Visit to West Liberty

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

Famagusta looks peaceful from this shot.
I couldn't take photos inside.

I've never been to war. I've never witnessed towns, villages, or cities being blasted by gunshots or bombs.

The closest I had ever come to witnessing such destruction was my visit to Famagusta last summer while in Cyprus. Famagusta is a city in the occupied Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. It has basically been left untouched after everyone fled it when the country was invaded over thirty years ago.

That visit left an image on my mind that I hope I never forget.

Another lasting, war-like image to add to the memory bank (and the photo albums) is the devastation I witnessed when visiting West Liberty two weeks after a tornado struck. It’s a small community, not unlike my hometown of Liberty.

Heading to the worksite.

While there were no deaths in the city limits, there were seven reported deaths in the county, and many were injured throughout as a result of this tornado. It was one in a string of tornadoes that swept the nation, causing major damage in parts of Indiana and Kentucky.

My parents, some folks from my church, and myself decided to make the trek after being in contact with a pastor at a local church there. Although his church was not really damaged in the storms, others weren’t so lucky.

Governor Steve Beshear, in an interview for WKYT, gave one of the best descriptions I have heard. “It looked like a bomb had just been dropped in the center of town,” Beshear said.

Some of the devastation.

It really did. I have never seen anything like what we witnessed that day. But the devastation isn’t the only thing we witnessed.

We also saw resilience, generosity, kindness, and strength. The thing about disasters, they require a set of traits that we often don’t realize we need until we need them. Folks never believe how strong they are until they are forced to be.

And we never realize how kind other people are until such events occur. There’s something about massive disasters that pulls at folks and brings out their best side. Yes, there are those who cheat and steal and prey on the kindness of others, especially in these situations, but that’s not everyone. The majority of people show an overwhelming kindness.

"Pray 4 West Liberty"

While working, we met three college students from Cornell University in New York. They had given up their Spring Break week to help West Liberty. They were lifting and carrying, working and sweating right beside us. And it was only their first day there.

There were other acts of kindness going on around us. Another group of people were working up the hill from us and had given these three students lunch before we got there. They shared with these strangers, because they were doing what they could to return the favor, so to speak.

All around us, there were people working, sweating, and helping. Some of them were from the area; either homeowners affected or spared. Some were family or friends. Some, like us, were total strangers who answered a call for help.

Some of our group in the foreground,
some others in the background working.

Say what you will about the American public, call us materialistic, call us selfish, call us rude. Sure, sometimes we are. But what I see is a people who care. Maybe that care is sometimes hidden under the layers. Sometimes it gets lost in all the shuffle of our daily lives and hectic schedules. But it’s there.

I just wish it didn’t take a disaster for us to find it. There are people hurting everywhere, all around us. Often closer than we think.

In the background there's a house that
sustained only minor damage to the roof.

Some of the wood and limbs that
were gathered from the yard.

Some semblance of life returning.

Church destroyed. Bell tower still
mostly standing.

Clear skies. Almost uncanny,
beauty and peace above, destruction below.

The bell was still on top.

The belltower.

There used to be a car wash here.

Another shot of the former car wash.

A funeral home. The back of the
right part was blown out.

The clouds were so pretty.