We are privileged to live only a couple of hours away from Branson, Missouri.
My husband and I usually go there a few times a year just to get away,
...or to celebrate a special occasion.
This past weekend it was the latter,
which just happened to be my birthday!
I hadn't been there since the tornado went through,
and was anxious to see how bad the damage was,
...AND what progress was being made.
It was hard to narrow down my photo selection,
but I'll share a few shots
to give you an idea what we saw.
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| It wasn't long after we turned onto "The Strip" (Highway 76) that we began to see damage, as well as evidence of frustration! |
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| Port-a-potties abounded where work was in progress. |
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| Shops that had suffered damage had signs saying they had reopened, even though it was evident that construction had not been completed. |
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| The tornado seemed to skip around, completely destroying some businesses, and leaving others totally intact. |
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| Some businesses gave evidence of moving to new locations. |
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| Others were boarded up, and by the signs I couldn't tell if they were planning to reopen or not. ...Not that I was planning to get a tattoo, just in case you wondered!!! |
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| When late evening came, it was reassuring to see the lights coming on. It seemed that the town might actually be benefiting in some crazy ways from the tornado. A manager in one of the restaurants said his business was up 5 percent from the previous year. "People are curious," he said. "They're coming to see the damage, and it's helping our business." |
My visit to Branson reminded me of the strong will to survive
that God has put within the heart of man,
and I thought of a couple of verses from the Bible
found in Isaiah 61:4&7:
"And they shall rebuild the old ruins,
They shall raise up the former desolations,
And they shall repair the ruined cities...
Instead of your shame
you shall have double honor,
And instead of confusion
they shall rejoice in their portion.
Therefore in their land
they shall possess double;
Everlasting joy shall be theirs."
Yes, ...Life goes on - even in Branson.
It may be their best tourist year ever!
For a look at my name of God for today, click HERE!
To see more pictures of the damage, click here.
8 comments:
Hi Esther Joy - I love that you saw the strength of the human spirit, placed there by God, for us to survive. I pray that things are restored sooner than later there.
God bless
Tracy
What an interesting post. Thank you for sharing this with us. We need to remember to lift the tornado victims up in prayer.
We do not have tornadoes in the Netherlands. It seems terrible. Read with interest your blog
The will to rebuild after devastations like this has always encouraged me. I see people (on TV) who have lost everything, and they smile through their tears and say "We will rebuild."
Thank you for sharing. Branson sounds like a good place to go for special occasions, even with the devastation.
Blessings,
Charlotte
It was interesting to see many of the places I've visited in your pictures. I didn't realize they had as much damage as it shows. I love the survival spirit. God never lets us down!
Thanks for this tour and update. Isn't it just like God to bring good out of hardship? I like the way you saw positive things and how you presented that to us.
Blessings.
Thanks for sharing--it has been too long since I have been there. Also--Joplin is still trying to recover from the really bad one about a year ago. My son and grandson went there on a mission trip recently.
As you know from my Natures Wreckage post we were there the day after the tornado hit. In fact I posted some of my shots from that tragic event.
NIce to see there is a lot of change in the insuring month.
Afraid I am this far behind and playing catch from that post. sorry to have taken so long to respond to your comment.
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