From Brian Wagner, HFI U.S. Central Coordinator: "As storms began forming yesterday afternoon in central Oklahoma, many were caught off guard as the risk level was only slight. Within minutes of the first storm, several more fired up — lighting up the radar map. As I watched the report from my living room, I heard the first hit of a hail stone. Within seconds, our neighborhood was being pelted with golfball-sized hail. Other towns were seeing baseball-sized hail.
Reports quickly went from hail to tornado warnings as communities in southern Oklahoma City were braced for impact. The small town of Cole was hit first, but others were in the path of multiple supercells. Just after dark, it became apparent that Shawnee, Oklahoma was going to take a direct hit. Being a densely populated city with many businesses, the fear was realized immediately; numerous homes and businesses were impacted."
Brian was in Shawnee this morning as it is only 45 minutes from where he lives, and he described the scene: “Every neighborhood that was touched by this tornado has seen extensive roof damage. Though many homes and businesses have been completely destroyed, there is an overwhelming number of homes needing a tarp immediately. It’s as if the tornado had a mind of its own to simply peel off shingles from homes. It almost looks like it was systematic in doing this, choosing to peel back roofs and leave the houses still standing.”
We are asking if you will come and deploy with us to help with much needed assistance on behalf of the residents of Oklahoma.
This will be a roof tarping deployment. Even if you are not comfortable on a roof, you are still needed in other areas of service. This will be an excellent opportunity to put your love of God into compassionate action on behalf of people who are in great need of help and hope in this dark hour.
