Blogs from Joplin, Missouri, United States, North America

August 1 was our cultural day and we volunteered in the morning for Catholic Charities of Southwest Missouri. While we were picking up one build site, we started to walk around the neighborhood and one gentleman was outside tending to his yard. The yard was immaculate and the house so cute from the outside. He invited us over and brought us inside. He is 91 years old and he, his two daughters and 7 dogs survived the tornado by covering themselves up with a blanket and holding on to each other. He was fortunate as a few years ago a storm had damaged his roof and when it was replaced the walls of his house were also reinforced. If his house has not had those improvements, it would have been totally destroyed in the tornado. Many ... read more

Our second build day was filled with many experiences. When asked about what our team members are excited to share with family back home, a few of the responses were... Pam - the resilience of the community and how they came together to help each other. Carrie - Sandy's story about living through the tornado and the aftermath Dan - helping 6 year old Rajohn learn to rake and plant his new yard (We are working on Rajohn's family house) Emily - the butterfly stories (you'll have to ask about this one...it is amazing) Kris - when faced with a huge disaster in live you can still move forward and make a difference for yourself and others Linda - there are still many driveways to no where left in Joplin Becky - the simple appreciation of ... read more

Our team joined together to share dinner with one of the partner families we'll be working with this week. The Sherman family, John and Sunshine, along with their three children, Jade, Kayla and Steven are excited for their new home and eager to start on the construction. Madison and Scott from the Joplin Habitat for Humanity affiliate shared information and statistics from the 2011 tornado. Over 8,000 buildings (homes and businesses) were damaged or destroyed and over 17,000 residents were displaced from their homes. As they went through their presentation, a question on the slides caught my attention. What will you build? After dinner, we had our first team reflection and I asked the team...during this week, what will you build? Here are the responses shared: relationships, knowledge about what happened, memories, hope, a simpler life, ... read more

For those of you who have not seen the images, click "read more" below, then click the URL to view pictures of just how Joplin looked after the tornadoes went through in 2011. I have also attached pictures I took in July 2012 when I took a motorcycle trip through Joplin and spent two days there. Most of the debris is gone, but bare tree trunks remained with some new construction just beginning. For the most part, it was simply bare land with some concrete foundations. url=http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=2012+joplin+mo+tornadoes&go=&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=2012+joplin+mo+tornadoes&sc=0-19&sp=-1&sk=http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=2012+joplin+mo+tornadoes&go=&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=2012+joplin+mo+tornadoes&sc=0-19&sp=-1&sk=... read more

Joplin is rebuilding. Entire blocks are full of brand new houses and newly planted lawns. It’s a boomtown reminiscent of Las Vegas in the 1990s. Train car loads of debris have been removed. The Home Depot is the most crowded store in town. The Walmart, which had been flattened in the tornado, is back in full swing. St. John’s hospital, which suffered heavy damage and was evacuated after the storm, was torn down last month and will be rebuilt nearby. The high school, which had been bursting at the seams before the storm and then damaged by it, is being rebuilt, bigger and better. Other than a dearth of trees, it might be hard for a visitor to know that the tornado happened at all. Locals can point to leftover signs, though. Some are literally, signs. ... read more