A little update first. Within the last 24 hours, Tuscaloosa was hit with one of the most devastating storms we’ve ever seen. The night it happened, I sat huddled in our downstairs closet with my parents and our three dogs as we awaited the worst. We were watching the tornado rip through a few miles away from us on the television coverage when our biggest fear happen. The screen froze, then the entire house went pitch black. All we could hear was the tornado siren a few blocks away and the torrential downpour. We waited. Then about fifteen minutes later, the storm calmed and we left our safe place. While our house still stood untouched, we had no idea what was just down the street.
Without power, my dad and I decided to go try and find some hot food for dinner. I couldn’t help but get an eerie feeling because I have never seen my hometown like this before. Everything, not just the neighborhoods, everything (even Wal-Mart) was pitch black. We had to drive on one of our major roads with the brights on because there wasn’t power anywhere. Since everything was pitch black, the only option we had was to turn around and wait for morning. I don’t think any of us were ready for that wake-up call.
Throughout the span of 30 minutes, a huge bulk of Tuscaloosa was literally leveled. We were still without water and power, but the phone calls started coming in from all over. I thought it was strange to get calls from people that I hadn’t heard from in years, but I had no idea yet just how bad it was. Many people from our home church were calling us for help and direction, so we had to go see just what happened. I can’t put into words the amount of destruction there was out there, but I could see for miles where forests, neighborhoods, and shopping centers once were. As I drove into church (my usual 15 minute drive took an hour and fifteen minutes), there were cars all along the highway stacked on top of each other. I can’t even imagine beginning to survey the damage or even what it was like to be in that path of something that tremendous.
When we finally made it to the church, we were able to start locating our members and seeing who needed immediate help. Since the city is still in search and rescue mode, only the professionals are allowed behind the destruction lines, but we had a few people that we just needed to be there with. As we were hearing about each of the people that needed help, my heart sank when I heard one name, Johnny Sandras. I’ve written about this family before, so to get that story, click here, but after today, I had to add this story.
Back in 2005 Johnny, his wife Kim, and their two kids, John James and Kelly, survived the most devastating natural disaster our country has ever seen in Hurricane Katrina. Now, six years later, they had been hit again. Fortunately for them, this time it wasn’t their home and all their family holds dear, but it was Johnny’s business. So my dad and I jumped right in the car and headed his way. To our surprise, we found favor with one of the guards and he allowed us to drive right through the devastation. I tried not to rubber neck as we drove, but since I was literally the only one driving on the road and I had never seen anything like that, it was hard to not try to take it all in. I drive this road everyday to work, but nothing looked familiar. It was all rubble.
We finally found Johnny’s business, but it wasn’t because of the sign or recognizing the structure, because the frame wasn’t even standing anymore. I didn’t know what to expect from Kim and Johnny, but I was blown away to see high spirits and smiling faces. It turns out that a little before midnight the night of the storm, these two waded through what was left and found the key elements of their business salvageable despite no longer having a building. I guess you have to take every victory as something worth celebrating. Now we were tasked with cleaning up the rubble and seeing what else we could save.
When I was finally able to chat with Kim and Johnny once the bulk of the work was cleaned up, I heard a story I wasn’t expecting. As they started out telling me about the events of the previous night, I prepared to hear the worst. They told me how once they had saved the important stuff from the storm, they were hiking back to where they had to park when a car drove by. So they flagged it down. It turns out the driver was one of the college students that was displaced because campus was unfortunately one of the hardest hit. So Kim and Johnny did what they do. They invited this random college student over to their house where they still had power, hot water, and phone service to call her parents. In a time like this, you have to know that everyone needs a little help and trust they won’t abuse the hospitality.
One thing I left out is the fact that Johnny runs a commercial washing business that takes care of heavy duty cleaning of uniforms, rugs, and stuff like that. After they returned home with this random college girl, they began to trade stories. Less than a minute into it, they found out this girl was the “#2” to the head of maintenance for The University of Alabama. Needless to say, Johnny quickly, and shamelessly, told her what he did. Only God can make a connection like that. If Johnny were to get that client, some would call it a lucky coincidence, but after all they’ve been through, I know the Sandras family would call it a God ordained plan. In the midst of losing an entire business, they could be looking at the best chance for Johnny to retire early.
It’s true. We got hit hard. Our university has gone as far as canceling finals and encouraging the students to get home and spend some time emotionally regrouping with family. In the next few days to a week, the search and rescue missions will be over and it will be time to rebuild. While the businesses, homes, and other various locations are important, there’s so much more emotional damage that can be done as people try to figure out what just happened. Please pray for us as we rebuild our city (and we’re not the only ones…).
Just as a little update, our power companies have done an incredible job of responding effectively and many homes in the unaffected areas are back up and running with full power. The storm took a very direct path through the city, and all those not in that path can essentially go back to life as normal. Unfortunately, the affected areas are literally destroyed. I know I have plenty of catching up to do in the next couple of days, but I’ll keep you updated through the stories as they come.
