On November 6, 2005, shortly after 2:00 a.m., an F3 tornado struck Evansville and surrounding communities as residents slept. According to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, the tornado with 200 mph wind speeds and a 41-mile path was the deadliest in the United States since 1999, and the deadliest in Indiana since 1974.
“By all indication, the death toll should have been several hundred. More than 1,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, hundreds were wounded, and 23 were killed instantly. One entire family was killed, and several who died were taken with multiples of other family members. Two more died in coming days. One 13-year-old boy became paralyzed,” recalls Debbie Burns, Evansville First Church member.
“The residents and neighboring communities quickly sprang into action. Amazing and heroic rescues took place, many unnoticed to the eyes of men,” Debbie added. “Approximately 200 different rescue units were called in to help, and thousands volunteered their time to clean up the 41 miles of destruction.”
The Indiana Adventist Community Services (ACS) Disaster Team members, who were state emergency trained, arrived on the scene. Debbie says, “Many local agencies had never worked with Adventists before or seen what we do following a disaster. All eyes were on what the Adventists were doing and how they reached the hurting community. As Christ’s disciples, the volunteers hugged and prayed with the hurting, and provided food and non-food items.”
One of those remarkable volunteers was Debbie. She was eager to help restore a hurting community. “Debbie is a one-of-a-kind individual who has put her own health concerns on the back burner because of her desire to help others. She deserves the highest praise,” said Drew Speier, WFIE14 news anchor.
Debbie's face became familiar in the Evansville community as she diligently worked with others to make sure no one forgot the precious lives lost, the suffering of those left behind, and the blessings and hope that have arisen out of the tragedy. She represented the Adventist church on the Long Term Recovery Committee of Southwestern Indiana (LTRCSI), a committee comprised of 47 churches and agencies. Debbie helped agencies and community residents better understand the Adventist church’s desire to assist disaster recovery and relief efforts.
When LTRCSI initiated a survivor support group, Debbie provided encouragement and refreshments at the first few meetings. There, she met some individuals who she says continue to change her life. One of those individuals was Kathryn Martin, who buried three family members, including her two-year-old son, Claude John “C.J.” Martin.
A bill was brought before the Indiana General Assembly called "C.J.’s Law," named after Kathryn’s son. The bill requires all mobile homes sold after July 1 to be hardwired with a weather radio. Debbie accompanied Kathryn to Indianapolis where this bill was introduced, and she spoke on its merits. The bill passed, and is now at the federal level.
Another project born from the tragedy was "C.J.'s Bus," a mobile recreational unit that will roll into disaster areas to entertain children and help them cope after natural or man-made disasters. When a national foundation was set up for this project, Kathryn invited Debbie to accept a position on the founding board.
As they have worked together, Kathryn has learned more about Debbie's commitment to help. She said, “Debbie is a wonderful person, whose support is beyond anything I would have ever thought one person could provide. There is one specific time that I recall when I was feeling down, and needed to go to my son's grave. Debbie offered to go with me. When we arrived, Debbie held me as I cried, and then stated a prayer. She asked that we receive some help from God above for C.J.’s Bus. Approximately two hours later, I received a telephone call letting me know that someone donated a bus! Thank God for bringing Debbie Burns into my life.”
In January 2006, Debbie says God impressed her to plan a one-year anniversary service. Randy Anderson, LTRCSI president, asked her to assemble a committee to help plan the service. Debbie became president of the "Remembering November 6th Committee."
Under Debbie's leadership, the committee raised money for area volunteer fire and rescue departments. One way they accomplished this was to publish and sell a 64-page, full-color commemorative book with photos and information about the 25 victims, stories from survivors and rescue workers, and information and photos about the positive things that took place during the first ten months after the tragedy. Debbie, a professional photographer, took many photos published in the book.
When mothers who lost family members built the Tornado Memorial Park and a playground at Eastbrook Mobile Home Park, where most of the tornado victims' lives were claimed, Debbie was there. She says, “What a special day when the park was dedicated, and we all watched the children playing. An angel monument stands in the park listing all 25 names of those who perished, and there are four granite benches that bear the names of the five young children who died.”
