Serving in Alabama

Here are some pictures and thoughts about our service trip to Birmingham, Alabama that we took on Mother’s Day. Bare with me, it’s kind of a long post.

Before we get started, a little side note:

I struggle with taking pictures of and writing about things like this. Part of me feels like it’s disrespectful to photograph and write about tragedies of any kind. I have similar struggles when taking pictures of people when I travel. I don’t want to offend anyone, or make anyone feel like I am putting them in a cage at a zoo for people to stare and point at. That is not at all my intention.

To me photographing and documenting tragic events or people who live differently than I do in other countries is a way of honoring them. Tragedies are going to happen; they are a part of our lives here on earth. If we don’t take pictures, write stories and shoot videos then it is as the tragedy never happened and it’s just an intangible idea. By documenting such things, we acknowledge their existence, find gratitude in what Heavenly Father has given us, spread awareness and so on.  A lot of beauty and love emerge after such a tragedy as people come together to care for one another, and those sweet moments should not be forgotten. It is my hope that by sharing images and stories like this that others are inspired to help when opportunities arise.

I could write long essays about this, but maybe another time. Just know that my intentions come from a humble place of gratitude and respect, and I in no way want to upset anyone by documenting such things.

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Early last week, we received a phone call from someone in our ward asking if we would be interested in going to Alabama to help with the relief efforts over the weekend. Steve had to work on Saturday, but we made plans to go on Sunday. One of the things we love about our church is their humanitarian efforts. The dedication to serving others is one of the things that touched us when we were investigating. We had heard and read stories about the humanitarian efforts of the church, and now we had the opportunity to participate and witness first hand how the members of the church come together to serve each other.

Sunday morning we rolled out of bed at 5:00AM to head to Alabama. We threw on some clothes, packed a cooler of food and water and headed out the door.

We arrived at the Stake Center we were assigned to at about 7:30AM (Alabama is an hour behind). The parking lot was packed with people, cars, more people, trucks filled with supplies and equipment and more people. Everyone was busy putting on sunscreen and bug spray, loading cleaning and food kits into their cars, and preparing to head to their assigned locations. We met up with some people from our ward and they filled us in on what was going on and where we were headed. We met up with some people from our ward, and they filled us in on what was going on, where we were headed and what we would be doing.  They gave us a heads up that the area we were going to was hit pretty hard. Within a few minutes we were back in our car and caravaning to our assigned location.

As we got close to our assignment, we saw trees down and windows broken. We were less than a mile from our site, and I thought to myself, “This isn’t so bad.” Then we made a right turn and everything changed. Within a few hundred feet things went from minor damage to total devastation. I popped the cap off my camera and shot a few pictures as we were driving in.

This is what we saw when we turned right…

A few hundred feet further down the road…

After that I had to lower my camera because it got worse. Much, much worse. Steve breathed out some expletives, and I came close to having some words of my own. I never imagined I would cry, I thought I had prepared myself for what I might see. I was doing good for awhile, then we passed a house where all of the exterior walls were gone, and the house was empty except for the bed. That pushed me over, and the tears started rolling down my cheeks. Your bedroom is supposed to be your sanctuary. The place where you are the most vulnerable as you sleep and restore yourself for the day ahead. Then we passed another house where the tornado left the kitchen exposed, and the tears continued because you know how sacred and special kitchens are to me. I’m just grateful that I didn’t see a mangled nursery. Seeing these things upset me more than driving past the homes that were unrecognizable heaps of wreckage. Who these people are was completely out in the open. Mother Nature  had completely and without an apology violated their privacy. Part of me felt that I should place a flower on the beds and kitchens for their losses. Those bedrooms and kitchens would never again have the opportunity to protect and bring happiness  to the families that once shared their most special moments and darkest times with them.

We pulled up in front of the house we were working  and everyone piled out of the cars. From what we learned, if a home is condemned, FEMA or some other agency will come bulldoze the property and clear it. If the house is salvageable then it is up to the home owner to get all of the debris off of their property and to the curb to be hauled away. That’s what our mission was at this house – to get all of the debris to the curb.

Moanna and my pregnant self weren’t much help with all of the heavy lifting and sharp objects, so we got out of the way and went on a a walk to take pictures.

Soon we were ready to return to see the progress our group had made.

When we returned from our walk, members from our group were putting tarps on the roof.

Others were still working to clear out the back yard

And some had started pulling debris out of the neighbors’ yards including an entire wall to the curb.

Then Steve broke it into smaller pieces with the back of an ax.

Then Moanna gave him a big hug and told him, “Thank you Daddy for doing such a good job helping the families.”

Before we headed to our next location the group of more than 50 gathered together so I could take a group picture. The homeowner is there with their sweet puppy. Doesn’t she have a beautiful smile? Her son is the one holding up the road sign, and her husband is in the back right corner. They were such a wonderful family, and it was an honor to help them.

Members from all branches of the military were there

This next group of pictures were taken on the drive to our next work site

Our second stop (a few blocks away) was to clear downed trees and debris from an empty lot. Again, since there was no condemned house, everything had to be brought to the curb for pick up.

While Steve chainsawed away at downed trees, Moanna and I setup camp in the back of the car. We colored and snacked, and continued our important job of staying out of the way.

When lunch time rolled around, The American Red Cross came through with a food truck to feed all of the people in the area (volunteers, victims, workers), so everyone sat down to take a break.

This series of pictures were taken of the area surrounding our second work site.

Below is a short video we took while driving down this road as we were leaving.

With other natural disasters, there is a continuum of damage. You can see the gradual progression of damage as you approach an effected area. With a tornado there is little to no progression. One house can be completely leveled, and the house next to it can be totally unharmed. Interesting isn’t the right word, but I found it “interesting” that just a few miles away from total devastation we were able to go buy smoothies and life was moving along like nothing had happened.  Another thing I found to be “interesting” was that the neighborhood we were working in was very hilly, and I had always heard that tornadoes don’t like ground that isn’t flat. It was by no means mountainous, but it certainly wasn’t flat, and the tornado did not care one bit about the terrain it was tearing across.

We were assigned to the Pratt City area of Birmingham, Alabama. An F5 tornado came through the area on April 27 leaving behind an unbelievable path of destruction and tragedy. That same line of storms came through Atlanta later that night. I stayed up until 2:00AM that night watching the weather online and refreshing radar. Thankfully, the storms had weakened by then and the line split sending tornadoes to the north and south of us. However, those storms and tornadoes could have just as easily hit our area. I’m grateful we had the opportunity to serve in Alabama, and I’m very grateful that we were spared by the storms that day.

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