Amory has a whole lot of out-of-town guests this week, some of them coming from as far away as the state of New York.
But it’s not really a time of celebration as much as a time of commemoration – and work.
These guests are Eight Days of Hope (EDOH) volunteers from across the nation, and they have come to donate their time and talents to the citizens of Amory in the ongoing, rebuilding process needed after the devastating tornado that swept through there last year.
The path of the storm
For those who might not recall, a supercell of thunderstorms spawned several deadly tornadoes across Mississippi on the night of March 24, 2023.
At 7:57, the night’s first touchdown occurred in Rolling Fork. That deadly EF-4 tornado continued its destruction through Silver City and beyond. In 71 minutes, it trekked almost 60 miles across four counties. Along its path, 17 people died, 165 people were injured, 180 acres of forest were destroyed, and 300 structures were damaged. The tornado finally dissipated in northern Holmes County right at 9:08.
But the horrifying night was far from over.
Within four minutes, a new EF-3 tornado developed in Black Hawk, also doing significant damage in south Winona. Barely 30 minutes later, at 9:37, it lifted about five miles from Kilmichael. Three lives were lost, five people were injured, dozens of buildings were damaged, and over 4,000 acres of forest were affected.
The supercell storm spawned another EF-3 touchdown at 10:38 in Chickasaw County, southwest of Egypt. Gathering a dangerous and massive debris signature, it journeyed across New Wren into Amory, causing horrific damage before moving on to Smithville. Finally, in southern Itawamba County, after 36.9 miles, it lifted at 11:09, leaving two people dead, multiple people injured, hundreds of structures damaged, and 975 acres of timber decimated.
With a tornadic footprint covering over 4,100 Mississippi homes, the deadly night of March 24, 2023, will long be remembered, especially due to the final total of 26 lives lost that night.
The ministry of help
Also for those who don’t know, EDOH began in 2005 in Tupelo with the simple idea of a father and his son gathering a few people to travel to the Gulf Coast and help rebuild a home or two after Hurricane Katrina. Amazingly, 684 volunteers answered that initial call for help, and 84 homes were served on the Coast.
Their amazing outpouring of loving kindness birthed a nonprofit organization that continues to send Rapid Response Ministry teams of volunteers to serve in the immediate aftermath of disasters nationwide. Later, EDOH also goes back to many of those places to help rebuild.
That is exactly what happened in Amory. Members of the EDOH staff and local volunteers were in Monroe County immediately after the storm. And now, they are back in full force to contribute to the rebuilding efforts.
By the way, over the past 19 years, through the efforts of 52,944 volunteers, in 19 of these rebuilding missions, EDOH has helped 9,612 families, served 13,098 meals, and freely completed $78.7 million of work.
Designated as EDOH-XX, this week’s trip to Amory (March 9-16) will be conducted in partnership with Monroe Strong, the Long-Term Recovery Committee. With over 1,000 preregistered volunteers, EDOH is helping 193 families this week in the Amory area.
Amory’s out-of-town guests will be doing every imaginable chore to help rebuild the homes, businesses, and school facilities damaged last year. And every ounce of labor (including professional tradesmen as well as people from every walk of life) is freely offered with love – and lots of laughter and joy.
In fact, a biblical mandate from 1 Peter 4:10 drives the staff and volunteers of EDOH: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
To find out about EDOH and the other amazing work they do (including building Safe Houses for victims of sex trafficking), go to eightdaysofhope.com or visit their Facebook page, where you can find the work currently going on in Amory.
While visiting those websites, it might also be nice to take the time to drop a comment of thanks to these out-of-town guests who are volunteering their time to come and help our fellow Mississippians.
