It was February 5th, 2008. During the afternoon, I received a weather warning which mentioned tornado warnings until 5pm.  Later, about 4:30pm, I received another warning setting the tornado warnings as valid until 8pm. My boy, James, was out skate-boarding at the corner of Second Street and McLean Streets while my wife and I were going to vote for the candidate we felt was best for our nation.  The pole was on McLean Street just about 200 feet or so from where James was. After placing our votes, and we were leaving, I glanced up and saw a very dark cloud almost due south of our small town of Cotter, AR. I stopped long enough to ask James if he was coming home.  When he implied he'd rather be skating, I'd motioned toward the cloud.  He looked up and quietly said he would come home. We entered the house and I checked the eMail.  At this point, I decided to send out an eMail to my family and friends to warn them of the dangerous weather, and to ask for PRAYers to keep prayerful concerning this weather system and the people who live here. Because of the menacing appearance of the cloud, I decided to send out an eMail to my family and friends to warn them of the dangerous weather, and to ask for PRAYers to keep prayerful concerning this weather system. Just a short distance south-southwest of Cotter, west of where state road 101 crosses over "Crooked Creek."  It was there the ominous cloud began to take shape.  It hovered and threatened the people who lived there.  It was still gray, but still a horrible sight. Then the center of the cloud began to lower and the funnel touched the ground west of highway 101, and soon dropped into creek-bed and thus, it's destructive path began. It traveled through the creek-bed about 400-500 feet southwest of the 101 bridge.  It moved up the creek-bed, and climbed the southwest bluff over the Creek. It came over the bluff to find a building along 101.  The building was no match for the power that had already built up in this powerful tornado. But what would it do;   where would it go?  As it moved away from the pile of rubble it crossed highway 101. But that wasn't the end of the destruction.  It was not to give up yet.  There was too much that a tornado could do.  Too much indeed.  As it pulled up debris and dirt from it's path, it turned progressively darker and became very black. As it crossed the road, it dropped into a ravine...   A ravine which guided the tornado to the north-northeast.  It was traveling straight for the small town of Cotter, AR.  Unknown to me at the time, it was a path in which my house was directly in the middle. Meanwhile, one of my "PRAY ers" eMails had gone to a dear friend, Machelle.  She hadn't checked her eMail in months.  However, about 5pm on Tuesday evening, she felt a very strong urge to check her eMail.  But why?  As her eMail program opened up, there was the first eMail to check, and it was from me. Machelle read the request and began praying.  She prayed the James 5:16 kind of prayer...   it was fervent and effectual. As she prayed, her mind's eye saw a tornado coming my way.  As she watched the swirling black winds, Machelle saw angels who began gathering around the tornado...   She watched them as they changed the direction of the mass of black winds.  The redirection was short lived, but very intense. Yes, the direction was changed, but where would it go?  It was now moving northeast, and directly toward Gassville, AR.  But it must cross the White River where it picked up water and the cloud became black.  But would it slow down at all? After a few miles of country land, it had to cross the White River.  It came over the last ridge before dropping into the river just east of the sewer plant.  Here one can see the space of about 100-200 yards in which everything was being shredded by this black mass of swirling, destructive, winds. The black funnel was bearing down on the small community of Gassville, AR.  Up the ravine on the north side of the river.  It was an ominously, menacing, and great power, pressing into that hamlet of about 1706 people who lived there.  But what's that in it's path? A trailer park...   where the elderly and families with small children have made their homes. A place where babies would play in their yards, and Dad would cook supper outside on a grill.  But today it will not be seen the same as before. Today people's lives would be as overturned and destroyed as the trailers in this photo.  Other homes were more fortunate with roofs, awnings, shrubs, and trees removed from their places. But it doesn't stop there.  It continued on toward downtown Gassville where businesses and homes are located. In Gassville, a young mother with her three daughters are waiting for the man of the house to come home from work.  The mother, Krista, was sitting at her computer desk, trying to get her computer rworking right. Her little girls were here and yon...   Sierra (10yo) was with her mother.  Sabrina (12yo) was in the garage preparing to ride her bicycle and Leah (11yo) was snoozing in her bedroom. Krista's husband, Davey, called her cell phone from work and Krista handed it to Sierra.  She talked with him a few seconds when he told her that there was a tornado coming toward Gassville and they were to all get into the house.  