Powerful storms killed at least 13 people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. (AP)
‘It’s heartbreaking’: Texas church mobilizes dozens after fatal tornado tears through town
A local church hopes to be a part of Valley View’s rebuilding effort after a tornado killed seven people, including two children.
Christian Gathering Church of Valley View was preparing to celebrate Memorial Day with an all-day event featuring bounce houses, water slides and hot dogs and hamburgers for the small community of 777 residents.
But that all changed when the church’s co-pastor, Pamela Wiebe, awoke to her phone lighting up about 1 a.m. Sunday, alerting her that a powerful storm had hit the town. Wiebe, 65, was sleeping when she received several text messages asking if she was safe.
A Gainesville resident, Wiebe helps lead Christian Gathering Church of Valley View with her husband and co-pastor, Garry, 63. The pair have been married for 45 years and their church is only about a 15-minute drive from where the tornado with 135 mph winds tore through Valley View’s Shell gas station.
It killed at least seven people, including two children, at a neighborhood of mobile homes and manufactured houses. Hundreds of structures in town were damaged.
“I didn’t even realize it had hit,” she said. “I immediately went to go check on our people and make sure everyone was OK. But this is a small community. Everyone knows each other. I didn’t personally know the two children who died, but I can tell you it’s affecting this community.
“It’s hitting us all really hard.”
Springing into action
The church already had chairs and tables set outside its main building, at 301 Center St., for its Memorial Day celebration. The Wiebes were originally going to head out Sunday morning to buy supplies for breakfast. But when they heard the news, they knew they had to jump into action.
The couple, working with only a few hours of sleep, began communicating with the Red Cross to offer the church as a shelter. The church has a team of approximately 40 people from its connection with My Brother’s House, a home for people recovering from addiction in nearby Muenster.
The Wiebes utilized each of the 40 team members and sent them out to drive people who were in need of temporary housing back to the shelter inside the church’s youth center. By Sunday, the building was sheltering at least 35 people.
Photos: Heavy damage seen in Valley View, Texas after a suspected tornado
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“If anybody needs credit, it’s those men. They were the ones driving since 5 a.m. and getting people here,” Pamela Wiebe said. “We’ve seen everything, kids and their mothers and fathers crying and saying they don’t have anything. They say there’s nowhere for them to go. It’s heartbreaking to me.”
Since then, the church has been receiving donations from the town and beyond, ranging from water bottles and food to baby formula. Knowing that Valley View would stand united is one of the reasons she knew she had to help as much as possible, Wiebe said.
“We’ve never done this kind of thing before,” she said. “But this is the whole reason why having relationships is important. ... My mission is not in the afterlife. It’s right now in this life. We’re supposed to bring Heaven to Earth.”
‘What community looks like’
By Monday morning, the Wiebes will be doing much of the same: waking up at 5 a.m. and feeding people with the food and drinks meant for their Memorial Day celebration. They won’t rest until they’ve done everything they can, she said.
“It hurts. But I haven’t had a chance to process it. I’ll probably lay in bed and take it all in tonight,” she said. “Right now, I’m not in that zone. This is what I go into action for. I’m one of those people that will fall apart but be back to work in the morning tomorrow.”
Though the storm and its devastating effects will likely force the Wiebes to be up early for the foreseeable future, she hopes it will strengthen Valley View and other North Texas communities as they attempt to recover, she said.
“Sure, we want people to give money and donate what they can. But what we really need is boots on the ground. We need people. We need a community,” she said. “All I ask is that people pay attention and build relationships with their neighbors. Our world is so unstable. But I want everyone’s kids to see this. This is what community looks like.
“This is what we were put on this planet to do.”
