Kentucky Baptist Foundation President French Harmon visited tornado-damaged southeastern Kentucky on Wednesday, was encouraged by pastors and associational mission strategists and marveled at the work of the Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers.
“The number one impression is how effective the Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief is,” said Harmon, who served as pastor of First Baptist Church in Somerset for 13 years. “They are amazing people who are well organized and just loving the people.”
Harmon has long been a supporter of KYDR and so has the KBF which has provided some of the heavy equipment that has proven to be invaluable. KYDR workers say the uploaders – affectionally known as Kermit and Shrek – can do the work of dozens.
“Seeing them in action is very special,” Harmon said.
He visited old friends in Somerset, some who owned businesses that were damaged by the tornado. The Lake Cumberland Baptist Association office, which Harmon said he visited regularly, was also destroyed by last Friday’s storms.
However, the heaviest damage from the tornado was in nearby London in Laurel County where the tornado’s wrath had been merciless, carving a path of destruction through residential neighborhoods with terrifying force. Roofs were torn from homes, walls flattened, and entire trees flung about like matchsticks. More than 1,500 homes—gone.
“London is in a real recovery mode,” Harmon said. “They were hit hard.”
Sixty volunteers from KYDR are doing chainsaw work in the area, moving logs and cleaning up debris from the storm. The roar of the chainsaws is the sound of recovery. They have set up a command center at Corinth Baptist Church with pastor Andrew Dyer, who Harmon visited with Wednesday.
“The command center at Corinth Baptist is incredible,” he said. “They are organizing and deploying people in the right places. They have servant hearts and come from all over the commonwealth. I was in that neighborhood in London and it is just total devastation. Hearts are broken because of it yet our men and women were there serving, loving them, caring for people. Gold shirts are everywhere. They are making a big difference.”
But perhaps even more powerful than physical cleanup is the spiritual healing that follows these golden-clad volunteers.
“These Disaster Relief workers are the best of the best,” Harmon said. “I encourage anyone who is interested in helping to join. It is a life-transforming ministry. You see immediate impact and the folks you help are so appreciative.”
Harmon said the damage in Somerset, while not as severe as London, was still impactful to him after serving in the pastorate for so long there.
“My heart is broken because I know Somerset so well,” he said. “The people I spoke with were very strong in their faith with attitudes saying they are coming back. It makes me inspired to see their response.”
Harmon pointed to the leadership of Kentucky Baptist pastors and associational mission strategists, saying their unshakable presence has already begun turning grief into grit. The KBF is also providing support to the recovery.
In the storm’s aftermath, among the shattered homes and broken trees, one truth has become clear: where devastation tried to divide, the faithful came to rebuild.