Sierra doesn't take things like this too seriously but for some reason she took her Daddy very seriously this time.  Quickly she told her mother that Daddy said there was a tornado in the area. Suddenly, the phone and electric shut down...   Sierra was calling for Sabrina to come inside because Daddy called and said there was a tornado coming. In disbelief, Sabrina said, "No there's not."  Sierra was adamant but to no avail. Krista rushed to the Kitchen to the door that goes to the garage.  "SABRINA!  GET INSIDE NOW!!"  But that was difficult to hear over the "freight train' sounds of the tornado they now hear coming up through the field behind Sanford Street, south of their house. Sabrina came into the house as Leah was coming from the bedroom.  As they all gathered in this small hallway, the horrendous noisees of the wind and the crashing sounds were progressively getting louder. They stood there huddled in the hallway, when suddenly, there was a loud crash and their garage was ripped away from the house and thrown into the back yard. Sabrina began singing one of the songs that we sing at church, and they all joined in.  Then they started to pray again.  The windows in the living room burst into dangerous shards. Now the wind was blowing through what they would find was huge holes in the roof of the kitchen and living room, and ceilings where the air pressure had blown the sheet rock down into the rooms. Sierra started to sing...   "God will make a way, where there seems to be no way.  He works in ways we cannot see he will make a way for me."  Some joined in singing that one while others were praying. Krista noticed something out the front window...   there was her van a few feet off the ground spinning across the front yard.  It landed across the driveway. As the train noises, rumbles, slamming doors, and crashes continued on, they sang another song, that says, "When I call on Jesus all thing are possible, I can mount on wings like eagles and soar. When I call on Jesus Mountains are gonna fall, But he'll move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I fall." It all seems like an eternity there in that hallway.  Why won't it stop?!? The girls look at their mother saying, "Mommy were gonna die I am scared."   Krista knew the Lord who calmed the storms in Mark 4:39, so she cried out to God, "Lord, please calm the storm!  We are all scared!" No sooner than the words slipped from her lips, all the loud noises stopped;   There was a quiet calm through which only the sounds of a drizzling gentle rain could be heard;   and water which dripped into their home through the gaping holes in the ceilings and roof. For a moment, they remained huddled in the hallway as Krista wandered, 'Do we try to go across the street to the neighbors or do we stay?"  But she had no way to know if the storm was over, or if this was a calm in the midst of the storm.  As they waited, Krista tried to call her husband, Davey, on the phone but to no avail. (At this time, Krista didn't realize that I was trying to call her to see if they were OK.  I tried over and over many, many times and couldn't get through.  All lines were dead including our cell phones.) Time after time she tried and the lines are dead.  Then her phone mysteriously rings.  It's Davey.  Krista can't help but scream into the phone, "Is it over?"  Davey assures her that he's on his way home.  Again and again, wanting reassurance, she's shouting, "Is the storm over?" Davey trying to calm her says, "Honey, I am on my way home.  I am in Flippin" a town a few miles west of Gassville. With tears in her eyes, Krista is calmed and tells Davey to "...be careful." Meanwhile, I'm in my home in Cotter with my wife Teresa and grandson James.  It seems to us that the worst is over, but I still cannot reach Krista...   Phone lines are still dead. I can't get her on the desk phone in my den and I cannot get out with the cell phone.  I felt so helpless. Then suddenly, we saw the first vehicle on the roads.  Who was it?  Lights flashed past living room window and down the driveway to the carport.  But who was it?  Police checking to see if we're OK? Then I hear voices from the carport door.  It was my Pastor's wife, Judy, and their daughter, Brittany.  They were asking if it was OK for them to stay at our house.  Immediately, my mind goes to where they live.  Their trailer is on a rise between Flippin and Gassville just north of the area where the tornado began.  They have a trailer on a rise between Flippin and Yellville. As we talked, they told me that they were fine, but were coming to see if Krista and the girls were alright.  The Pastor, Will, said I could go along.  I don't think he could have stopped me. I didn't know yet what happened.  They told me in bits and pieces that Gassville was hit hard.  Gassville is not far from our house in Cotter. I offered to take my car but Will said there might be trees to move out of the way...   and the car wouldn't do it.  Certainly his 4x4 Chevy truck would. As we drove toward US-62, we could see red and blue lights flashing over on the next ridge.  My mind spinning a touch, I'm thinking that's the heart of Gassville. We drove to where our main street joins with US-62.  