Tom Lee was a man who always had a sparkle in his eyes and a Gospel message on his tongue. His family is one of those that people describe as “energy givers.” When Tom, his bride and his family of thirteen children would arrive in town, it always meant encouragement.

Last night as tornado storm winds approached the Lee home in Alabama, Tom gathered his wife and thirteen children in the den. They huddled and they prayed. Two minutes later the tornado descended upon them. The house was instantly destroyed as beams and cinder blocks rained down upon them.

But in his last great act of fatherhood, Tom Lee had the presence of mind to throw himself on top of his children, including his first-born son Jordan. Looking up at his father Jordan saw the blood in his father’s mouth and witnessed as the breath began to leave his father, but was able to hear the last words of his father’s crying out to God for the safety of his family. Then the spirit left the body of Tom Lee.

There were other injuries including children trapped under a piano and between beams. Medical assistance was nowhere in sight for many hours. There was just too much damage in the valley, too few support teams, and inaccessibility was a problem. Eventually they came.

This is where the Lee children were trapped from 6:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.

This morning some children have been released from the hospital while others are still being evaluated for injuries.

Jordan Lee has not had time to grieve. The mantle of responsibility has been placed upon him immediately. Shortly after his father’s death, and while some children could not be rescued without assistance, Jordan called his friends—members of the Vision Forum staff, Kevin Turley; my former co-elder at our local church, Bob Welch; and others. Like his father, Jordan had a manly presence of mind and was able to take the necessary steps to see that his mother, brothers, and sisters would be rescued.

It was a late night here in San Antonio, in North Carolina, in Tennessee, and elsewhere as we worked together to get teams organized to drive through the night and bring assistance to the Lee family and others who have been devastated.

This morning the teams arrived. Reports are coming in from the ground. Just moments before posting this article, Vision Forum Ministries conference coordinator Kevin Turley described the scene as total devastation. He is presently helping a woman who is screaming looking for her daughter and grandchildren on a plot of land which once contained a house and is now completely flattened.

The woman was standing outside and screaming for help:

“They are gone…they are gone!” she wailed. “I told them to leave and they would not leave…!”

Several of the men who were my teammates for the Into the Amazon Expedition have been working through the night and are also on the location as of now. Food, clothing, and medical supplies are in great need, but especially water.

It is clear that the police and local authorities are overwhelmed and unable to handle the scope of the problem.

“Thank God, The body of Christ has been activated,” Kevin just told me. “We are getting calls and reports of tractors, trucks, and Christians from all around who are on their way to bring help.”

The Tom Lee family

More reports to follow.

from 4-28-11:

Four Families, More than 25 Children Huddle in Crawford Family Basement as House is Flattened in Thirty Seconds

By Doug Phillips

When news of an imminent Tornado arrived, Aaron Crawford volunteered his home as a shelter to his friends. The father of nine children, including a three week old infant, Mr. Crawford is part of a strong community of Christians and home educators living in the area of Alabama most directly impacted by the tornados.

Known for their hospitality, the Crawford home has been the place of many gatherings for Christians including a wedding reception for Vision Forum designer, Justin Turley and his wife, Melissa.

Yesterday would be the last day to be hospitable in their home—-but it was the ultimate act of hospitality.

With few moments to spare, three other families gathered with the Crawfords for safety in the basement of their home. That number included more than 25 children.

Then it hit.

Mr. Crawford described the tornado as shaking the home for “30 to 40 seconds at most.”

Two men stood at the door between the basement and the first floor. Throwing their bodies against the wall as human braces. They strained to keep the door closed as the house shook to its very foundations.

Near by nine children crammed underneath a stairwell. A old brick fireplace collapsed and fell through the floor. No one was injured. In other rooms families huddled together praying for what seemed like the longest minute of their lives.

And then it stopped—-an eerie calm.

The men opened the door. Where once a there were walls, and pictures and furniture and beds and a kitchen, now there was nothing—-nothing, but broad daylight. The house was completely gone but all lives were saved.

“I don’t care if I get out of here in my underwear…we are alive! ” Mr. Crawford rejoiced, “I don’t need any of this stuff.”

“Our homes are literally flat, trees are uprooted everywhere-it is unrecognizable. (We live on the same property as my parents and their home is gone too.)….but God is mighty to save—-all is not lost.”

“He is the picture of gratitude,” Vision Forum Ministries conference coordinator Kevin Turley explained by phone to me from the location of the disaster.

Mr. Crawford’s Words are telling about the power of faith in Jesus Christ in the midst of great loss:

“There is only one thing I know…my God is faithful, gracious and might to save. Underneath all the destruction there is a brewing peace that things are going to be OK because of the God I serve. Even while the roads were still blocked, friends, church family and people from all over started pouring in-walking miles through the treacherous darkness and debris to bring in supplies-food, blankets, generators-people even from other states. I am overwhelmed.”

Friends and employees of Vision Forum Ministries are on the ground working now with Peter Bradrick on disaster relief efforts. The greatest needs now are for water and supplies. More information on how you can help will be forthcoming.

Tornado Disaster: Crawford Home Devastated from Douglas Phillips on Vimeo.

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Update 5/1/11:  Video interviews with these homeschooling Alabama families affected in the tornado, plus ways to help, at www.bradrick.org/helpalfamilies