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[jmroll AT bellsouth.net]

I'm sending this because I am sure Heather would like to share her story...
John 
My Experience in the Union Tornado - Feb. 5, 2008  (This is near Jackson, TN)

By:    Heather Martin

Dear Friends, Family, and Professors,

As many of you know, I was involved in the F4 tornado that hit Union 
University last Tuesday (02-05-08). Many of you may have already read my 
account on facebook, but I wanted to give a more detailed version now that I 
have had a little more time to process. This may be a bit long, but my plan 
is just to walk you through that portion of my life.

Around 5:30, I was studying at Books-a-million and was planning on riding out 
the storm ther e. Aft er a few phone calls from concerned friends, I decided 
to return to campus. I went to eat on campus with my roommates, Suzanne Short 
and Kellie Roe, around 6:00. We returned to the room and the weather began to 
change. It was stormy but it felt like it was just going to be another 
ordinary, frustrating tornado drill. I was stressing over the fact that I 
wasn't going to get much studying accomplished. A mentor of mine from church, 
Julie Boyer, decided to come over and ride the storm out with us. She lives 
in an upstairs apartment in Cherry Grove and didn't really want to spend that 
time with her neighbors below. She arrived around 6:30. Soon after, the 3 
girls who live above us came down (as instructed). The RAs (resident 
advisors) were busy trying to make sure all students were in the downstairs 
dorm rooms. My roommate, Suzanne, is an RA, so she was in and out of our 
room. We were ke
eping an eye on the radar on TV, watching the system head straight toward us.

About 2 m inutes before the tornado hit, my RA (and roommate) ran in and 
said, "Get in the tub, now!" (that would be the last time I would see her and 
know that she was alive until 11:30 or so later that night - as I was 
trapped, I didn't see how there was even the slightest chance that she was 
alive and had made it to safety) We headed to the bathroom -- the three girls 
from upstairs got into the tub.  Then our ears started popping (due to the 
pressure change). At that point, Kellie was almost into the tub and Julie 
turned to me and said, "We have to get in, NOW!" We shut the door, Julie 
jumped in - she was holding my hand - the lights went off - hail was pounding 
our building - and I was almost completely in when the tornado hit. I still 
have not come up with adequate words to describe the tornado. I'll do my 
best. Everyone asks, "Did it sound like a train?" It sounded like a thousand 
trains. The noise was incredible. It was a r oar. J ulie was still holding me 
at this point and 
I felt my legs being pulled up by the force. And then, everything collapsed. 
There was a tremendous amount of pressure and it just kept pressing us and 
pressing us. Some of us were screaming - it was pushing the breath out of me, 
so I couldn't scream. All of what I have just described occurred in about 5 
or 6 seconds. As things were falling and the wind was swirling around us, I 
remember thinking, "This is NOT happening to me".

As quickly as it came, it left. And then there was an eery silence and 
darkness. I couldn't see anyone in the tub with me. It was so hard to 
breathe. There was a wall pressing down across my back, and my legs hadn't 
made it into the tub. After being pulled by the tornado, they (my legs) got 
pinned between a wall of debris and the edge of the tub. I can't describe my 
body position because it was so contorted, you would have to see a picture. 
One of the girls was able to call 911. She had her cell phone and th ankfully 
could move enough to make the call. We found out later we were the first call 
from Union.

