TUSCALOOSA, AL — Samaritan’s Purse volunteers are hard at work across multiple locations in Alabama after powerful tornadoes and storms devastated a number of communities. We are clearing yard debris, cutting up fallen trees, and covering damaged roofs with heavy-duty tarp material.

Among the homeowners they have helped is Michael Beck, who survived a twister that touched down in Tuscaloosa. Michael was home with his wife and daughter, and although the family was unharmed, their home was destroyed.

Michael Beck, Homeowner:

The weather outside, it was cloudy, it was overcast. It wasn’t anything that would lead you to believe that oh my gosh, this looks like this is going to be a devastating storm. So it just looked overcast.

Then the power goes out. It felt like the temperature dropped 10 degrees and immediately right after that happened, the pressure changed. Pops your ears, so uncomfortable. I just told my wife and daughter, “Let’s hang on because this is the real deal here.” And you could hear it in the distance, faintly, and as the sound grew, you knew it was getting closer. And then you could tell when it was there. It was loud.

That’s a fear that I have not experienced in my lifetime. I’m 49 years old. I was very afraid. Wife’s OK, daughter’s OK. Such a sigh of relief. Thank you, Lord, for protecting us and keeping us safe. He was looking out for us in a big way.

When I saw the tree, just snapped right there, it takes your breath away because it’s like, oh my gosh. I mean, it snapped that tree like it was absolutely nothing.

To see Samaritan’s Purse come in here and just in a few hours coordinated to boom, here we come. Here we go. You’re here, you’re here, you’re here. You’re doing this and here we go.

This is amazing just to see it in action. And we can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done. And you know what, and now you’re off to do it somewhere else, to help somebody else, and that’s awesome. Awesome.

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet the needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. The organization serves the Church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Samaritan’s Purse International Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) program is committed to meeting the critical needs of victims of war, poverty, famine, disease, and natural disaster. We stand ready to respond at a moment’s notice whenever and wherever disaster strikes. The DART specializes in providing water, food, shelter, and medical care while sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

CONTACT: Kaitlyn Lahm, news@samaritan.org

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