Tommy and Tanya Prosise, members of Stonewater Church in Granbury, serve as a team in disaster relief.
TXM teams get to work quickly in Gordon
The day after an EF-1 tornado hit Gordon, a small town west of Fort Worth, Texans on Mission assessors were on site, and chainsaw and temporary roof teams followed the next day.
The storm damaged the community’s only school, canceling classes for the week and affected dozens of homes in the area.
The Rolling Timbers Disaster Relief chainsaw team removed a huge tree Tuesday, May 20, from the roof and yard of a home, one of at least 15 families TXM volunteers have identified for help, said Mark Randall, disaster relief volunteer coordinator for Rolling Timbers.
The tornado came from the west-northwest and moved across the town. "Most of the damage is at the football field," Randall said. "It pretty much flattened their equipment room, their weight room and tore up the bleachers.
“There are a lot of trees on the ground, and we're working on the ones that are on the homes first so that people can get a temporary roof put on," he said. The chainsaw team worked to clear the roofs so a TXM temporary roof team could prevent homeowners from suffering more damage from rain.
One owner of a damaged home is a local saddle maker, Randall said. After the team assessed the damage, they went to his saddle shop to discuss their work and pray with him. “He said he felt it was unbelievable that we just showed up, but he's very thrilled that we're here.”
‘This is such a blessing’
Across town, TXM volunteers Gary Emory (far left) and Mike Pickel replaced metal roofing sheets on survivor Sassy Vicchio’s home in preparation for temporary tarping. The two are part of a team that mixed volunteers from Georgetown and Cross Plains.
Emory, a member of First Baptist Church of Georgetown, and Pickel, a member of Crestview Baptist Church in Georgetown, carefully re-attached the blown-off panels 15 feet up on the roof as heat waves shimmered in the morning sun.
“The house has three panels ripped off,” explained Emory. “We're trying to replace what we can, ... and then we're going to come back over it with a tarp to try and keep it dry until they can get permanent panels back up here that are watertight.”
Vicchio looked up to the pair as they’re working, grateful for the help.
“This is such a blessing,” she said. “Y'all are a Godsend, and I am so thankful right now because I was devastated and not quite sure what I was going to do.”
Vicchio stood in her front yard surrounded by the effects of the tornado’s violent winds. Tubular framing and roofing from a carport 200 yards away are wrapped in her cottonwood tree and surround the house.
She said the family is still emotionally recovering from the storm. “It was very scary, very loud. We heard a lot of tin rattling and thank God that was it. The house right behind us was destroyed.”
‘We show up’
Volunteer Tom McMillan (right), a member of Parker County Cowboy Church in Aledo, is part of the chainsaw relief effort, along with his wife, Lorrie. He said he felt compelled to respond “to help people in need. There's a lot of people, when something like this happens, … they don't know where to start." Then, "We show up.”
While directing highway traffic around her husband Tommy’s skid steer, Tanya Prosise, a member of Stonewater Church in Granbury, said they instantly responded when the call came needing Tommy’s skid steer to remove debris from homes. “And I always come with him. I'm part of the package.”
Prosise said she also wants Gordon to know others care for them in tough times. “We have it in our hearts to go and do and help for disaster relief. I think they're overwhelmed with the support. They just can't believe that people come from other communities to help.”
Pastor Albert Oliveira of First Baptist Church in Gordon saw the tornado, its after-affects and the response as a potential time for “restoration” in the town.
“I know that for a lot of the victims, it's scary. It brings a lot of sense of unknown, but it also brings people together,” Oliveira said. “I can only imagine the amount of people that didn't talk to each other before who are calling and saying, ‘Hey, are you OK?’ or the amount of neighbors that perhaps didn't know each other and now they're inside their neighbor's home helping them.”
Oliveira said he sees the storm is “an opportunity for the churches to be there and not only preach we’re the hands and feet of Jesus, but be the hands and feet of Jesus.”
He said Texans on Mission is part of the restoration, showing the community we care.
“I was talking to somebody earlier in the office about how awesome it is that we have a God that doesn't just care for the big city, doesn't just care for the big guys, doesn't just care for the rich, doesn't just care for the high-status,” he said.
“We have a God that will send people like Texans on Mission to take care of this small town without caring if there's a lot of people to vote, without caring that there's a lot of people to give recognition, to pay, to make the big news. By just being present and saying, ‘We're going to serve because you guys because you need it, and we're going to serve because we can.”