David Hairston counts himself among those who have been blessed by the efforts of the Jackson/DeKalb Long Term Recovery Committee (LTRC).
In the aftermath of the April 27 tornadoes, Hairston, pastor of Henagar Baptist Church in Sand Mountain Baptist Association, was faced with unimaginable loss.
His home suffered major damage from the storm that raged through Henagar, but he lost much more than a house. Hairston’s 90-year-old mother, Violet, a member of Stamp Baptist Church, Fort Payne, in Sand Mountain Association, died when her house was destroyed by the tornado.
“There was nothing left but the dirt under her house,” Hairston said.
The next few weeks were difficult for him and his family, but the LTRC has provided much more than financial help, he said.
“Emotionally we had a pretty rough time. But these folks just came in and loved on us and we really needed that.”
Hairston is rebuilding his home, and the committee has helped by providing funds to supplement his insurance and organizing volunteer labor for the project.
Several volunteers have helped, including a missions team from Pennsylvania who helped frame the new house’s walls. Hairston expects to have a roof on soon and said the work would not be nearly so far along without the LTRC’s help.
“They (the volunteers) wouldn’t have found us without the LTRC guiding them to me and to others who were working on their homes,” he said.
Hairston called the committee “a wonderful thing” and said he has seen unbelievers come to appreciate how God’s people respond in difficult times.
“It’s a tremendous show of love for the associations and churches to work together, but that’s just what Christians do,” Hairston said. (TAB)
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