Following the deadly tornado outbreak on March 3, the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (RRT) deployed to Lee County, Alabama, to offer emotional and spiritual care to the grieving community. Here, they pray with Beauregard Fire Department Chief Mike Holden at the site where 8-year-old Mykala Waldon passed away. "She was in my granddaughter's class," Holden said. Each of his grandchildren (ages 10, 8, 6) lost a classmate in the storm.
The National Weather Service reported that one of the six twisters that tore through the Southeast reached speeds of 170 miles per hour, which threw this semi-truck into a tree. Twelve people died along this road alone.
A man breaks down in front of the 23 crosses that were set up at Providence Baptist Church in Beauregard, Alabama, to honor each person who lost their life in the storm. Chaplain Coordinator John McGuire said 23 is just a number, but when that number represents life it takes on a totally different perspective.
Holding hands, husband and wife chaplain team Patty and Steven Silverman pray for those facing the aftermath of the tornado. Specifically, they ask for a backpack with a handwritten letter inside to be recovered for a hurting mother who lost her daughter in the twister. "It's a needle in a haystack, but the Lord knows where the needle is," Steven said.
While Beauregard—referred to as "ground zero" for the tornado outbreak—regularly receives tornado warnings, nothing could've prepared the Lee County community for a storm like this.
RRT chaplains comfort those mourning in the tight-knit community. One lady told a chaplain she had known all 23 people who died in the twisters.
Gathering with others who have been serving Lee County, crisis-trained chaplain Joseph Morrison pauses in the busyness to go before the Lord.
After the tornado, screams could be heard throughout this neighborhood, as many people sustained critical or fatal injuries.
"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." —Romans 12:15
Some homes were completely destroyed in the March 3 storms. This home faced both twisters that went through Lee County.
No words can adequately describe the emotions of those in the community who face the loss of family members and the place they once called home.
Chaplain Steven Silverman talks with Christopher Long, whose family was in the home behind him when the storm hit. Long came from Texas to help his parents with the cleanup process.
