Reflections on Joplin: Hope and Despair

As many are aware the Month of May ended with devastating tornadoes across the Midwest. No area was hit harder than Joplin, Missouri. The nearly mile-wide tornado ruthlessly wiped out over half of the town of nearly 50,000 residents, leaving thousands homeless, many hurt, and over 150 people dead.

Every now and then when something of this magnitude takes place I feel moved to do something beyond writing a check and praying. I feel moved to go. I felt this way after Katrina and went south twice to do whatever I could to help. I felt this way after the earthquake in Haiti, but unfortunately have yet to go. After the tornado hit Joplin, I felt I had to go, and with the town being only a ten-hour drive this seemed very doable. There is a group of four other guys that I meet with weekly and these guys felt they were supposed to go as well. To make a long story short: phone calls were placed, arrangements were made, an offering was collected and a group of seven guys packed in a Suburban and headed for Joplin to lend some hands to a massive rebuilding effort.

There were two striking observations I had while I was there. The first was This is a place of utter despair. As we drove through the down and witnessed the devastation it seemed so insurmountable. Houses were completely destroyed, piles of debris everywhere, hospitals, high schools, businesses, and churches completely wiped out. We helped remove trees at a house where a family was still living, even though there roof and windows had been destroyed. They told the story of how all eight of them huddled in their bathroom throughout the storm, only to come out afterwards and find there entire neighborhood was gone. They lost so much: possessions, neighbors, and friends and yet they were still resolved to literally pick up the pieces and rebuild their home and their life. On the remains of many homes were spray painted messages such as "If you loot, we shoot," or "looters will be shot." It was a picture of despair.

Yet, there was another striking observation I had, This is a place of great hope! We had barely been in Joplin for an hour before we saw relief workers all over the place. Just down the street from the church where we were staying was Southwest Missouri State University where Americorps was organizing volunteers to clean up debris. As we drove around we saw crews out all over the place helping clean up debris and removing trees. What I noticed most about the majority of those helping was that they were from a church. Churches all over Joplin had become places of refuge as they were housing volunteers, feeding people, and facilitating make-shift rescue missions. One church whom we served with had collected so much food, clothing, and various other items that they actually had to build a separate building on their property in order to have adequate space for their new ministry. Fortunately a group of Mennonites were there to serve and they quickly put up a building for this (because Mennonites are machines when it comes to construction)! We met people from churches all over the country and our first acquaintance was actually with a guy from Chicago who quit his job in the banking industry to come make a difference in Joplin.

This reminded me of a great truth. Jesus is the hope of the world, and historically the church has been referred to as the body of Christ. For all the church's faults when she gets it and truly is what she was designed to be she is an agent of great hope! When Jesus first spoke of the church he said not even the gates of Hell could prevail against it! The church is Jesus' plan for rescuing and redeeming the world and it was designed to be an unstoppable force. That is why if the church is being the church hope can exist in the midst of despair, light can beam brightly in darkness, and the dead can come to life.

Joplin is a place of despair right now, but it is also a place of great hope. The church is being the church and God's people have taken the lead in the restoration efforts. I am reminded again that inside our Suburban were seven ordinary dudes who are invited by Jesus to partner with him as agents of hope in something extraordinary!