Iowa Tornadoes

Pastor Rebecca Hornback didn't hesitate when she saw her community in Iowa needed help after the recent tornado. She shared her experience with us in a moment of true Christ-like compassion:

"We live between the two towns where the tornadoes recently hit. As we watched one tornado coming toward us and another passing over us, we heard it had hit Greenfield, a town right next to us. We couldn't ignore it; we needed to act. We grabbed chainsaws and gathered some friends from church. When we arrived, the city was already on search and rescue lockdown. Forced to turn around and leave, we called another couple from church who had access to Greenfield. With their help, we began our work serving the community. We followed them to a friend's house, where they directed us to find 'mom and dad's house.' But it was gone. One hundred fifty homes were gone. It was devastating and disorienting—there weren’t even landmarks left to identify where houses had stood. We helped them gather a few belongings, then we talked and prayed with them.

Over the next few days, we kept in contact with the family, assuring them, 'We're here for the long haul.' Soon after, we were able to offer the family a vacant church parsonage to live in. We cleaned it, pulled up carpet, painted, and helped make it comfortable again. We prayed over the house with them, feeling so thankful to help restore a sense of peace for this family when their lives had literally been torn apart. Witnessing people's homes being destroyed is emotionally devastating.

God is our protector and provider, and in these moments over the last three weeks, I’ve realized that WE can be that for others. Doing this work reminds people they’re not forgotten—they’re valued and loved.

Foursquare Disaster Relief’s support is what allowed us to do this ministry in our community and we’ve been so thankful for the resources and partnership.

I've always known that Foursquare is a great family, but seeing so many people checking in, praying, asking how they can help in any small way, rallying for their community, and caring for people they don’t even know—it’s truly incredible. I'm deeply grateful to be a part of this family."