Volunteer Kendall Collier said on Facebook: "The neighborhood kids taught me the Jack Black Lava Chicken dance. What fun!" (See the video below.)
Tornado damage is great, but TXM volunteers make people the priority
A tornado hit St. Louis, Missouri, May 16, and left residents vulnerable and unsure what to do next. Most homes were considered uninhabitable, but many residents stayed because they had nowhere else to go.
“The path was about a mile wide in places,” said Kendall Collier (above and right), Texans on Mission chainsaw volunteer from Burnet. “The destruction went on for as far as we could see.”
First Baptist Church of Marble Falls's disaster relief Facebook page shared a report from Collier. It was not intended for publication, but he approved our sharing it.
“What a day!
“After attending church with our host on Sunday, Tower Grove Baptist Church, we ate our sack lunch in the fellowship hall. We had already decided to work this afternoon. This was not a skinny tornado. The path was about a mile wide in places. The destruction went on for as far as we could see.
“Things seemed to be really clicking in the neighborhood. They’ve seen us around now for four days, and we received a lot of recognition and thanks from the neighbors. As a team we worked well together, and trees were coming down and getting stacked. The big skid steer did the heavy lifting.
“When we arrived at our second job our chaplain, Jeanne Braswell, was talking to these four kids and sharing a children’s Bible. They were laughing and having fun reading; it was a sweet sound! I took a break and sat down on their lawn and did a terrible version of Donald Duck. They spun around and screamed “Donald Duck!,” so it must not have been that bad.
“We talked and laughed for a couple of minutes, and they wanted to try on my chainsaw helmet. I told them it was all icky and sweaty, but they didn’t care. Jeanne took some fun photos.
“A couple of hours later they were still playing in their yard, and I took another break. They wanted to teach me the Jack Black Lava Chicken dance. I had no idea what that was all about, and the kids appreciated my efforts. Little known to me Jeanne was videoing from across the street.
“We worked at several homes on that block. One of the neighbors was this wonderful man that operated a food truck. He talked to us a bit and said he was going to cook us fried chicken and fries. The food truck pulled up, and they got started. Twenty minutes later we were blessed with more fried chicken wings and fries than we could eat! They were delicious and spiced perfectly.
“The kids were hungrily eyeing our bounty from across the street. I talked to them again, and they were hoping we would share. We had been given five extra snack boxes of chicken and fries. After making sure our team of 14 was fed, the kids got our extras and were squealing in delight. Then it got eerily quiet as the kids were sitting on the porch, legs crossed, munching on chicken and fries.
“It was a great day!”