabrics, Walmart and Home Depot; none of which survived the tornado.  I met my husband in Joplin; divorced him there too.  I have friends who live in Joplin, some of which lost homes.  I also have a niece and nephew who live in Joplin and whom, by the grace of God were spared because they had run up the road just a bit to visit some friends....the tornado hit their grandparents' home where they had been spending their usual Sunday afternoon.  As I said, Joplin is in my blood.
     When I received word a tornado had hit Joplin, a jolt of electricity shot through my body from head to foot.  All I could think of was....What about my niece and nephew?  What about their family?  What about my children's biological father?  And I raced out of the church, jumped in my vehicle and flew the couple of blocks home to call my niece and nephew's mother to see if they were all okay.  Unbeknownst to me, the cell services were flooded.  However, I could get out a text.  Nearly half an hour later I got a text back that said the kids and their mother were okay, but they couldn't find their grandfather.....he was caught in the midst of the tornado.  Thankfully, he survived hiding in the bathroom of his home which was destroyed. 

     I knew I had to go.  I had to do whatever I could to help, although I had no idea what that would entail.  In fact, I had no idea as to what to expect.  I just had to go.  By Wednesday my Aunt Carolyn had graciously agreed to keep my kids.  When she asked me how long I was going to be gone my only response was....I have no idea.  She told me to take as much time as I needed.  What a wonderful woman!  I could now go.  I could do what my heart had been telling me since Sunday evening.  I could follow the spirit of God into whatever awaited me.....and man, oh man, I didn't have a clue.