Homeowners Share Stories of Horror; Volunteers Hard at Work After Tornadoes

Residents recount the harrowing moments deadly twisters tore through their lives, leaving them searching for hope in the midst of mourning.

U.S. Disaster Relief

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Where residents of Mayfield, Kentucky, lined downtown streets to watch a Christmas parade just days earlier, the sidewalks are now strewn with the debris of a flattened city. More than 70 people died in Kentucky alone last weekend as tornadoes ripped through the community in the nighttime hours of Dec. 10. At least 88 people were killed in total as twister after twister roared through multiple states, the deadliest December tornado event in U.S. history.

The twister was one of as many as 50 tornadoes produced from the deadly storm tearing a path from Arkansas to Illinois. Hundreds of homes, businesses, and churches were destroyed in its path. Thousands are still without power.

“I was trapped at one end of the house and my wife was trapped at the other. We couldn't get to each other. We could only yell." A section of wall had fallen on Marty Janes, a Mayfield, Kentucky, homeowner, and heavy debris fell on his wife, breaking her legs.
"Death was on my mind," Marty said, recounting the several hours before he could free himself to get to his wife, before releasing her to paramedics. "Then it was another 24 hours before I saw her again. I didn't know if she was dead or alive. Never thought I'd have to live through something like this.”
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen (not pictured), worked alongside Samaritan's Purse volunteers on Dec. 18. He encouraged a group of volunteers who'd come all the way from Wisconsin: "We just wanted to come down and say thanks for putting hands and feet to your faith."
"I thought it would just be rain and wind. But then the sirens started going off. That was about 9 p.m. The lights started flickering," said Matt Miller, a homeowner in Trumann, Arkansas. He ran outside to open a cellar door for his family to shelter in, but the wind was too strong for him to pry it free.
He rushed back toward the house. "The tornado sounded like what they say—a train roaring down a track. I dove onto the kitchen floor and crawled. By then the storm was gone. It may have lasted 30 seconds. Then I heard my neighbors screaming for help."
Edward Graham prayed with homeowners this week in Mayfield, Kentucky. "People have lost loved ones, entire homes, their livelihoods are lost," he said. "We need volunteers...This is an opportunity for the church to come alongside and love their neighbor."
Hollie Jackson, a homeowner in Mayfield, Kentucky, experienced terrible losses this year. After a house fire displaced him for months, his mother died from COVID-19. Then his daughter was murdered. “[During the storm], the biggest thought that went through my mind was 'I'm by myself.'”
“Then I realized I wasn’t by myself. God was with me. As long as I’ve got God, I’ve got everything.” Samaritan's Purse volunteers had the privilege of helping Hollie with clean up at his home and the blessing of hearing his words of great faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Volunteer Terry Simpson presented a Bible to Hollie. Terry had just returned home to Florida after serving with our teams in Louisiana when he got a call about the Kentucky tornadoes. He left quickly, driving through the night. "Our main mission is to be able to reach others for Christ," he said.
Mayfield, Kentucky, homeowner Rodney Oliver sheltered himself and several of his neighbors in his home as the tornado passed overhead. He described hearing the catastrophic winds “bounce off” his home, to later decimate a concrete building.
Through it all, Rodney knew the Lord was with him. “God is true to His Word. And He said you don’t have to worry. He did not put a spirit of fear in us.”

Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham encouraged people to pray as our U.S. Disaster Relief units quickly deployed to the hardest-hit areas of Kentucky and Arkansas.

Vice President Mike Pence worked hard on Sat., Dec. 18, in Mayfield, Kentucky.

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen (not pictured) worked hard on Sat., Dec. 18, in Mayfield, Kentucky. They were a strong encouragement to homeowners and volunteers.

“The greatest thing we can do right now is care for one another, comfort one another, and pray,” Franklin said. “Pray for the people who have lost everything. These are mothers and brothers and sisters and children that have lost their homes, lost loved ones. They need our prayers.”

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Our volunteers are now hard at work in multiple locations in Kentucky, helping homeowners in Jesus’ Name as they begin to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Billy Graham Rapid Response Team chaplains are also on the ground offering spiritual encouragement to the many hurting people.

Many more volunteers are needed. Our response in Kentucky will be ongoing for some time. To volunteer, visit SPVOLUNTEER.ORG.

Samaritan’s Purse volunteers are serving in Jesus’ Name, helping homeowners in Kentucky clear debris from their homes and pick up the pieces of their lives after widespread devastation.

Our disaster relief response in northeastern Arkansas has been completed. We helped 31 homeowners and we praise God that three people received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior during the response

Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 16 and has been updated to reflect the completion of our relief work in Arkansas and also the visit of Vice President Mike Pence to Mayfield on Dec. 18.

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U.S. Disaster Relief Samaritan's Purse mobilizes and equips thousands of disaster relief volunteers to provide emergency aid to U.S. victims of wildfires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. In the aftermath of major storms, we often stay behind to rebuild houses for people with nowhere else to turn for help.

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