My initial thoughts were: "Every student on this campus is either dead or 
trapped like we are. This is where I am going to die. No one will ever find 
us. We will be here for days and we won't last that long". We all accounted 
for each other and tried to calm each other down. Then, very methodically, I 
began to assess my situation. I realized my legs were pinned - but I felt no 
pain - breathing was going to be my biggest issue - and I was pinned under 
the wall (floor above us, really). I began to think about what my death would 
be like. I only had a small pocket of air and my whole body was compressed. I 
realized I was going to pass out, and then I would be with Jesus. To some of 
you, that may sound very morbid, but it actually allowed me to move on and 
not panic in fear about the process of my death. At that point, I realized 
someone right next to me was breathing her last breaths. I had no idea who it 
was. I called out Julie's name, the breaths were interrupted, and she 
responded 
to me. At this point, my heart sank. It felt like someone had stabbed it. I 
thought, "Dear Lord, I cannot handle losing another friend". I began to pray 
out loud - telling Julie to breathe, not to talk, just to breathe - I was 
positioned on top of her in such a way that if I moved, she either couldn't 
breathe or it caused her excruciating pain. I cannot even begin to describe 
the fear in my heart that this precious person was going to die underneath 
me. I prayed aloud - I tried to quote Scripture - at some point I found 
Kellie's hand and she was praying as well. I realize now, Christ was guiding 
my thoughts from the very beginning - after coming to grips with the fact 
that this would most likely be the night of my death, I was able to move on 
and focus on simply breathing. I continued to pray aloud, and then at one 
point I had to tell Juli e that I was out of breath and couldn't pray out 
loud anymore, but that I was still praying in my heart and mind. Please do 
not see this as my b
eing "strong" or "brave" or "courageous" - this was the power of Christ in 
me. He guided me in my thoughts - He helped me to focus on breathing, 
praying, and helping/encouraging Julie to breathe. This whole experience was 
terrifying - but God was in the midst of us. I recall at times just crying 
out "God, You are here, You are here - give us strength, sustain us".

At one point, Kellie very calmly said, "Heather, it's going to be okay". 
Kellie now has no recollection of this. God used her and spoke through her 
directly to me in that moment. It was at that point that I had an 
overwhelming sense of peace. Peace - not because I was confident that we 
would be rescued - but peace from the fact that we were either going to join 
Christ in heaven or He was going to sustain us and leave us here on earth for 
a little while longer.

The to rnado struck at 7:02 - the firemen arrived around 7:15. We were told 
later that when they arrived, the chief got out and was overwhelmed with the 
destruction. He sent off the team in twos to listen for voices. Students 
began to crawl out of their bath tubs. He heard muffled sounds near the pile 
of debris that used to be my dorm room. There were 15 ft. of rubble on top of 
us. They had to remove it by hand. (an earlier account said by backhoe, but 
that was a rumor). When the rescuers got close to us, it got really scary. 
Julie's breathing was terrible at this point and she was in and out of 
consciousness. As the rescuers neared our tub, it was terrifying because the 
rubble and debris would shift and the pressure would increase. Several of the 
girls were screaming - I was trying to breathe and couldn't scream very well. 
Finally light broke through. But Julie wasn't doing well. I couldn't move 
because it hurt her and she couldn't breat he. Her neck was exposed in such a 
way that
 if the rescuers slid the debris off, her neck would snap. She told me later 
that she was thinking, "I've survived the tornado, only to be killed in the 
rescue." She told me I had to tell them where she was. The firemen were 
telling us not to scream and panic, because they thought we were in pain each 
time we did. At this point, I could see one of the fireman's face. I screamed 
at him. I said, "Can you see my face??" - (he could) - then I screamed out, 
"I am not panicking. You have to listen to me. There is someone stuck under 
me and if I move she can't breathe. Her neck is exposed, so you can't slide 
the debris. You have to lift it." Then, they lifted off the main piece, and 
for the first time in 45 minutes, we could breathe in fresh air!!

They got the other girls out and Julie and I were left. They tried to get me 
next, but my legs were still pinned. So, they got Julie out. Then, a fireman 
came and held me. He held my torso and my head. He kept telling me, "We're 
gonna get you out of here." It took a lot of maneuvering and strength on the 
part of the rescuers because I couldn't feel my legs unless there was a lot 
of pain - and I couldn't feel them enough to pull them out myself. I noticed 
there was a 2x4 right next to my right knee, between the edge of the tub and 
the mass of debris. That 2x4 had kept just enough of the pressure off of my 
legs so that I didn't completely lose blood flow to my lower extremities. It 
saved my legs. We were rescued. We sustained only minor injuries. I ended up 
being taken to the ER because I passed out, but it was just from the shock. 
My body is intact. I am now walking around without a limp and I am just 
experiencing pain from the strained muscles in my back. As I have reflected 
over T
uesday night, I see the Lord. I cannot explain our survival - and the fact 
that there were NO fatalities - aside from the fact that God loves us a whole 
lot and He is not through with us he re on earth. The destruction and chaos 
of Tuesday night is incredible. The amazing power, strength, grace, and love 
of Jesus Christ is the only explanation I have to offer. In the midst of the 
chaos and rubble, He knew how each board, each brick, each piece of metal and 
concrete were placed - and He protected us.

