As we drove into Joplin in the church vans, the fourteen people were chatting and getting acquainted.  We had volunteers from Springfield, Aurora, Nixa, Ozark, and Lebanon.  As we topped a hill in the east central part of Joplin, we could suddenly see St. John's Hospital.  The empty hulk of that multi-story building quieted everyone.

As we continued into town, Joplin looked normal.  Stores were open, people were driving around, all looked normal. Then we crossed Rangeline and began to see chunks of plastic, roofing, banners, etc.  One more turn and we were in the tornado zone.  My first visual reaction was that none of the businesses had signs on them any more.  In addition, the street signs were completely gone.  So it was slightly disorienting.

The skyline looked strange and we then figured out that there were no trees visible.  All were either destroyed or broken off close to the ground.

We arrived at First Christian Church--which had been undamaged.  The senior minister, Beth, had just graduated from the seminary and has been at the church less than eight months.  She had us complete the volunteer forms--I believe we temporarily became part of AmeriCorps for the duration.

Beth then explained that we had not really seen the "bad section" yet.  As she explained how photos and TV images could not do it justice, she began crying.  She also explained that the ministers were dealing with a lot of "survivor guilt" in their churches and that we would probably encounter some.  Something as simple as handing someone a bottle of water or a sandwich would bring on tears.

She told us that, until we had seen it for ourselves, we couldn't imagine how bad it was.  "You have to see it, smell it, feel it," she said.  And she was right.

We drove into and through one "bad" section of town and I could not get my bearings.  I didn't know what street we were on and none of the businesses were standing or undamaged.  As we moved through the heaviest damage into another block, a street sign appeared:  Main Street.  I've been up and down Main Street in Joplin for years, but this morning it was completely unrecognizable.

Walls were knocked down.  There were piles of bricks and concrete blocks everywhere.  Pedestal signs and stop signs were bent flat.  There was no power.  National Guard members were stationed at intersections. I saw police vehicles from Clinton,Eureka, Carthage, Springfield, and Kansas City.  Some were directing traffic--others were monitoring roadblocks to keep out "gawkers."

Whatever images you've seen or however bad you think the damage is, triple it.  It's that bad. 

It's bad.  It's just bad.