Tears of joy for “Mom’s Tree”

LCC Disaster Response shares Christ’s love with debris cleanup after Missouri tornadoes.

The three uprooted trees were so massive, they fell across the yards belonging to two women in Springfield, Missouri. One of the trees — a sycamore — was large enough that its root ball measured 10 feet tall with a 4-foot diameter trunk.

Neither of the two women, one of whom is a widow, knew how to clean up the mess from last month’s tornado — or how they would afford to pay for it. 

Amid a pouring rain, they couldn’t believe that LERT volunteers from Lutheran Church Charities would volunteer to do the work and clean up the debris for free, and do it with smiling faces.

They were so happy and cried tears of joy as the team gave each of them a slice of the tree with a cross and their signatures on it. On one of the slices, they wrote: “Mom’s Tree” in memory of the felled giant that Mrs. P’s mom had planted in 1963. The women gave each team member hugs and expressed their heartfelt gratitude.

Lutheran Church Charities Disaster Response returned on Saturday from a one-week deployment in Springfield, Missouri, completing 18 sites and logging 335 volunteer hours. Led by Kathy O’Day, LCC Director of Disaster Response, the team checked on 134 sites that Katie Kovach, Greene County Emergency Manager, asked the team to survey. 

Afterward, Kovach sent a short note of appreciation that stated: “I can’t thank your guys enough for all your hard work. It’s really amazing what you’ve been able to accomplish. You are a huge blessing to our community!” 

One site was a family farm that had several trees down on their roof, on and through the barn, and several uprooted on their property. The homeowner, Mr. B., and neighbors worked with the team to clear as much of this site they could in the rain. 

He sent a note of thanks that stated: “Please extend my thanks to the team for all your help. I’m sorry they had to work in the rain most of the time, but they did it so willingly. I am very blessed to have had all your help in making this gigantic job so much smaller. God Bless You All!”

LCC Disaster Response and Kris Schuldt, Missouri District Disaster Response Coordinator, extend their thanks to the following LERT team members serving in Springfield this past week:
Immanuel Lutheran, Batavia, IL – Bill Pietsch
Lord of Life Lutheran, Elburn, IL – Max Metz, Dave Smercina, Jeff Straughn, Larry Zagorski
St. Peter Lutheran, Schaumburg, IL – Missy Dieckmann, Ken and Vicki Kiviranta
St. Paul Lutheran, Janesville, WI – Lark and Terry Sanders

“It has been a blessing to serve and bring the mercy, compassion, presence and proclamation of Jesus Christ to those suffering and in need after this tornado,” O’Day said.