Oklahoma Strong...
You almost have to be living under a rock to have no heard about the tornadoes that have hit the Oklahoma area lately. It feels like it just doesn't stop for them. And I don't even live in Oklahoma so I can only imagine how they feel. But this...I'm going to call it a desire...stems from the tornado that killed 24 people in Oklahoma on May 19, 2013.
The images were heart breaking. I remember turning to the Weather Channel to see more coverage and seeing a local reporter from that area. He was choked up and had to turn away from the cameras as he was talking about the children that had been killed while in the basement of their school. I work with children. I LOVE children. That broke my heart. I can't imagine how those teachers must feel. Our job is to keep children safe. And those teachers did everything we are taught to do in an emergency like that. But it didn't change the outcome for some of those children. It was hard to watch. I sat there in my house just feeling helpless.
A day or so later, I was on a Facebook group for Thirty-One consultants looking for ideas for fundraising and one of the consultants had an idea. Crystal (whom I've never met) lives in Oklahoma, close to the areas affected and was wanting to do something. One of the things she was asking for were supplies for those who lost their homes. And of course, I thought to myself, I can do that. But then, as I sat there in my comfy over-sized chair, watching my big screen tv, accessing the internet on my smartphone and listening to my dog sit on the other side of the room playing with his toy, I realized I could do more than that. So I started praying and playing with ideas in my head. I asked for some help from some others who I thought may be able to help and give me some ideas that I was probably missing. And my main ideas needed lots of prayer...I needed either a big truck or a plane!!!
I woke up the next morning and while getting ready for work, I started putting my ideas together. And what I needed first and foremost, was a truck (I figured a plane would be too dang hard to get). So I sent my friend Todd a message. He owns a moving company. Plus he knows everyone!! So I figured he'd at least be able to point me in the right direction. And send me in the right direction, he did!! Todd called me shortly after receiving my text and said he could help me out and he could have a truck ready to receive supplies. And he would make sure the truck made it to Oklahoma a few weeks later. WHAT?????? I remember the phone call. I remember how I was driving down the street listening to him. But I remember how it wasn't until after I hung up the phone that it started to settle in that this was going to come together.
As most of you know, I'm the assistant director at a daycare inside of a church. So that made having a place for the truck pretty easy. I basically just needed permission from the church to have the truck parked over on our second lot and I made sure to ask that question as soon as I was back in the building. Once that was approved, I needed to have a conversation with Christina (the director) to make sure she's was ok with all of this as well as run some of my ideas by her. And she was on board!! So the plan was to have a truck parked outside to receive supplies, our classes inside the building were going to do a penny drive and I'd also send around flyers for a Thirty-One fundraiser to provide some bags for these supplies.
All of that seems like a great idea but when I thought about it, it wasn't as big as I believed it could be. Yes, we'd receive supplies and donations from our families here at the daycare and the church. But what about the community? So with some tips from a few people, I attempted to get the word out. For those who know me really well, I'm really not as out-going as I seem. If you know me well, then talking to you isn't an issue. But if I don't know you, I'd much rather stay in my little corner. So as the TV station called to say that they wanted to do a short interview, I had to do some praying to keep from freaking out! I was so excited that the word was going to get out to the area. I was terrified by what I'd sound like. (And let me just say, that first interview was not one of my finest moments. But if you understand speed talking, then you got the gist of it all!) The TV station was putting the info out there, a small info piece went into our local newspaper, friends and family were sharing the info on their facebook pages...this info was getting out! And then one of the local radio stations returned my email! They wanted to help! So the last two days of our collection drive, several of the radio stations came out to broadcast live by the truck. And by the last day of the collection drive, people were coming by nonstop!!! We were constantly greeting people, getting supplies out of cars and getting hugs from people that were so thankful that we had given our time to do this.
WHAT A BLESSING!!! Sure, we're all thinking what a blessing these supplies will be to these families. And I know they will be. It's hard to imagine my world without all of the daily necessities, but that's what these people are going through. I have no doubt that these items will be greatly appreciated. And I wanted to be a blessing to these people. I wanted to show these people that there are others out there...states away...that care!!! But I never imagined what a blessing it would be to my own life. By mid-morning on the last day of our collection time, I was overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed by this amazing feeling in my heart. Maybe that sounds super silly (and mushy) to you but it's true! I could not believe my eyes. And I couldn't believe the people we were meeting. And in a world where all we seem to hear about is the bad news, it felt good to be reminded that there is so much good in this world.
God is good...all the time. And my biggest prayer through all of this is that these people feel the love of God in the middle of this situation. That's the one thing I've been praying for from the beginning. I believe He answered that prayer already in more ways that I even gave thought to. I know the difference He made in my life. And I imagine that He made a difference in the lives of many of the people we encountered over the week. I don't know how you can't feel different after the week I had.
I wish I could say that this journey was going to continue. I wish I could say I'd be traveling down to Oklahoma to help deliver the items and I wish I could say I was staying there for a few days to help the families down there, but that's not the cause. But maybe that's something God will provide the means for in the future. If not, I am just thankful that I got to do this small thing. I'm so thankful that God gave me this desire. And I am so thankful for the people He put in my path to make it happen!
You almost have to be living under a rock to have no heard about the tornadoes that have hit the Oklahoma area lately. It feels like it just doesn't stop for them. And I don't even live in Oklahoma so I can only imagine how they feel. But this...I'm going to call it a desire...stems from the tornado that killed 24 people in Oklahoma on May 19, 2013.