There was a police road block and we couldn't get through.  After Will lost the battle of the wills (no pun intended), we chose to go back through Cotter and across the back way into Gassville. As we drove up the old Cotter Road, when we were just about to come into the Gassville City Limits, we found cars, trucks, and others who were stopped because of the emergency vehicles who were trying to get people out of the wrecked trailers, and protect people from the downed power lines and pole in the road. It was a horrible sight. As I looked into the night toward the trailers, in the dim light I could see doors and windows that were not as they should be.   They were tilting and out of order...   The next day I found that I was looking at the one trailer which was completely overturned. One doesn't realize how eerie it is to see things in the darkness, which just aren't right.  It will give one an extremely uncomfortable sensation. Back in Gassville, Krista gets off the phone with Davey.  The silence is near deafening, except for the light drizzling rain and the sounds of dripping water.  She didn't want to look up because of what she might see. She hears something outside.  Someone was calling to them.  But it didn't sound like Davey.  Who was it?  Whom could it be who was outside her house?  She hears a man calling out, "IS ANYONE IN THERE?!?" As she looked up, she sees that which she really wasn't wanting to see.  There in front of her, the ceiling was falling in.  Her house was soaked, including all her living room furniture.  There was about two inches of water on the floor. She glances into what was a few minutes earlier, her dining room, and finds the walls and part of the roof gone, and the window glass blown out. She goes to the door where the man who lived down the street was calling to them. Had she looked on around the corner, she'd have seen the complete disarray of her kitchen which she kept immaculately clean.  That dish washer in the middle of the kitchen floor had been between the refrigerator and dining room table when the storm began. Even the ceiling of the kitchen had fallen from the joists. The man knew that there were three young girls in the house and was concerned for them.  He told them to leave the house because there could be gas leaks. Krista and the girls stepped out the door where Krista saw thirty or more people standing along the property line along Johnson and Sanford Streets.   They were standing there looking toward Krista's house and watching.  She and the girls coming out into the darkness. Krista and the girls stepped out into the street where they saw about four people on the other side of the street. They went on with the man to his house where the man's wife took care of them. Several days later, Krista was explaining that she'd seen those 30 or so people along the property line at the street.  Immediately, Sabrina, Krista's oldest girl, spoke up saying "Mommy, there weren't that many people.  There were only like four." It seems Sabrina saw the people on the other side of the street, but not the ones watching over Krista's house?  Could they have been the angels whom Machelle saw changing the direction of the tornado as she was praying?  I think they very well may have been the same... Later, at their neighbor's home, Krista remembered the only money they had was in the a closet in their house.  Krista told the man's wife about the money.  The woman said they shouldn't go...   but Krista was adamant that she needed that money for their family to live on.  They had not other money. Finally, the woman had gone with Krista to her house to get their money.  It was strange for Krista being in the darkness in the house.  While Krista and the girls were there, they continued to try to get a hold of me and others from the church.  But there were no answers.  She wanted someone she knew with her. Davey found Krista and the girls and stayed with them.  A while later, Davey took Krista to the house to examine the extent of the damages.   Krista began to cry, seeing half of their house gone...   and wondering what they would find in the morning. Meanwhile, Will and I turned around at the trailer park and drove back through Cotter.  We ran into the same police road block.  While trying to talk them into letting us through, a man hurried up and excitedly exclaimed that they need chain saws in Gassville.  Will said, "We have a chain saw in the truck." It was then we were allowed to go through and on into Gassville. It was an eerie sensation in the blackness of the night.  We parked the truck in the Sun Fest grocery parking lot and walked to the police station where they were organizing the search and security efforts. From there, we got our flashlights and started down Sanford Street.  It was black and we found we had to take extreme care of power lines since they were down all over the area. As we got on the second block to the east, there were trees down to the right and left...   and ahead.  They were laying across the street and we had to go around and through them. As we passed one house, there was a man and woman inside.  We asked if they were ok, and they were.  However, they were very worried about the lady who lived across the street.  