Who could have imagined that a category 5 tornado that nearly leveled an entire Kansas town would become a stewardship opportunity for Virginia Baptists?
The tornado that destroyed 95 percent of Greensburg, Kan., on May 4, 2007, with winds of 205 mph, left the town of 1,398 devastated. The entire town was declared unsafe and every resident was evacuated.
Little by little, they began to sort through what remained and rebuild what was not. Just a few months later, on Feb. 5, towns in Tennessee, including Lafayette and Jackson, home of Union University, were damaged by tornados and the people of Greensburg felt their pain.
Accepting a teacher's challenge that he would match what they raised to help their Tennessee neighbors, 38 high-schoolers began a coin drive. And the students of Greensburg, who were still trying to recover from their own disaster, raised $5,500.
Nearly a year after Greensburg was hit, Sharon Day, a bank manager in Lafayette, was preparing for work on Monday, April 28. The bank where she worked was a collection center for tornado victims in surrounding Macon County.
As she watched the morning news she suddenly heard words that caused her to freeze in her tracks: “Live from Greensburg, Kan., where less than a year ago ….”
The Friday before, the bank had received a check for $1,463.15 from Greensburg to apply toward the tornado fund. It was such a generous but odd amount that Sharon made a mental note to find out more about who had sent it. Now she knew. Other communities in Tennessee had also received checks.
As it happens, the CBS Early Show learned of the contribution to the Macon County fund and flew Sharon to Greensburg to meet the students and teacher, Josh Dellenbach. While meeting with them, she promised that she would keep the generosity going by “paying it forward” to other communities that were similarly struck by disaster.
Accordingly, making good on her promise, the people of Lafayette raised money which they sent to tornado victims in Arkansas, North Carolina and Virginia. This is how Virginia Baptists got involved.
Terry Raines, disaster relief coordinator for Virginia Baptists, elaborated. “Sharon read of the tornados that struck Virginia in the spring of this year and decided to, in turn, ‘pay it forward' by sending $1,000 to assist Virginia tornado victims. She chose to do so through us.”
Day called the Mission Board, initially talking with Nichole Bulls, an assistant with the board's glocal missions and evangelism team, who made several suggestions.
“We plan to provide the $1,000 to further assist the efforts of volunteers from Clinch Valley and Wise Baptist associations who are building new houses for two families in Big Stone Gap who lost their homes in a March 4 tornado.”
So it is that once again good has come from a Kansas tornado. The brains, the courage and heart awarded to those yellow-brick road travelers in the land of Oz continue to bless others in our day. Because of their wisdom, courage and hearts the influence (and financial gifts) of these students continue to help others in widespread places. They are not confined to Kansas anymore. They are being felt and used right here at home. And, as we all know, there's no place like home.
But, having received, it now becomes our time to pay it forward.
I'm not hoping for a disaster, but we know them to be inevitable. When they do come, I know how Virginia Baptists will respond. With wisdom and courage and hearts, oh, my!
Virginia Baptists have them in abundance.