Blue skies and a beautiful day greeted Rowlett residents who came out of their homes on December 26 this year. Quite a change from last year, when they came out to a scene of destruction on all sides after a F4 tornado ripped through their community. This tornado damaged 6,000 homes and injured 23 people in Rowlett, one fatally.
After the tornado, the long process of cleanup began. The storm debris removed was enough to fill 3 football fields to a height of 30 feet. This is the height of the commemorative sculpture that will grace a reflection area in Schrade Bluebonnet Park in Rowlett. A model of the sculpture was unveiled at the Tornado Anniversary Remembrance this past Monday. It depicts a phoenix rising from a tornado, and materials will incorporate parts of the Rowlett water tower that was damaged beyond repair during the tornado.
The record for the fastest set-up of a Shed of Hope is now 1 hour and 24 minutes, beating the record by just 4 minutes. The Tyler college students beat the record during their second shed-build of the day. Take a look https://www.facebook.com/RufTyler/videos/976469615809153/
We had a great build today in Rowlett. Matt, Jake, Mike, and Tess did a fantastic job setting up this shed on the day before Easter, to bless families who suffered tragedy on the day after Christmas. In one of the photos, you can see 5 of the 15 Sheds of Hope that have been built so far.
Pictured are volunteers from Park Cities Presbyterian Church celebrating the completion of their first Shed of Hope. Well, for one of the girls, it was her second. More volunteers from Park Cities will be setting up a shed on Saturday, March 26, and pre-building sheds at the Tornado Response Base. We are planning to build six more sheds over the next few weeks. If you can help, please give me a call. We will be pre-building and setting up sheds on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Don’t miss this opportunity to bring Sheds of Hope to our neighbors in Rowlett and Garland. Join with Bethel Church, as they are planning to build on April 2nd.
Well I got a surprise when I got to the tornado response base today – look who I found stowed away in the truck!
The “Wee Volunteer” was cleaning out the back of the truck this morning, getting it ready for building Sheds of Hope tomorrow. He is so excited to get to the warehouse and start building. Join us this week as we get ready to finish up three sheds for delivery this Saturday.
The Tornado Response Base in Dallas may be the workplace for an elusive creature this week. Signs are appearing that one of the “wee people,” as they say in Ireland, may be on his way to lend a hand with Sheds of Hope. Thursday, March 17th, may be your best day for a sighting, but don’t rule out Tuesday, March 15th, or even Saturday, March 19th. There has already been evidence of one passing through Carrollton, so be on the lookout for updates.
No more worries about the weather while we have the use of a 10,000 square foot warehouse in a great location – just a 15-minute drive to the disaster area. We look forward to seeing how quickly we can get more sheds delivered now that we have an indoor facility to pre-build sheds and load trailers, ready for deployment to families in need. See the schedule and get involved! More information is available on our new brochure.
What follows an F4 tornado? Opportunities! Open doors! Rowlett, Texas was devastated by an F4 tornado on Boxing Day (December 26th), and an immediate curfew was put in place to protect against looting. But Sheds of Hope was springing into action. Ready for deployment, two sheds were already being readied for transport. Back in September, Bethel Church of Dallas had built two sheds and stored them in anticipation of the next disaster. Little did they know that a lady who had grown up in their church would be a tornado victim in December. Because of their preparations, as soon as the Rowlett curfew was lifted, Bethel was able to set up a shed on her property so that she could store her salvaged belongings. As of today, Sheds of Hope has identified nine families in the disaster area that are connected to PCA churches. We have set up three sheds on site. Park Cities Presbyterian Church of Dallas has set up one of the sheds that was pre-built by John Browne and Rick Lenz; Bethel Church set up the other pre-built shed and has two more in the pipeline. Christ Community Church of Frisco pre-built two sheds last weekend and will set them up soon. Volunteers are coming out to help with pre-building and set up. Why not get involved? You can pray, you can build, you can give. Whatever God puts on your heart, we can use! Please pray that as Sheds of Hope start rising in Rowlett, we will be able to talk to other families in the devastated area and be able to give them hope, and maybe a shed.
Sheds of HOPE 