When we got to this lady's home, a living room window was open and we called in.  There was no answer. We walked around the house trying to see inside but drapes and blinds were drawn and we could see nothing. There was one window which the wind had blown in and we could see that there were pots and buckets sitting about, apparently to catch the water in order to save the house...   But the damage was rather extensive. We moved on and passed a camper which was lying on it's side, and a church with apparently little damage...   I reckoned the little church could possibly be moved from it's solid foundation, but I couldn't tell. We came to "Officer Jim Sell Memorial Highway," the main Street, where we turned toward the next street...   Johnson street on which Krista lived just one block down.  To my right was a house with no roof...   just walls.  A carport blown from someone's house and into the yard across the street from my daughter's house. As we approached their house, I was a bit disoriented since nothing looked the way I remembered it.  Nothing was the same.  Several telephone poles leaning at at nearly a 45o angle.  Looking ahead toward where my daughter's house was...   But that couldn't be their house.  There's no garage;  but I didn't know the storm had thrown it into the back yard. Then I heard a voice calling, "Dad?  DAD!"  I turned and there was Krista coming my way.  She ran to me and cried.  She couldn't seem to let go of me, so I held onto her.  Between the sobs, she said she tried to get touch with me but couldn't.  I told her I was trying to get to her and the girls and that I was with her now and it will be OK.  I explained how I had tried repeatedly to get a hold of her too. Krista needed not only someone to talk to, someone with whom with whom she was close;   But too she wanted to know that we were OK...   and wanted to let us know that they were safe. Davey showed up from somewhere and we hugged and I told him we can thank God that they were all safe.  We looked at what damage we could see, then walked down the street to see my girls.  I was so concerned about them. First came Sabrina, then Sierra, both of whom I grabbed up and held tight.   We continued on to the neighbor's house where I found Leah.  She couldn't come to me because she was in her stocking feet.  You never know how wonderful a hug feels until you come this close to losing it. I thanked the neighbor man and his wife for taking care of my girls.  Then we all headed for the church where the pastor arranged to receive people who had no house to go back to. Friends from the church showed up there to be with us.  They had to take a very long way around Gassville since they weren't allowed into town. That night, Krista and Davey was able to take their girls to a resort which is owned by people from our church.  They were very blessed. The next morning, we all gathered over her house like a flock of vultures on a dead cow.  We gathered up everything that was able to be salvaged and put it into a storage building.  I'm not sure how, but I found out that the storage was free, too. It was sad, sorting through their once treasured belongings...   to discern if it's worth keeping or not. During the packing, there were some things that were noticed that was quite interesting.  On the refrigerator, there were things kept.  There was a box of tissues, and a small white Bible given to one of the girls by John Dennis, a dear old gentleman in the church who'd gone on to be with his Lord last year. While everything else, heavier things, were blown off the refrigerator, but these were both still untouched...   It was a reminder to us that God's Word will always stand firm even in the worst of tragedies and He would comfort us and wipe away our tears. This "day after," everything looked so much worse.  I think because we could actually see the damage...   damage across a once calm and docile community. Though they were in the midst of the path of the tornado, and there was devastation behind their house, and devastation in front of their house, they were saved from harm...   and their belongings were protected for the most part. I thank God that I still have my daughter's family. As we packed their belongings, and put them into storage, we were able to see all the damage done by the tornado...   Just a breeze out of control, and so much damage. Below are more photos of my daughter's house and other parts of Gassville in the next several days that followed (mouse-over gives brief explanation): Interestingly, the bathroom had no damage whatsoever and was still looking good. Sabrina was playing here moments before it hit. Here's a Satellite compilation with the path of the tornado.  If you look in Cotter (up the blue line), you will see a small dot.  That's where my house is located. Then look in Gassville.  there's another small dot in the red line.  That's Krista's house. It's understood that this is the general path(s).  There may have been some side to side sway in this tornado, but according to the damaged areas (which are accounted for in this), this is the most probable path. Our Mission     Our Vision     Tenets of Faith From Us     The Pastor     Contact Us