The Tuesday before Thanksgiving in 2004, the town of Olla, Louisiana, was struck by a tornado that ripped through the heart of the school, the neighborhoods, and businesses.  For weeks, as a member of the American Red Cross, I worked long days along side an entire community of people determined to recover, rebuild and reunite.  For 2 years, Olla worked through the recovery process. 

The memories have remained vivid in my mind, but last week they seemed to explode into reality again.

As I drove into the town of Earle, Arkansas, the path of the tornado seemed eerily familiar.  The funnel seemed to drop down on to the southeastern edge of town and spin destruction through neighborhoods, right through the heart of a Baptist Church, literally tearing the sanctuary out of the middle of the building, before moving through the most densely populated neighborhoods and then lifting away just as it reached the empty fields outside the community.   

This devastation is painfully reminiscent:  homes disintegrated; schools damaged; giant oak trees uprooted, some splitting the homes they once shaded.  Splintered lumber, twisted metal, crumpled tin and broken bricks,  litter the spots where homes once stood.   Piles of broken tree limbs, giant stumps, and split logs bank the roads like levies. 

But, the spirit of community and family swells here in Earle as it did in Olla.  I felt it as I walked down the street. Neighbors help clear trees and debris.  Volunteers from next door and across the country have become a part of the cleanup effort.  Near the remains of a home that sits half off its foundation with the roof torn away and the walls split open, a group of five young men take a break from the cleanup and lounge on the tailgates of 3 trucks.  I’m a stranger to them, but they tell me their stories.  One is worried about his dad whose business was destroyed.  “I was working in Marion when I heard the warning and called my wife here in Earle to tell her to take cover,” a second one shares.  Another owns the now-gutted house which he had just remodeled.  His mom and dad live across the street, and his grandmother lives next door to them.  All of their homes are damaged.  Just one door down, three generations of a family are gathered in the driveway—grandmother and grandfather, sisters and brothers--catching up with each other after a day back at work and before cleanup continues into the night. The home is destroyed, but today they learned that their son received a full scholarship to college.  Everybody is celebrating the good news—right beside a destroyed home and surrounded by fallen tree branches and debris.

The Red Cross team I joined has been working in Earle, Arkansas since May 2 when the tornado, which was one of many which wreaked havoc and destruction across Arkansas, struck.  The volunteers are tired but committed.  After four days of damage assessment, sheltering, and feeding, they began to provide individuals and families with financial support, health services, and other referrals.  Today was a challenge as they learned of small areas of damage that had not been identified earlier and as they continue to meet emergency needs on a case by case basis.  Problems arise, gaps in service are discovered, frustration, and stress take their toll on the community.  Red Cross volunteers work to fill the gaps, help solve the problems, and combat the frustration and stress with compassion. 

All of the good work of Red Cross happens because people donate—their time, talent, and treasure.  All of the volunteers are able to help because someone donates the money to support their work.  Families get sheltered and fed because someone gives money that buys the food, supplies, and comfort kits.  People find encouragement and help because Red Cross connects hearts to hands.