Good neighbors and good deeds

CHITOSE SUZUKI * Associated Press

Chef Jody Adams, left, watched her daughter, Roxanne Rivard, 7, as they cooked lemon butter almond cake together at Adams' Rialto restaurant in Cambridge, Mass.

Community, churches pull together to help families rebuild after tornado

By Laura Johnston ~ Southeast Missourian

When a tornado struck Jackson on Tuesday night, it didn't take long for people to offer help to friends, neighbors -- and strangers. They were heeding the command Jesus gave in Matthew 22:39 to "love your neighbor as yourself."

The buzz of chain saws and the hum of heavy equipment could be heard as people walked the streets the next day, surveying damage, lifting belongings into boxes and tossing debris into bins. Hours after the disaster, the community of "beautiful homes, churches and parks" as the signs say, also was the home of good neighbors.

Churchgoers from across the region came to offer help in the aftermath of the storm. As Christians, helping was another way of demonstrating God's love, said the Rev. Dave Johnson of St. Paul Lutheran Church.

Johnson was fast on the scene, helping parishioners cope and clean up rain-soaked belongings. He was first on the scene to help his church members, Paul and Calie Wilson, whose home on Lakewoods Drive was demolished. He found trucks and drivers to help them haul away what was salvageable Wednesday morning.

Five families in the church suffered damage, but the Wilsons' property was the most severely hit, he said.

Calie Wilson said depending on other people for help is difficult, but she knows that faith will help her through the ordeal. "That's how we'll cope," she said.

Johnson said he thinks of the help in terms of "daily bread" as Jesus spoke about in the Lord's Prayer. "Daily bread is whatever we need for that particular day," he said. "Sometimes it's the support of family and neighbors and officials and rescue workers -- just everybody that God can use to come to the aid of people in the community."

And the volunteers came in all ages and from all parts of the region to help Jackson clean up. The Missouri Baptist Relief Team of the Cape Girardeau Baptist Association went into action around midnight Tuesday and served as a feeding station for emergency workers throughout the night. They served meals on Wednesday, making the sandwiches at Fruitland Community Church and then taking them to the shelter at Immaculate Conception parish hall.

On Thursday, the team left for the Kansas City area to help another area of the state struck by tornadoes and severe storms.

Though the parsonage of Emanuel United Church of Christ on Adams Street suffered some damage, the church wasn't hit. And Pastor Sam Roethemeyer expects that the pews will be full Sunday as people come to give thanks for being able to survive the storm.

"Minutes after it happened, people were coming by to make sure we were OK," he said. "In times like this everybody pulls together. You go out to help and are met with kindness and the kindness is returned."

All across town people are telling stories about the kindness of strangers.

Staff members at Immaculate Conception Catholic School said people they didn't even know have come to help. "You always like to hope that people will help you and that you never need to deal with this," said Tami Nenninger, school principal. "But we would be the same way if it happened to one of our neighbors."

Immaculate Conception parish was overwhelmed by help as cleanup on the school and old gymnasium began. People who couldn't drag away limbs or lift anything heavy brought food instead.

"If you look around, you'll find lots of good neighbors," said church member Gayle Conrad as she stood on the school's parking lot.

Johnson said that even in tragedies, God can make good things happen. "I think that whenever a tragedy strikes, one of the good things God can bring out of it is giving people the opportunity to pull together and do acts of caring toward their neighbors."

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126