Parkersburg, Iowa

I don't think this is what Iowa had in mind when they decided on this slogan...

The house Annie and Jack were in...
Their car...
Terry standing by a tree...
A view of the A-P High School and softball field...

We drove to Parkersburg last night after we got the call from Meghan, Terry's cousin) that Parkersburg had been hit by a tornado and it was bad, very bad. A lot of their friends lost their homes, their memories, some even lost friends and family. You can't imagine what you are going to see, you see it on the news, you watch video, but yet...nothing can prepare you for what you witness when you're actually there. Damon stayed with Ethan and his family (have I mentioned how lucky we are to have them as friends?!?). Terry and I decided that his cousins would be too busy helping their friends and family, trying to make sense of what just happened in "little Parkersburg, Iowa." So off we went. 

When we arrived we went up to the elem. school in Aplington that they set up as a Red Cross center. Annie was craving a twix and a Diet Pepsi, another family needed toothbrushes and Jack wanted a Gatorade...so off to Caseys we went. 

Nancy and I were scheduled to man the phones from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Went in for our shift, but so many people were still there trying to make sense of what just happened that we just ended up sitting in the office chatting while the office secretary answered the calls. The girls left to spend the night with friends.

At 6:30 a.m. the next day, Terry, his Uncle Gary and another teacher from A-P left to go start the clean up. Nancy, Jack and I waited for Nancy's brother Rick and his friend Tracy...then at 8:45 we were off to Parkersburg. After a long wait (only one road in)...well, this is when you can't believe anyone survived. It looked like a landfill: debris, memories, photos, checkbooks, purses, papers, text books, clothing, games, you name it -- scattered over miles. People digging trying to salvage any pictures and clothing they can find....their homes destroyed. Terry's cousins Annie and Jack were at a friend's house when the tornado hit Parkersburg, they are so lucky, WE are so lucky. God has big plans for them, he has big plans for all of A-P. 

We got home early evening Monday, tired, sad, dirty, and thankful. Thankful that the amount of destruction didn't equal the number of lives lost -- nothing should have survived that destruction, nothing. Sad that even one life was lost, even though they are each with Him. Sad that so many memories were lost. Most people, although still in shock, repeated....it's all just stuff and "stuff" doesn't matter....then they would hug each other. You cannot prepare yourself for something like this. 

Remember what matters.