Tornado Photos and Testimonies

May 19, 2011

To the Staff and Students
of St. Paul's Lutheran School

Hello,
We are the Crawley family, Dustin, Jillian, Sally, and Sara.  We live in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, about twenty minutes north of Chattanooga.
On the day of the tornadoes, I was at the elementary school with our two daugthers, subbing for first grade.  When the weather first reached us, we took all of the students into the hallways.  I knew things must have been bad, but had no idea of just how much devastation was going on.  So, I prayed.
Our school system dismissed after the first round of storms was over.  I took my children home and began watching news channels, following the storms.  We watched the paths of many tornadoes and was shocked at the fierceness of each storm system.
Some time later, as we were watching through our window, we witnessed numerous pieces of things falling from the sky.  These things were coming from the clouds, something I had never seen before.  Plywood, siding, paper, sheetmetal, pieces of others' homes and lives, landing in our yard.  All we could do was pray and hope for the best.
After the storms, we ventured into the yard and began gathering these pieces.  One paper that we found was a spelling test.  Some of the words that we were able to read, included Jesus and love.  Amazing.  There were also a few sentences which we were able to read.  One told us where the page had come from, Alabama.  A second sentence told the name of the principal, Mr. Lange.
We put this information into our search engine on the computer, which gave us the name of your school.  Upon contacting your principal, we were very relieved to learn that all were safe.
Knowing the journey your paper had been on, and astonished at how far it had come, we were glad to be able to return it to you.  We are so glad and thankful that your school, students, and staff are safe.  We wish you all the best and may God continue to bless each and every one of you.

Sincerely,
The Crawleys