Alabama residents grateful for tornado relief

Alabama residents are expressing their appreciation for relief efforts undertaken by some 30 volunteers from WELS congregations across the Midwest and South.

The volunteers, organized by Christian Aid and Relief, helped clear debris this weekend from a neighborhood heavily damaged by tornados April 27 near Lamb of God Lutheran in Madison, Ala., outside Huntsville.

“It’s nice that they are coming even weeks later, because weeks later you start to recover from the shock and then you start to have feelings of really being alone and not knowing what to do,” says Laura Schubring, a member of Lamb of God whose home suffered significant structural damage. “That’s when you start to feel the effects of it. It really helps to fill you with hope that things are so bad, you are not alone and that people still care.”

According to newspaper reports, more than a month after the tornados hit only about 10 percent of the debris in and around Hunstville has been cleared – and it could be months before the cleanup is complete. “You don’t know how much we appreciate this until it happens to you,” says Bob, a neighbor of Schubring’s who would only give his first name. “You are just a great bunch of people, we love all of you.”

Rev. John Roebke, pastor of Lamb of God, says the volunteers have reminded tornado victims they are not forgotten. “ I think you can get lost in a situation like this. The tornado only strikes a small portion of the community. For the rest of the people life has gone on, people are going back to work,” he says. “Having these people come here helps our congregation keep our focus on those brothers and sisters who are in need and that need is going to go on for a long time. It’s not one of those things you can fix in a week or two.”