By Pastor Geoff Starr

Tornadoes devastated parts of the Southeast on April 12, 2020, over Easter weekend. As soon as we could get out of our own neighborhoods, we asked the youth of the Collegedale area to come and help clear the trees off people’s cars and houses. We had a good response with youth from McDonald Road Church, Collegedale Community Church, and Collegedale Church all coming out, as well as students from Collegedale Academy and Ooltewah High.

The people we helped have expressed how grateful they are and how they were so impressed with our young people. They young people who helped had such a positive attitude and were so willing to keep helping as much as was needed. These young people really showed the love of God in a very practical and needed way.

We are living in unsettling times. From loss of income because of Covid-19 social distancing to the loss of property and lives through the tornadoes, it has been awesome to see people come together to help with the cleanup. We can be encouraged by this commitment to help as we to lift our eyes to the Lord for “Our help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth” (Psalm 121:2).