Somewhere in the Middle of Kansas

Friday, May 23rd, 2008 provided a fresh new perspective on why we sometimes pray for traveling mercies. Earlier in the day I was on the cell phone with a friend from San Clemente, CA.. and when he asked where we were at I told him, "Somewhere in the middle of Kansas." The sky’s then were clear and beautiful but later in the day and further down the road on Hwy 54 things began to change.

It was about 8 pm when we stopped in the small town of Greensburg, Kansas to refuel. At first it seemed to be just another stop but as the sky turned black above us and the winds picked up I though I should ask some questions. Inside the store they had the weather radio on. Tornado warnings were being issued. I told one gentleman where we were headed and he said that his brother, a local fire fighter, thought we would be ok.

Headed out the door one of the ladies who worked there said to myself and others, “I don’t think I can take another tornado like last year.” Being ignorant to what had happened the year prior I asked “What happened last year?” The lady responded, “This is Greensburg (Kansas), home of the worlds largest tornado that nearly wiped out our town a year ago.”

By the time I walked out of the store the tornado warning sirens were blaring. Not much had changed though weather wise other than perhaps the wind had picked up a bit. A heavy storm seemed eminent. Neveretheless vehicles were still moving East and West along Hwy 54 and so thinking about what the gentlemen inside the store had said I decided to go ahead and continue west down the highway.

Driving out of town it was then that I had first noticed the destruction from last years tornados.  Whole blocks where homes had once stood had been leveled and left for the most part vacant.  Some homes were in the process of being rebuilt.  What was left of once probably great trees had now began to stubble themselves back to life with fresh spring greenery.  Hope was still alive in Greensburg.

Not five minutes later as we headed west we ran straight into the storm which carried large hail. So heavy was the hail that it sounded like golf balls were dropping on our vehicle. Trying to remain calm our eyes were glued to the sky’s for any sign of a tornado that might touch down. As calmly as possible I told my wife and Sheila Marie strapped calming in the back seat that if we saw anything we were going to pull over the vehicle and climb out to lay flat in a ditch somewhere. Sheila Marie calmly asked if she could bring her ‘Beary’ with us.

Turning onto Hwy 400 a bit further down the road we began to look for a place to pull over and take cover. Pulling into the small town of Mullinville I began looking for somewhere to take shelter. Seeing a store front with a small canopy I turned around and pulled up on the sidewalk hoping it provide proper protection. If anything though it seemed to be a precarious position to be in and so I pulled around the corner and found a large tree to park under. This too though seemed futile and so I drove a bit further hoping to find a better spot. Ultimately I found an even larger tree to park under in someone’s driveway but still our vehicle was getting hammered with large hail.

Our ears now tuned attentively to the local weather station on the radio we were getting reports of tornados touching down all over the state and then the report came; “A tornado has been reported to have touched down just 5.8 miles north/east of Mullinville and seems to be headed towards Greensburg.” It was then that Sheila Marie again spoke from the back seat, “Mommy, can we pray?” Those were the wisest words I can think to have heard at the moment and so having responded with an, “Absolutely!” we turned off the radio for a minute as Sheila Marie led us in prayer. “Out of the mouth of babe’s” as one gentlemen later told me as I told him what happened.

I’m not exactly sure how long we stayed there parked under that tree but it seemed as though it must have been at least thirty minutes. It was amazing to watch how suddenly the rain and hail stopped with a bright clear sky breaking through the clouds. Thanking the Lord we backed out onto the road again and continued our journey. We were thankful to hear too that the tornado that touched down just a bit more than five miles to close to us had remained in rural areas and missed the town of Greensburg. Never again will I take lightly a prayer request for traveling mercies.  Thanks to all that have prayed and continue to pray for us as we travel.