This is where the healing begins...

First off, I would like to welcome Brazil to the guestbook. We're glad you stopped by!

Second, as you know from previous posts, Joplin, Missouri, is just across the state from where I live. I was there again last weekend and took some more pictures. I was there a month ago also. Many of you have seen the news and heard some of the stories. The tornado that struck in May was the Hurricane Katrina of the Midwest. It affected the country, not just the town. It not only left a barren path of destruction, but it also left stories of survival and hope... stories we all look to in hopes that we never endure the same hardship while also wondering how the survivors do the seemingly impossible because they have to.


The high school was demolished by the tornado as seen in the background. In the forefront stands two carvings in stumps left behind in the debris. But also in the forefront, you see the school's sign. Four letters are missing from the word Joplin. The spirit of Joplin inspired a creative soul to tape up new letters and convey the message of H.O.P.E. High School. The school is relocated this year to the local shopping mall. But I do pray that when their school is rebuilt, they will name it Joplin HOPE High School (Hope High) for short.

If I had another life to live, I would be a photo journalist. I crave a picture that tells a soul's story. This is what is left of one of the thousands of homes destroyed in Joplin -- cabinetry, a few dishes, and a storm whipped tree personified and holding a very tattered American flag proclaiming the American spirit of surviving and thriving in perilous times. "The bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave o'r the land of the free and the home of the brave!" How true as we near the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

On another note, I have taken this semester off from DC4K, but I do plan to use some of this time to produce something useable for the SafeKeepers of Divorce Care for Kids. I have created activities for children ages 5-12 based on the concepts in Healing Letters.

* Just a reminder that my photos are my personal property. Stealing is "taking something that doesn't belong to you without permission of the rightful owner." However, I will gladly sell prints of any photo you see on this site at a very reasonable price.