Tornado

Lisa and I took a whirlwind trip to Kansas two weeks ago. We visited with old friends, made some new friends, participated in the graduation ceremony at Barclay College, and did some site seeing along the way. One of the places we visited was Greensburg, Kansas. The city is 10 miles west of Barclay College. On May 4, 2007 an EF-5 tornado wiped out the entire city.



One of the tourist attractions in Greensburg was the historic "Big Well." It is the largest hand dug well in the USA and was built nearly a century ago to service the booming railroad industry. As you can see in the photo below the Big Well did not weather the storm on May 4. The residents are in the process of cleaning it out and rebuilding it once again.



Currently at the site of the Big Well there is a small gift shop and this memorial.



The city of Haviland where Barclay College resides has never been struck by a tornado. On the night of May 4, 2007 the F-5 that struck Greensburg was a mile and a half wide and was on the ground for some twenty miles. For some reason it lifted before reaching Haviland and set back down after passing over the city.

I will not speculate why the tornado skipped over Haviland that night but I did learn on my last visit to Barclay that the standard protocol in Haviland when the tornado sirens sound is to gather in the basement of the College library and pray for God's protection over His campus. My heart is encouraged by such faith. I also believe in the power of prayer. Prayer changes things. Let's make WHFC a house of prayer this year. Who knows what God will change as a result of our prayers. Why it could even be us!

Thanks for stopping by!
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Adrian