Greensburg Rebuild Continues
By Eva Wilson
March 2008
Fighting a bitter wind chill on a mid-February morning, a group of men from Canada and Kansas labored to finish preparations to pour footings for a new home in Greensburg, Kan.
An EF-5 tornado destroyed most of the small southwest Kansas town on Friday night, May 4, 2007. Now Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists and other faith-based groups are working to rebuild homes there.
The first KNCSB rebuilding team worked in Greensburg right after Thanksgiving in 2007. Then a group from Canada joined the effort in mid-February 2008. Groups that partner with the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists also participated. They included a group of men from the Louisiana Baptist Builders and from a church in the Memphis area.
A year earlier, the four groups had worked together in New Orleans rebuilding homes flooded by Hurricane Katrina.
By afternoon on that chilly February day, the bright sun had caused the temperature to warm up enough to pour concrete. The homeowners’ brilliant smiles warmed the hearts of both the Southern Baptist volunteers and the men who delivered the concrete.
On that fateful night, the couple left their mobile home, heading for a motel. However, the tornado struck when they reached U.S. Highway 54 that runs through the center of Greensburg. So they took shelter under a convenience store canopy. A rental truck on the other side of the highway slammed into their classic pickup truck. Their pickup’s windows imploded. But miraculously, they suffered only minor injuries.
Now they are anticipating a new home, built by volunteers. This couple’s home will be part of a March spring-break building blitz in Greensburg.
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