JOPLIN, Missouri (AFP) – Members of a Lutheran church demolished by the powerful tornado that tore through this US town one week ago gathered in the church parking lot for somber services on Sunday.
The tornado that slammed Joplin on May 22 reduced the Peace Lutheran Church to stacks of splintered wood piled over a concrete foundation. Only a few brick columns and the base of some walls remain standing.
At least 142 people were killed when the tornado, which roared in with winds of over 200 miles (320 kilometers) per hour, tore through this town of 50,000. At least 43 people are still missing.
Cliff and Betsy Eighmy, who have attended Peace Lutheran Church for 20 years, assessed the damage to their place of worship.
"You know, this north wall was a big concrete wall, and we haven't found it," Cliff Eighmy said.
"It was covered in crosses that people had brought in. It was a big collage of crosses and we haven't seen a single one," he said.
Kathrin Elmborg, who barely survived the destruction of her home, arrived clutching a dog and hugged friends and fellow church members. She lost one of her two dogs to the tornado.
Elmborg survived because the wind knocked her to the floor between her washer and dryer as she went to close a back door. The tornado flung the refrigerator onto the two machines and formed a triangle that protected her when the rest of the house caved in.
The church pastor, William Pape, had planned to work on a sermon at Peace Lutheran around the time the tornado struck, but had a last-minute change of plans.
"Destruction came like nothing any of us have ever experienced before," Pape told the faithful in his sermon.
"It will never be the same for any of us. I will live for the rest of my life wondering why I decided not to come back here to work. And I will wonder why I was spared and others were not."
Pape said that he was confident the parishioners will persevere and rebuild the church.
"We have a task before us," Pape said. "That task is to help, and to be with, and to cry with, and share comfort with, and provide help to all who have and are suffering so much in Joplin."
The tornado damaged or destroyed more than 8,000 structures in Joplin, including a major commercial area. A total of 318 people are living in temporary shelters in Joplin, according to state officials.
President Barack Obama paid tribute to Joplin tornado victims Sunday at a memorial service at Missouri Southern State University, which was not damaged by the tornado.
