Our Wadena Tornado

The "Safecastle" family was up in Wadena, Minnesota this weekend to clean-up and do some expedient repairs to my mother's home there.

The evening of June 17, a powerful tornado ripped up a wide section of that town (one of about 39 tornadoes throughout the state that night)--destroying or damaging 262 homes, and several buildings such as the high school, hockey rink, swimming facility, community center, and more. The National Weather Service determined that tornadic winds of up to 170 mph wreaked havoc in an area a mile wide and ten miles long.

Witnessing the damage firsthand, I can testify that it is a divine miracle that no one was killed. And on a more personal level, it was a blessing that my mom's home was spared the kind of damage that occurred to the homes all around hers. It does not hurt, I suppose, that she has spent her life as a faithful servant of God, and as a minister's wife for more than 50 years. (A church in the middle of the destruction was also largely undamaged!)

It was also a blessing that she was not at home, but visiting my brother in Ohio at the time.

Our heartfelt prayers are offered up for the people of Wadena and all the others throughout Minnesota impacted by that outbreak of damaging storms a few days ago. To have one's home or business and neighborhood suddenly destroyed is a test that none of us wants to experience. But when it does come to that--the strength of friends, family, community, and faith does carry us through.

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