Midwest Tornadoes Disaster Relief

[Diana]

In case anyone is interested in making a donation to assist those affected by the tornadoes that hit Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio on Friday. Please check out the following disaster relief organizations that are based right here in Cincinnati.

Matthew 25: Ministries:
www.m25m.org/page.aspx?x=a80d38ae-4f90-443b-9124-93b6dec4d934

or

American Red Cross
To help, visit www.cincinnatiredcross.org or call 513-579-3024.

And, as if things weren't bad enough for those whose houses were damaged in the tornadoes, we got 1-2 inches of snow and black ice this morning. So what wasn't damaged by the tornadoes, has now probably been destroyed by the snow.

Feel free to pass this on to anyone who you think might be interested.

[scarlarose]

Di, you have such a big heart. I know you feel like you are at your limit right now, and, yet, here you are spreading the word for others who are struggling. This is just one of the great blessings we all get from knowing you.

[Diana]

Scarlarose -- Thanks for the kudos, but the reality is that this is a just very stark reminder that no matter how stressed I might be by the issues going on my personal life that in reality my issues are rather insignificant in comparison to what the people who have lost love ones and/or their homes to the tornadoes that swept through the Midwest on Friday night are currently facing. You know it really hit home for me last night when I was driving home from work and they were talking on the radio about how the disaster relief organizations needed toothbrushes donated among other things. Imagine what is must be like to be in need of something as small and insignificant as a toothbrush, because you have nothing left but the clothes on your back.

To give some perspective for those of you who are overseas or haven't been following the news, I have included a YouTube video showing a small town (actually not even a town, but a village that is about 35 miles from where I live, right on the Ohio River) of about 300 homes that took a direct hit from one of the tornadoes with 70% of the village being totally wiped out. This village isn't a financially well off town in that most people who live there work at the local power plant, thereby they are just your average hard working middle income families who are just trying to get by and their whole lives have been destroyed in the blink of an eye. And, yet somehow they are finding the strength and courage to clean up the mess and somehow move on with their lives. Of course, this is just one of many scene being repeated over and over again through out Southern Indiana, Northern Kentucky and Southwest Ohio.

[scarlarose]

Di, this is 35 miles from your home!! Did you know how bad the tornadoes were before you headed down to your basement? I just cannot imagine. You know, I live in one of the states that was hit, but I'm 5 hours away and it seems like it might as well be 1,000 miles. Stories are trickling in every day, and we might get a photo here and there in the paper, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's what they are getting everywhere in the country. The story that was in the paper today was about a mother of an 8 yr. old and a 5 yr. old. Their father was in lock down at the local scool so he couldn't get to them. She took them all down to the basement and wrapped the kids in a blanket and tied them to her with another blanket. Then she put her body on top of them to protect them. The last thing she texted her husband was that the entire house was shaking. After the tornadoes were gone, the oldest child ran to a neighbor's house to get help for his mother. They came and did a tourniquet on each leg to stop the bleeding and called an ambulance. The husband was finally able to catch up with his family in the hospital. The mother lost parts of both legs, but her children came out unscathed. I woke up this morning to my mother handing me the newspaper telling me to read this story. We both just wanted to sit and cry. I think this story hit me especially hard because of being a mother to children close to those ages. Di, you're so right about everything in your post. The perspective that a tragedy like this can give one is truly eye-opening. It kind of makes you feel like you just got punched in the gut.