JACKSON, Tenn. — July 16, 2013 — Ten 51社区 alumni, faculty and staff recently spent a week helping with cleanup efforts in Moore, Okla., after a deadly tornado hit the community earlier this spring.
The Union volunteers in late June worked with Samaritan鈥檚 Purse, mainly doing final cleanup work before a property was turned over to its owners.
鈥淎t the core, as Christians, when you see people hurting and struggling and experiencing very intense hopelessness, we have a supernatural, inborn impulse to go and help,鈥� said Lee Wilson, Union鈥檚 director of discipleship, who led the team. 鈥淲e at Union have a special connection with people who are feeling the effects of devastation coming from a tornado. We were eager to go and help because we鈥檝e been helped.鈥�
Wilson referenced the Feb. 5, 2008, tornado that hit Union鈥檚 campus, causing about $40 million in damage. Generous support from volunteers and donors helped the university to recover quickly from the disaster.
鈥淢any members of our team had first-hand experience with the tornado aftermath at Union in 2008, and serving alongside them was especially meaningful,鈥� said Sarah Belcher, Union鈥檚 graphic design specialist, who served on the team. 鈥淪eeing the vastness of the damage in and around Moore was incredibly sobering. But seeing the numerous volunteers from all over the United States helping in the community each day brought a sense of hope.鈥�
The Union team stayed at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Okla. OBU provided free housing and generous hospitality for the duration of the stay, Wilson said.
Each morning the team drove to Moore to get its assignment for the day. Many of the properties where the team worked were located just a couple of blocks from Plaza Towers Elementary School, where seven children were killed in the tornado.
Though Wilson said the Union team members didn鈥檛 meet many of the homeowners, they did encounter a few, telling them about the tornado that hit Union and encouraging them that God intervenes and gives grace to overcome.
When Samaritan鈥檚 Purse volunteers finished at a specific house, they left a Bible for the owner that each team member had signed. Included with the Bible was a brief note telling Union鈥檚 story and why the volunteers had come.
鈥淲e wanted to be a part of giving grace for the day,鈥� Wilson said.