Operation Blessing Offers Help To Tornado Victims
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Laverne McClellan remembers hiding in her bathroom while a tornado damaged her own.
"Then all of a sudden it was 'Wooh! Wooh!' And it was gone. Just like that. Just happened so fast," McClellan said.
McClellan does not have homeowners insurance and since the April 3 tornado outbreak she had been unable to repair her home.
She was in for a big surprise.
When Operation Blessing came to check on residents in the neighborhood this week, McClellan asked for a tarp, hoping it wouldn't cost too much.
Operation Blessing gave it to her for free and then came back Friday and gave her a new roof, windows, and shutters. They painted the front of the house and added flower beds.
77-year-old McClellan struggles with chronic health problems.
She lives with two adult sons - one is disabled. The other just lost his wife to cancer.
Once the Operation Blessing trucks were moved to reveal the remodeling job, McClellan broke down in tears.
"Lord Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Hallelujah," she said.
For Operation Blessing, it was mission accomplished.
"It looks like a completely different place and to see her arrive and be so surprised and so overwhelmed, it was awesome," said
Jody Gettys, Operation Blessing's Director of US Disaster Relief.
While most of McClellan's neighbors are still waiting for contractors to repair their houses, volunteers fixed Ms. Laverne's home in seven and a half hours.
Ms. Laverne will never forget the day a tornado destroyed her house and the day people put it back together.
"I just love it. I just love it! I do!" she said.
Operation blessing is a non-profit humanitarian organization dedicated to relieving human suffering.
