VOLUNTEER SPIRIT SHOWN IN AMAZING WAYS
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
In the early morning hours of March 3, Tennesseans were awakened by tornado sirens across Middle Tennessee. In just a few minutes (though it probably was an eternity to those directly impacted), the storms moved on to another portion of the state.
The tornadoes left behind at least 24 fatalities, massive destruction and lives turned upside down. According to AccuWeather the total damage and economic loss caused by the March 3 tornadoes is estimated between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. That’s billion with a “B.”
And, after checking out sites throughout Benton, Davidson, Wilson and Putnam Counties, that is not as farfetched as it sounds. Hundreds of houses in the affected counties were just piles of rubble after the storms moved through. [Read more…]
A BARKING DOG AND A MIRACLE
Minister and family escape death after tornado collapses house
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
COOKEVILLE — For the first in his life, Darrin Crockett is glad God did not answer his prayer.
On Monday night, March 2, Crockett and his family went to bed as always. Their dog, “Doc,” however barked incessantly throughout the night. Crockett remembers asking God “to make that dog quit barking.”
God apparently chose not to answer that prayer. As a result, the Crockett family is alive and well after an estimated EF-4 tornado blasted through their home in Cookeville, leaving them trapped under a pile of building materials and rubble.
Reflecting on that night, Crockett sees how God orchestrated their survival. Had Doc not barked most of the night, Crockett may not have heard his phone alarm signaling a storm warning. As a result, he and his wife, Jenny, and daughters Carly, Camryn and Carrigan took refuge in the laundry room, the only place they probably could have survived, Crockett said.
“We heard it coming and suddenly the house began to shake,” he said. “Next thing I remember is I felt grass underneath me. The tornado must have picked up the entire house dropped it in the yard with us buried underneath it.”
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A 2×4 board that fell across a turned over washer and dryer likely provided them enough room to keep from being crushed. Lighting flashes exposed what few openings there were and the family crawled out from the collapsed building with only a few minor cuts and scratches.
Crockett, associate pastor of Vine Branch Community Church and a school administrator and athletic director at Highland Rim Academy, both in Cookeville, acknowledged that their survival is a miracle.
“It is amazing,” he acknowledged. “If our dog had not alerted us, who knows where we would have ended up?”
As he stood near the pile of rubble that once was his house and watched countless volunteers salvage items and drag the ruins to nearby trash piles, Crockett knows without a doubt that God spared him and his family.
“We have tremendous peace and joy,” he noted.
Two things, however, “get me emotional,” Crockett continued — knowing how close they came to someone planning their funerals this week and the outpouring of support from the community. “It’s amazing to look around and realize we are not alone.”
Crockett knows he and his family are recipients of God’s grace. “I’ve seen God’s grace in so many ways and in so many places. This affirms it even more,” he acknowledged.
The outpouring of support from Baptists and other Christians, not only in the community, but from across the state also has been “overwhelming and amazing,” he said.
Baptists have received a lot of negative press across the nation in recent months, Crockett observed. “But when it comes down to it, the church does what God calls it to do. Nothing else matters in times like these,” he affirmed.
The Cookeville minister expressed his appreciation to Tennessee Baptists for their response, love and resources. “It’s overwhelming.”
Though they have each other, the Crocketts did experience a significant loss in the aftermath of the tornado. Their beloved dog “Doc,” who probably saved their lives with his barking, did not survive.
“He will go down as a hero,” Crockett said. “We will celebrate him and talk about him for a long time”
Editor’s note: If you would like to financially give to support the relief effort to tornado victims, please visit tndisasterrelief.org and click the “Give Now” button.
DISASTER RELIEF RESPONDING IN WAKE OF TENNESSEE TORNADOES
By Baptist and Reflector Staff
Editor’s note: This story was updated March 6. Additional tornado stories will be added to the website under Tennessee news as they become available.
