This is going to be a longer post than normal. I usually try to keep it around a couple hundred words or so, but there’s a lot to say about this one … and there’s pictures to look at. We went to Parkersburg on May 31 to do what we could do. Here’s my thoughts about the day:

1. I was amazed at the extent of the damage. This town took a direct hit. Just look at the pictures and you can tell.

2. This is the guy who owns the house we first helped with. He was needing help carrying large stuff out to the street. His home was eventually going to be bulldozed and have to be rebuilt. I asked him how long he had lived there, and he said 35 years. They had built the home brand new. He had a really good attitude, because he kept saying it was just a house and they could get another one. He was also funny, because he kept saying “I apologize. My wife isn’t a very good housekeeper.” The next picture is a front view of his house, and the third picture is a shot of a board sticking out of the back of his house.

3. There were several “comfort dogs” around town. These were volunteers who took their well-trained dogs around town to help relieve stress from many of the storm victims and volunteers. They come from as far away as Boston and Kansas City to provide this service. You can find out more about them at Animal Assisted Crisis Response.

4. This is my wife (pink shirt) and my daughter (not pink shirt) in the upper level of a home.

5. Here’s some more pictures of damage.

6. This is me with my two daughters. The volunteers would check in at the local church, and from there you would be assigned to a work site. There were several shuttles that would be pulled either by a truck or a tractor and take you to your work site.

7. This is the second house we worked with. The house was totally blown off of the basement and wrapped around a tree in the front yard (see the second picture.) The basement was made out of cinder blocks, and the whole back wall caved into the basement. The basement was filled with a lot of debris. I am hoping these people were not home when the tornado hit, because their basement would not have been a safe place to be.

8. I want to give a big shout out to Target. They had a tent set up right outside the area where volunteers were to check in. They were passing out water, work gloves, sunscreen, a lot of snacks, and some fruit. We didn’t have any sunscreen, so we went over there and I asked them how much it cost. The woman working there said it was all free! Very cool.

9. The Red Cross impressed me again. I went to Pascagoula, Mississippi, to help with clean up after Hurricane Katrina and that was my first experience with the Red Cross. They were on top of things as they drove through the neighborhoods bringing food and drink to the families and volunteers. I witnessed the same thing in Parkersburg. Again, very cool.

10. Parkersburg was not the only town that got hit. Please pray for everyone in that part of the state, because it is going to take some time to recover.

11. The extent of the damage was massive. Seeing pictures here and on TV does not do it justice. If you can go help out there, do yourself a favor and go help.

If you went to Parkersburg or any nearby area to volunteer, please comment because I’d like to hear about your experience.

The tornado that ripped through Parkersburg and New Hartford has been officially classified as an EF5, the strongest possible. You can tell by the news and seeing pictures that the devastation was terrible.

Parkersburg is only about 80 miles from Ames. The Ames Chamber of Commerce is organizing a work trip to go up there tomorrow and lend a helping hand, neighbor helping neighbor. My family and I will be taking part in this trip, just because if the same thing happened to us we would appreciate the help. One of the core values of Freedom Ridge is “micro-missions,” taking part in practical, tangible activities to show the love of Jesus. So tomorrow we will be taking part in a micro-mission.

In the next couple days I’ll post about our experience there.

I’m gonna be a little selfish and ask you to pray for a couple things for me and my family.

First of all, we are still trying to sell our house in Houston. It has been on the market for 180 days, and we are still paying the mortgage and all the utilities (and now paying to have the yard mowed!) To date we have received no offers. This weekend we are switching it over to another realtor, so hopefully this will help to generate a little more traffic to the house. Please pray that it will sell SOON, because we can’t move forward here with a new home until we sell the Houston house … not to mention the financial strain.

Secondly, I am traveling to Dubuque IA this weekend to speak at the Bridge Christian Church. The pastor there has asked me to come share with them about Freedom Ridge, our mission, and what is going on. They have also promised a financial gift to Freedom Ridge, and we really need it since it takes money to do ministry! Please pray that I do a good job, and pray that God gives The Bridge an extra measure of generosity to help us reach out to people in the Ames area.

I’ve shared with you how my oldest daughter now has her learner’s permit so she can drive. She’s been doing pretty good. The other day I was trying to teach her about the infamous “blind spot.” I was driving down the highway with her in the passenger seat, and a car began to pass us. When it got into my blind spot, I sped up a little so he would stay there. I then calmly had my daughter look and explained to her how she needs to be careful and always aware so the blind spot doesn’t end up causing problems for her.

I’m sure the guy in the other car called me a few choice words, and my daughter was the typical teenager and acted like she would rather eat glass than listen to my important life lesson. But because I love her and want her to be safe, she got the blind spot lesson.

We don’t just have blind spots in driving, but also in life. The other day someone lovingly helped me see some blind spots in my life. I would have rather eaten glass than listen, but deep down I know if I listen and learn that I will be a better person.

What are your blind spots? Chances are you don’t know, so it is best to ask someone you love and respect and ask them to point out some blind spots in your life. It won’t be fun. But you’ll be better for it in the long run.

Last evening I went to my daughter’s track meet. She just runs a couple events, so I am only fully engaged for about 3 minutes of the 4 hour track meet. But as I sat there watching, I finally noticed something that is really cool.

Something that has bugged me was how at each track meet so far they run at least a dozen 100 meter dashes. The kids line up, the gun goes off, the kids run as fast as they can across the finish line, then the next group of kids line up and the process starts again. I always thought they were wasting time.

But last night I was actually paying attention and I noticed as each group takes their turn, it becomes obvious that the slower and “less fit” kids are taking part. During some of the other events, some kids are even lapped.

Here is what I have witnessed so far … no kid has ever quit. Even though they do not look the type and are running well behind the leader, they are giving their 100%. They are trying their best. And as these lone runners are making their way past the stands, the crowd claps and cheers and many of their team mates encourage them on as if they were about to set a record and win a gold medal. Very cool. In the big city the competition is so much that these kids would not even be allowed on the team.

I’m glad we’re back in an area where kids can be kids and everyone is part of the team. It’s amazing the things you notice when you pay attention.