Chloe: My story is also the story of my town. We are a small town of around 1,500. A few miles away, a small village sits. No one would have ever heard of us, unless you had a reason to hear about us. I have always had a fear of storms, although it was getting better. The evening of April 4th, 2023, I heard my parents discussing the chance of storms. I didn’t think anything of it, as I slept safely in the basement until 3:30 A.M when my family came rushing down the stairs, the dreaded alarm sound ringing. Upon further investigation, a tornado warning had been issued. A tornado had been spotted in the village, just miles from my house, and looked to be heading straight for my town. It missed us, but hit three small villages. Grassy, Scopus, and Glen Allen, MO. 5 people died, all from Glen Allen.
Jesus worked in many ways from our town, broken from this disaster. Despite the hurt, people came to Christ. My church helped to rebuild, to clean up the debris, to fix the broken villages, as well as spreading Jesus’s name. But the story isn’t done. On August 14th, 2023, the creek that runs through Glen Allen and my town flooded. Houses filled with water within inches of the ceiling fans. No one was hurt, thankfully, though there were a few close calls. Now, this mess we had just fixed was broken once more. We’re still working, 2 months later. Still praying. Still believing that God will help us through this. Despite the hardships, God has worked through these duo disasters, bringing people back to church, back to Him. We have touched lives that might have never heard Christ because of it. I have found a renewed faith because of the work that has happened because of God.
