May 22, 2011 an incredibly powerful EF4 tornado struck Joplin, MO.

Looking over news reports online, over 150 people have died as a result of this storm. We stopped in Joplin this past Saturday night on our trip. I got up Sunday morning at sunrise and drove down to the area where the storm hit directly. I spent about an hour an a half walking around only a small part of the damage. I've never experienced anything like this. It looks like a war zone. The contrast between where the storm hit and surrounding areas is striking. A building can be leveled in the front of a parking lot and building in the back of the lot is open for business. As I walked around, it was incredibly humbling to think about the lives that were lost and the thousands that were impacted in some way. But in the middle of it all there were also signs hope, faith, and a resilient town that is in the process of bouncing back.