(Updated 11:50 am) Even as damage is being assessed, Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief (TBDR) teams are responding in the wake of a devastating EF-3 tornado that ripped through Nashville and traveled across Middle Tennessee as far as Cookeville today in the early morning hours, killing at least 22.
“We have local teams that have already gotten out and are trying to help people in Nashville and the surrounding area,” said Wes Jones, “Meanwhile we are working with emergency management services to better understand where we can deploy resources.”
Jones said that several people have contacted the TBDR offices asking how they can help. He said team callouts will be coming soon, but right now the best way to help in the effort is financially. Giving can be made directly to TBDR through tndisasterrelief Any gifts given today will go directly to “Tennessee Storms.” [Read more…]
DISASTER RELIEF VOLUNTEERS RESPOND TO REAL-TIME DISASTER
By Tess Schoonhoven
Baptist Press
MONTROSE, Ark. — On the morning of Jan. 16, two Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief (ABDR) volunteers found themselves responding to a present emergency — a real-time disaster.
ABDR, a subsidiary of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) primarily focuses on giving aid to communities where natural disasters have struck.
While volunteers were working on repairing a roof damaged from recent tornados in the southeast Arkansas region, they noticed smoke billowing up just a few houses down the street. [Read more…]
TENNESSEE BAPTIST DISASTER RELIEF RESPONDS TO 18 EVENTS
Baptist and Reflector
MOUNT JULIET — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers responded to 18 events in Tennessee, throughout the United States and in different locations outside the U.S. in 2019, according to Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
Those responses do not include a number of responses done locally by DR volunteers, he added. [Read more…]
WATSON RECOGNIZED FOR TENNESSEE BAPTIST DR WORK
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
CLARKSVILLE — The tornadoes that swept through Clarksville in late October were not even over before Carolyn Watson’s phone was ringing.
Not only in Middle Tennessee, but throughout the state, Carolyn Watson and the disaster relief team from Cumberland Baptist Association are known for their quick response to disasters where chain saw and flood/fire recovery are needed.
Her involvement in disaster relief has kept her close to home as evidenced by two responses in Clarksville just this year as well as sending her all over the United States and literally around the world, including a trip to Japan after a major tsunami caused mass destruction eight years ago.
Watson was honored by WKRN-TV (News 2) in Nashville in November as a “Hyundai of Cool Springs Hero.” Once a month, News 2 and Hyundai honor a public servant “who goes above and beyond the call of duty.” [Read more…]
CLEAN UP CONTINUES IN TENNESSEE
Disaster relief teams from Tennessee, as well as Alabama, Kentucky and Missouri, are continuing to clean up trees and debris following straight-line winds that caused extensive damage across the state in late October. Teams are still at work in Clarksville, Waverly, Decatur and Adamsville, according to Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. He estimated more than 225 jobs have been completed but many more are still to be done. For more information, and to find out if teams are still needed, contact Jones at 615-371-7927.
BREAKING NEWS: TENNESSEE DR RESPONDS, MORE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Baptist and Reflector
MOUNT JULIET — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief teams are needed in the aftermath of weekend storms that left major damage throughout West and Middle Tennessee.
“We have a lot of damage across the state from the Alabama-Mississippi lines all the way through Clarksville and surrounding counties,” said Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. He added that at least 14 counties reported damage.
Most of the damage was done by straight line winds of up to 70-75 miles per hour, Jones reported. [Read more…]
TENNESSEE BAPTIST DR TEAMS STILL IN TEXAS
Baptist and Reflector
MOUNT JULIET — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief flood recovery teams are still serving at First Baptist Church, Huffman, Texas, in the aftermath of tropical storm Imelda. Volunteers have seen six professions of faith since their work began.
Imelda dumped about 40 inches of rain on southeast Texas (from Beaumont to Houston) last month. An estimated 4,000 homes were flooded, said Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
Jones said volunteers will be needed at least through the end of October. Volunteers interested in serving can contact him at wjones@tnbaptist.org.
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