Marsha Tweedy was devastated by the sudden deaths of her daughter, son-in-law, grandson, and soon-to-be-born granddaughter when the tornado struck. Marsha says, “Debbie was one of the first people I met at the opening of the Eastbrook Mobile Home Park playground and memorial. She was and has been very comforting to me. She would never tell me, ‘I know how it is’ or ‘Just give yourself time to heal.’ She would just hug me and cry with me. Her words were said with meaning and compassion. … I also know that without her faith she wouldn’t have the strength to do all that she has done.”
The tornado destroyed Baker’s Chapel in the tiny town of Degonia Springs, Indiana. The New York Says Thank You Foundation came on the anniversary of 9/11 to help rebuild the church. Debbie was there, too, and worked with community residents and new friends from throughout the country.
The first-year anniversary weekend brought the community together for a variety of events. Baker's Chapel members joyfully met in their new sanctuary. The Red Cross held a ribbon ceremony, where Debbie was honored to accept a basket of ribbons for the survivors. A radio station read the names of those who died, walls were raised on a Habitat for Humanity home for a survivor, a new flag was raised at sunrise at the new park, and many live TV interviews were conducted. Debbie sent countless updates to the media to keep the public informed of the events and projects.
The Remembrance and Reflection Service, held the night of the first-year anniversary, brought together more than 1,000 people to find hope and comfort. Five Seventh-day Adventists, including Debbie, participated in the service.
Bela Kobor, former Evansville First Seventh-day Adventist Church pastor, said, “Debbie has become a frequent face on our local TV news channel. This experience brought out talents and abilities in her that she never realized she had. Debbie has also brought some of the survivors to visit in our church and has formed lasting friendships with many of the survivors, always looking to help their felt needs. Because Debbie has suffered so much pain in her own life, she is able to empathize with the needs of others. Because of her community connections, our church has received a lot of positive PR." When Evansville First Church young people invited area residents to contribute to Hope for Humanity (formerly Ingathering), Bela says they "were able to testify about how our church, along with others in the community, helped after the disaster.”
Kathy Durnell, a survivor and a colleague on the commemorative book project, said, “I know that many times all the work she put into these projects came at great personal sacrifice and a tremendous amount of stress for Debbie. There were times that it didn't look like one project or another was going to happen, but it was clear that because of her strong faith Debbie knew who to turn it all over to, and she did so on a regular basis.
“What is perhaps most amazing to me is the fact that neither she, her family, or the small town she lives in were directly affected by the disaster and that her only connection to the disaster was the love that she had for her community and the burden in her heart to help those who were hurting in the aftermath of the tornado. Everything she did brought a lot of healing to the survivors and to our community as a whole.
“All in all, I would say to Debbie the same thing I wrote on the certificates we gave to the rescue workers at their reception. ‘All that you did will never be known ... but all that is known will never be forgotten!’”
As Debbie worked with many people—survivors of disasters nationwide, those whose loved ones perished, rescue workers, community and government leaders, and the media—she partnered with Jesus to heal broken hearts. God opened doors for Debbie to witness of God’s Sabbath, share the benefits of a healthy diet, demonstrate faith in what God can do, and tell of Christ's love for a hurting world.
Debbie reflected, "Along this journey, which is far from over, I have come to see what lies beyond our church doors. The church and world is full of hurting people, but it does not have to take a disaster to bring a community together, to share our faith, or to show how much Jesus loves each one. ... Each one of us has the opportunity to reach out and touch our neighbors, our church members, and our community. We all have the ability to share Jesus with others, to reach the hurting around us.”
When asked whether her story could be told, Debbie humbly said, “It is God working through me. I hope other Adventists will see if one person can do it then they can do it, too. I pray it does encourage others to be involved. As we near the soon return of Jesus, we know that more disasters will happen. I encourage our members to get their family prepared, and get trained with Adventist Community Services Disaster Response. We did. Become a part of changing the world, one person at a time.”
Diane Thurber is assistant director of communication for the Lake Union Conference.
To learn more about C.J.'s Bus, visit www.CJsBus.org. To purchase the commemorative book or a DVD of the Remembrance and Reflection Service, you may e-mail Debbie Burns at Nov6Memorial@aol.com.
