Prayer request: tornado destroys church
My brother-in-law, David Beals, is the pastor of Williamsville Christian Church in Williamsville, Illinois. The church, which was undergoing renovation, was just destroyed by a tornado.
David and my nephew Tyler were in the church at the time; they got out OK. One of the construction workers in the sanctuary had his leg broken by a collapsing wall. David was slammed up against a wall by the storm; now he's helping with searches. About 25 homes in the town were destroyed.
My sister Melinda and other nephew were in another town for a doctor appointment, and are OK.
Their family lives in the parsonage, a couple of hundred yards down the street from the church. It seems to have been spared.
They all have a very strong faith, but this will be a big challenge. And I'm leaving for Poland in less than a week, so I can't be of much help right now. Please, please pray for them and for their community.
Update:
Here's some You tube footage of the damage:
And pictures of damage from the village website
And the Twitter feed on Williamsville.
posted by the other Sherry @ 2:50 PM
8 Comments
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8 Comments:
sherry:
Sorry I just missed your two phone calls but I saw your post and will be praying. Let us know how things develop.
Praying in Maine... Cousin Rachel
Praying for you, the church family and Williamsville community.
....from one of your neighbor community of Athens
Praying in Phoenix, AZ...friend of your brother Phil.
I am so sorry (posting from Georgia) My parents are concerned about the entire area there-do you know if the Williamsville Rt. 66 Antique Mall was also destroyed?
Thanks for all your prayers!
I heard from a cousin who talked with my sister that "the antique store" was gone; not sure if it's the one you mentioned, Kerstin. At this point it looks like the parsonage was spared.
Apparently my brother-in-law was actually not in the basement, but was on a ramp headed up into the sanctuary to warn the construction workers there when he was slammed into a wall by the tornado; he woke up in the basement. Now he's helping with searches. One of the workers has a broken leg.
A group of kids was playing in the basement and was unaware of what happened until they came upstairs and found the rubble. The church is pretty much demolished.
My sister can't get into the area yet. The nephew who was in the basement is now with his grandparents (David's parents) who were able to get to the scene.
Pastor Dave was a pastor at my church in Kamrar, Iowa several years ago. I am SO happy to hear they are ok! But also sadden about the church and the town! But by the grace of God no one got severely injured!! He definitely was watching over everybody in that town!! My prayers are with you guys in this horrible tragedy!
To Dave, Melinda, Tyler and Kyle:
I am so glad you guys are ok!! Im praying for you and the church. I miss you and love you guys!!
Love, Ashley Griffin
So sorry to hear of this. Praying for Dave, Melinda and the kids.
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