The images were heart breaking. I remember turning to the Weather Channel to see more coverage and seeing a local reporter from that area. He was choked up and had to turn away from the cameras as he was talking about the children that had been killed while in the basement of their school. I work with children. I LOVE children. That broke my heart. I can't imagine how those teachers must feel. Our job is to keep children safe. And those teachers did everything we are taught to do in an emergency like that. But it didn't change the outcome for some of those children. It was hard to watch. I sat there in my house just feeling helpless.
A day or so later, I was on a Facebook group for Thirty-One consultants looking for ideas for fundraising and one of the consultants had an idea. Crystal (whom I've never met) lives in Oklahoma, close to the areas affected and was wanting to do something. One of the things she was asking for were supplies for those who lost their homes. And of course, I thought to myself, I can do that. But then, as I sat there in my comfy over-sized chair, watching my big screen tv, accessing the internet on my smartphone and listening to my dog sit on the other side of the room playing with his toy, I realized I could do more than that. So I started praying and playing with ideas in my head. I asked for some help from some others who I thought may be able to help and give me some ideas that I was probably missing. And my main ideas needed lots of prayer...I needed either a big truck or a plane!!!
I woke up the next morning and while getting ready for work, I started putting my ideas together. And what I needed first and foremost, was a truck (I figured a plane would be too dang hard to get). So I sent my friend Todd a message. He owns a moving company. Plus he knows everyone!! So I figured he'd at least be able to point me in the right direction. And send me in the right direction, he did!! Todd called me shortly after receiving my text and said he could help me out and he could have a truck ready to receive supplies. And he would make sure the truck made it to Oklahoma a few weeks later. WHAT?????? I remember the phone call. I remember how I was driving down the street listening to him. But I remember how it wasn't until after I hung up the phone that it started to settle in that this was going to come together.
As most of you know, I'm the assistant director at a daycare inside of a church. So that made having a place for the truck pretty easy. I basically just needed permission from the church to have the truck parked over on our second lot and I made sure to ask that question as soon as I was back in the building. Once that was approved, I needed to have a conversation with Christina (the director) to make sure she's was ok with all of this as well as run some of my ideas by her. And she was on board!! So the plan was to have a truck parked outside to receive supplies, our classes inside the building were going to do a penny drive and I'd also send around flyers for a Thirty-One fundraiser to provide some bags for these supplies.
All of that seems like a great idea but when I thought about it, it wasn't as big as I believed it could be. Yes, we'd receive supplies and donations from our families here at the daycare and the church. But what about the community? So with some tips from a few people, I attempted to get the word out. For those who know me really well, I'm really not as out-going as I seem. If you know me well, then talking to you isn't an issue. But if I don't know you, I'd much rather stay in my little corner. So as the TV station called to say that they wanted to do a short interview, I had to do some praying to keep from freaking out! I was so excited that the word was going to get out to the area. I was terrified by what I'd sound like. (And let me just say, that first interview was not one of my finest moments. But if you understand speed talking, then you got the gist of it all!) The TV station was putting the info out there, a small info piece went into our local newspaper, friends and family were sharing the info on their facebook pages...this info was getting out! And then one of the local radio stations returned my email! They wanted to help! So the last two days of our collection drive, several of the radio stations came out to broadcast live by the truck. And by the last day of the collection drive, people were coming by nonstop!!! We were constantly greeting people, getting supplies out of cars and getting hugs from people that were so thankful that we had given our time to do this.
WHAT A BLESSING!!! Sure, we're all thinking what a blessing these supplies will be to these families. And I know they will be. It's hard to imagine my world without all of the daily necessities, but that's what these people are going through. I have no doubt that these items will be greatly appreciated. And I wanted to be a blessing to these people. I wanted to show these people that there are others out there...states away...that care!!! But I never imagined what a blessing it would be to my own life. By mid-morning on the last day of our collection time, I was overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed by this amazing feeling in my heart. Maybe that sounds super silly (and mushy) to you but it's true! I could not believe my eyes. And I couldn't believe the people we were meeting. And in a world where all we seem to hear about is the bad news, it felt good to be reminded that there is so much good in this world.
God is good...all the time. And my biggest prayer through all of this is that these people feel the love of God in the middle of this situation. That's the one thing I've been praying for from the beginning. I believe He answered that prayer already in more ways that I even gave thought to. I know the difference He made in my life. And I imagine that He made a difference in the lives of many of the people we encountered over the week. I don't know how you can't feel different after the week I had.
I wish I could say that this journey was going to continue. I wish I could say I'd be traveling down to Oklahoma to help deliver the items and I wish I could say I was staying there for a few days to help the families down there, but that's not the cause. But maybe that's something God will provide the means for in the future. If not, I am just thankful that I got to do this small thing. I'm so thankful that God gave me this desire. And I am so thankful for the people He put in my path to make it happen!
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| Just a few of the things we received...we were getting things somewhat organized. |
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| More items as we were separating things. |
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| (Picture didn't want to rotate when downloaded. Sorry!) This is towards the back of the truck. Lots of things were already on pallets and wrapped to make room for other stuff. |
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| More stuff on pallets and in boxes. |
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| (Again, the picture didn't rotate when downloaded!) Here's some teacher supplies brought over from a school about an hour from here. They wanted those teachers to have something since their building was destroyed. |
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| More supplies. We had several boxes of toothpaste and toothbrushes! 3 boxes of toothpaste was donated from Wal-Mart here! |
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