It seems wrong to put the words December and tornado in the same sentence, but that’s the reality of what has taken place in Midwest and Midsouth states. As cold air and warm air clashed dramatically in the atmosphere, numerous tornadoes were spawned. The worst of them had its beginning in Arkansas and traveled on the ground at least 250 miles showing no mercy to farmhouses and whole towns along the way.
The hardest hit location was Mayfield, Kentucky, with some 10,000 residents. The average median family income there is $28,000. One of the larger employers in Graves County is the Mayfield Consumer Products factory, destroyed by the twister, which not only took jobs, but a number of lives at the factory. The company made scented candles found at retailers like Bath & Body Works.
The tornado has brought loss of life and injuries - and economic devastation. “Our infrastructure is so damaged. We have no running water. Our water tower was lost. Our wastewater management was lost, and there’s no natural gas to the city. So, we have nothing to rely on there,” Mayfield Mayor Kathy Stewart O’Nan said on CBS Mornings. “So that is purely survival at this point for so many of our people.” (AP)
This is a time when hope is desperately needed. And our ministry partner, Convoy of Hope, is bringing its skilled relief ministry to Mayfield, as well as Princeton, Madisonville, Bowling Green, & Dawson Springs, Kentucky, as well as Troy, Tennessee.
Convoy is working with church teams, sending truckloads of relief supplies along the extended tornado damage path. “So, food, water, tarps for people who had their roofs partially blown off, cleaning supplies, people need that, hygiene kits for people who have lost everything...just the basic necessities,” explains Ethan Forhetz, VP Public Engagement for Convoy of Hope. “We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus. That’s our job. That’s what our role is following a disaster, so we give a cup of cold water in His name. We give food in His name, we offer a prayer if they’d like prayer. We do what we can to minister to them in more ways than one.” For more, listen to Monika Kelly's complete podcast interview with Ethan Forhetz, just below.
To come alongside and contribute to Convoy of Hope’s response to this disaster, click here.