Another thought that keeps recurring is the testimony of the father of my 
friend who was killed in an avalanche a month ago. She died and her brother 
(who was hiking with her) made it out. Their father said, "Our God saves. He 
saved Nick from the avalanche, and He saved Lygon (my friend) unto Himself." 
Those words ring so true of my experience. I have struggled in the past with 
my faith - wondering if I were "truly saved" - wondering what my last 
thoughts would be. Well, now I know. My "last thoughts" were: "God has me. 
Either way I am okay. I will either join Him in heaven, or He will save me 
for yet a little while longer here on earth."

My desire as you read my story is that you will be impressed with the Lord. 
Do not call me a hero. Every thought I had Tuesday night was guided by Christ 
- the calmness I had was directly from Him - He gave me peace - He sustained 
me by His grace and strength. I have struggled and fought against the Lord a 
whole lot in the last couple of months. I've struggled to trust Him - to 
accept His unconditional love for me. Yet, He proved Himself in such a mighty 
way Tuesday night. I am amazed at His goodness - His faithfulness. I hope you 
are as well. He is a mighty God. I have lived through a tornado. However, I 
am not fearless. The next few weeks and months actually are a pretty scary 
thought to me right now. I have a lot to work through. There are sounds and 
feelings stored in my memory that are terrifying and paralyze me at times. My 
mentor and dear friend almost d ied un derneath me. I am struggling to come 
to grips with that. I am struggling to sleep because there are so many vivid i
mages and feelings when I shut my eyes. However, I find hope in this: God 
knew, as I lay pinned in that tub, that I would make it out. He is the One 
responsible for getting me out. Simply put, He is not through with me yet.

He already knows what each and every second of the next few weeks and months 
hold for me, my friends, and my family. And knowing that, gives me hope - it 
keeps me going. He sustained me through Tuesday night and He will continue to 
sustain me in the days that follow. My friend Beth McDowell, a nurse who was 
on site Tuesday, (and was with me right as they were putting me onto the 
stretcher) quoted these verses to me: "We are hard pressed on every side, but 
not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; 
struck down, but not destroyed" - 2 Corinthians 4:8,9< /FONT>

As you have read my story, you've read a lot about God. It may sound a bit 
odd if you don't know Him personally. But here's the truth: I cannot explain 
ANY of the events of Tuesday without acknowledging that God was there - He 
sustained and covered us all with His protection. I should not be alive today 
-- but I am because He still has plans for my life here on earth. He is good. 
If you don't know Him, you need to. He loves you. He wants a relationship 
with you. I pray that through my story, you have caught a glimpse of who He 
is - His love - His sovereignty - His strength - and His grace - and 
ultimately, His salvation.
>From tom AT honeychrome.com  Tue Feb 26 20:48:11 2008
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Do some reading up on Permaculture design if you haven't already.   
Fits well into your plan of  "getting a couple of acres of my land  
under control and to where it would be easier for [you] to grow crops  
if [you] could not use the tractor."


On Feb 26, 2008, at 8:21 PM, homestead-request AT lists.ibiblio.org wrote:

> I agree, Rob. I've recently given more priority to getting a couple of
> acres of my land under control and to where it would be easier for me
> to grow crops if I could not use the tractor. I've got a goal to be
> able to cut firewood without a chain saw this year.
>
> I'm not a looking for doomsday, but think that a lot of us
> homesteaders would be caught with our pants down if we could not use
> our powertools.
>
> Rob - Va