Stories from Bowling Green, KY

January, 8. 2022

he young woman of about 30 was standing next to me looking on as our Disaster Response Coordinator, Mason Lambert, began fixing a tarp onto her roof. She had a pleasant smile and a determined look. She wanted to stay in her home even though she had no electricity and a damaged roof. The house next door was mostly gone as were so many homes that were around her.

The tornado that ripped through her neighborhood in Bowling Green, KY on December 10 left 15 people dead, dozens of homes destroyed or partially damaged, and hundreds without power. All throughout Western Kentucky and surrounding states, the outbreak of tornadoes left communities hurting and looking for hope. 

Bowling Green Christian Church’s Senior Minister, Weston Williams, his staff, and church leaders, quickly began coordinating efforts to bring help and hope to their community. A joint partnership with IDES was a God orchestrated moment. They were thrilled to partner with us and began preparing their church to be our “basecamp”. Many of our volunteers are spending the nights at the church where they receive breakfast, dinner and a hot shower. Many have run into Weston vacuuming floors, preparing food, and even joining them out in the field. He has been a godsend to Mason and all of us at IDES. 

Our volunteers in Bowling Green have been terrific. The first four weeks of volunteer spots were quickly filled and this has been during the Christmas season. And they have been busy. Our volunteers have been using skid loaders moving most of the debris field, moving families to temporary housing, placing tarps on roofs, hand picking debris that the skid loaders can’t pick up, and ministering to several families. They have prayed, cried, and shared a hug or two with many hurting families. 

A mother from Indianapolis came down the day after the tornadoes struck to be with her adult daughter who suffered some damage to her home but was able to stay in it. After visiting with several IDES volunteers and staff she reached out to us saying that she was so impressed with what she saw that she too wanted to volunteer. 

On Thursday, December 16, the Volunteer Search and Rescue Team found the last missing person, a 13 year old girl who had perished along with her entire family in the woods not far from where we were working.. While searching through debris looking for a lost lockett, a young woman began searching with me. I soon learned that she was on the team that found the teen.

I quickly gave her a side hug and told her how thankful we all were for her service and dedication. I gave her my business card and asked her to reach out if she needed someone to talk to. In the future. The next day I received a text from her that said, “Thank you for the hug yesterday. It had been a long few days. That was the first hug I had since we started Search and Rescue. God Bless you!”

A hug, a prayer, a handshake, or a smile, you never know what a difference these little gestures can make. Please continue to pray with us as we minister to the folks of Kentucky.

-Jeff Greene, IDES Director of Church Relations