From Bruce Gore (Atlanta, Jefferson and Macon, Georgia). I have talked with a number of members in key areas here in Georgia and no one so far has had any damage to homes or property. Several spent some time in the basement or bathroom area during the height of the storms, but thanks to God, all are well.

We did have one family from the Jefferson, Georgia, congregation who lost several family members in northern Alabama due to the storms. Her brother and his wife, daughter and a cousin and her child were all killed by the storms last evening. None of them were members of the Church of God, but it was no less a tragedy for the family members who are members of the Church in Georgia. It is sad to lose property and possessions, but the loss of life is so tragic. Please pray for all those who suffered the loss of loved ones during the storms this past week.

From David Johnson (assigned to St. Louis, Missouri, for the Last Day of Unleavened Bread). We arrived in St. Louis on Friday evening just as the tornado roared through. We could hear the storm sirens as we drove past Busch Stadium and down I-64 west, but there was no place to take cover. There was a storm chaser trying to get people to take cover, but people couldn’t see the funnel cloud because it was wrapped in heavy rain. Just as we turned into the motel where we were staying—right in back of the church meeting hall—we were hit with heavy rain, wind and hail. Thankfully it let up in a few minutes.

Later we learned that what we experienced was the rain cloud wrapped around the funnel, and the funnel had passed about a mile north of us. From there it hit the airport and carved a swath of destruction across northern St. Louis County before jumping the Mississippi and hitting Illinois. A number of members were in the path of the storm on both sides of the river, but none of them sustained any damage. Even though there was widespread damage in the path of the tornado, no one in the St. Louis area was killed or even seriously injured. We’re all anxious to hear about the brethren in the terrible storms of yesterday.

Memphis and Jackson, Tennessee, had to cancel services on the holy day because of imminent storm warnings.

From Andy Burnett (Laurel, Mississippi, and New Orleans, Louisiana). None of the brethren in our area suffered any damage to their homes or personal injuries. The elder and his wife in the Laurel congregation, Tom and Linda Diaz, said a tornado passed within five or six miles of them in the town of Louin, Mississippi, and killed two people. Another member, Shaleena Dungan, has a cousin (not in the Church) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who lost her home yesterday. Please convey to the brethren our appreciation for everyone’s prayers for protection.

From Mike Blackwell (Missouri and Arkansas areas). The recent storms have hit this area hard. All of the members have escaped any serious damage even though there have been tornadoes and heavy rain in many places. The tornado that did so much damage in the St. Louis area last Friday night did a lot of damage in the suburb of Maryland Heights, where we meet. But the hotel where we have services was undamaged. We were able to go ahead with services as scheduled, though attendance was affected.

Here in southwest Missouri the biggest difficulty was flooding. About 30 members were unable to get to the second holy day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Some couldn’t get out of their property, others faced flooded roads. One family couldn’t get home after services. After storms on the first holy day, two families got into a hailstorm that broke out the windshield and did several thousands of dollars damage to their van. But thankfully, we had no injuries at all in this area, and there was little damage to property overall.

From Mark Winner (Louisville, Lexington and Henderson, Kentucky). WOW! What a month of weather. Louisville broke its April record for rainfall with over 11 inches so far. We canceled services in Lexington and Louisville this past Sabbath as the rain was coming down in sheets. It was the first time I remember canceling services for anything other than snow or ice. The sun is finally out today for the first time in quite a while. The pattern over the last couple of weeks has had the warm air from the south and the cool air from the north coming together over our area and bringing countless thunderstorms, high winds and occasional tornadoes.

Although there has been some wind damage that has brought down trees and fences (mine included), to my knowledge, only one of our members has suffered significant damage. One family in the Louisville congregation had 13 trees come down on their property, including one on their carport and one on their house. They are fine but will be replacing their roof, carport and the back windshield on their car. Tornadoes have hit near our members, but thankfully there have been no direct hits. Currently the concern is floodwaters rising on the Ohio River as well as smaller area rivers and creeks. We are hopeful that the sunshine that is out today will decide to stick around for a while. Our concern and prayers have turned to those in Alabama who really got hit hard yesterday.

From Tom Kirkpatrick (Birmingham and Fort Payne, Alabama). To my knowledge, all the brethren are okay in the Birmingham and Ft. Payne congregations. I haven’t been able to get through to everyone yet, as the phone service has been spotty in some areas. One member family lost the roof of their home and had water damage in the house. None, to my knowledge, were injured. We believe we were protected, and thank God for it. Of course, it could have been much worse. The giant funnel cloud you no doubt saw on television went right through the northern part of Birmingham, and then came up I-59 through the areas where a number of our brethren live.

We have a TV weatherman down here in Birmingham who is sort of an institution, as he’s been reporting on weather for over 30 years. On occasion yesterday afternoon and evening, all he could say, as he watched the various funnel clouds, was “Are you kidding me?” It was quite a day, and we feel grateful for God’s protection.

From Tim Waddle, John Foster, Eric Evans, Steve Moody, Kevin Epps, Todd Carey, Don Waterhouse and Clyde Kilough. Although the storms and tornadoes came through our areas along the eastern part of the U.S. the damage was not nearly as severe as in the south, and all members are safe and report no damage.