'Tyrone' receives help from fall break tornado cleanup team from Martin Methodist College

11/15/2012

From left: Autumn Dennis, Dr. Kathleen McCann, Zach Moffatt, Kara Abrams, Esther Hernandez, Tyrone, Lacy Lyle, Elizabeth Tapia, Monserrat Leon. Submitted photo

Tyrone's tornado-damaged trailer was condemned. Submitted photo

By Zach Moffatt, Sophomore, Martin Methodist College

Fall Break at Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tenn., means many things to many different folks, but for seven students, a faculty member and staff member, it meant traveling to Pennington, Ala., to help rebuild homes destroyed by the 2012 tornados.

Using the United Methodist connectional system, the Disaster Relief coordinator for Alabama-West Florida Conference made the local arrangements for our nine volunteers from Martin. Our task for three and half days was to mud, sand and caulk a house for a gentleman named Tyrone. ? ?

When our team arrived at Tyrone?s home, we couldn?t believe our eyes. On the left side of the property was a three-bedroom house under construction. On the right side of the property stood a trailer with massive dents from when a tornado had picked it up, bent it in several places and placed it back on the ground.

?

Because of the damage, the trailer had been condemned; however, Tyrone still lived there while construction continued on the new house.

?

For the next three days, the team laid spackle on dry wall, let it dry, sanded it down and then repeated the process until the surface felt even. By the third day, the work became very monotonous and we grew a little discouraged when we realized spackling and sanding the dry wall, as well as caulking the siding, would be all that our team would accomplish.

?

We all thought we were going to be making a huge difference in this house, but then we realized the spackling process took longer than expected. Nonetheless, Tyrone greatly appreciated the work because we had taken his new home one step closer to completion.?

?

Unfortunately, we learned that Tyrone?s home may not get finished before cold weather approaches. Some teams from Mississippi that had planned to help build his home got redirected to hometown disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Isaac.? We took this information to heart and have returned to campus brainstorming fundraising ideas to help get Tyrone?s house finished.

?

All in all, this was a very heart-breaking, heartwarming and heart-fulfilling fall break trip. I learned so much about all God can do just through the simple task of laying on dry wall mud and then taking it off.

?

However, I urge everyone to please continue to pray for Tyrone and all people who may be affected by natural disasters.

?

Source: http://memphissite.brickriver.com/news/detail/1771

eric cantor pope joan pope joan paul pierce strawberry festival knicks strikeforce tate vs rousey