By AARON CHARLES
For Word News
HENRYVILLE, Ind. (WordNews.org) March 10, 2012 — When tornadoes ripped through southern Indiana last weekend, many scrambled to deal with the destruction. Homes were destroyed, businesses crippled, and families torn apart. And yet, amid all the pain and turmoil, the rebuilding process has begun.
“I’ve never seen a response like this,” said Nina Armstrong of Henryville, Indiana.
Armstrong is the wife of Jerald Armstrong, the pastor of the First Church of God in Henryville. She said that many people in her congregation have come alongside those in the church who have been affected by storms. More than that, the church has reached out to any victims seeking help in the area.
“We have been serving food every day since the storms hit…and we have set up temporary shelters,” said Armstrong.
Churchgoers have donated money as well. It has been a community-wide effort to help those affected.
And Henryville is not alone.
Armstrong said helpers have come from as far as South Carolina. Also, the Anderson University football team has volunteered to help serve food to Henryville citizens in the coming days.
Other organizations have offered their services as well.
The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team has sent members to five locations in four different states. They have been partnering with relief groups from Samaritan’s Purse to help survivors recover physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Gleaning for the World, a humanitarian aid agency based out of Lynchburg, Virginia, worked quickly to provide bottled water, blankets and emergency supplies to the victims of the storms.
These are just a few of the many groups that have come to help those affected by the powerful storms.
The stories highlight those who are following the example set forth by Christ in the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37 NASB):
“Jesus replied and said, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead….But a Samaritan…felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds…and brought him to an inn and took care of him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’”