Note from Clara in Centerville TN

I thought you folks might all enjoy this re-cap from Clara. I just got this in an email from her this morning……..

Good Morning again, Anna! I will test with this e-mail to be sure I have the correct e-mail address for you. Also will give you a little more background info.

As I told you before Brushy is a rural community between two small towns - about 8 miles from Centerville and 12 miles from Hohenwald. The tornado (reported to be an F4) made about a 5 mile path through this community, causing damage to 40+ homes and completely destroying about a dozen homes. Since this is a rural area, many barns and out buildings/storage buildings were destroyed in addition to the homes. We are in an area of rolling hills covered with thick forest. There is much damage to the trees and timber. Our church building (Brushy Church of Christ) is right along the path of the tornado and sustained only minor damage. The tornado touched down about 8:30 PM and within the hour, our building automatically became headquarters for "disaster relief" for this community with several families staying the rest of the night there. The next day we began preparing meals at the church building annex for those without homes and for the many work crews. This is continuing on at a steady pace How we look forward to you being among those served next week!

I just realized that today is March 5th - the tornado hit February 5th! - It's been one month. The initial shock and excitement is subsiding somewhat, but now reality and fatigue is setting in with those hardest hit. What a breath of fresh air you will be! Your timing is great.

Just to recap some of our conversation last evening:

-- Suggested list of tools/items to bring:
-- safety glasses
-- heavy (leather?) work gloves
-- dust masks
-- large pruning tools
-- small pruning tools
-- chain saw (only if experienced operator)
-- wheel barrows
-- tarps
-- leaf rakes

We will be mindful of those who prefer a vegetarian diet, including beans, cheese, nuts, rice, eggs, a lot of veggies and fruits, etc. and soy milk in our meals.

We look forward to hearing how you found us, all the way from Maine! We thank God that you did! ~ Clara