Union University Tornado

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to benefit the rebuilding fund.

On 2/05/08 the tornado sirens went off much as they have on many similar occassions. As an R.A., it is my duty to see that all 48 girls in my dorm go to the bathroom of the dorm beneath them. As you can imagine, sometimes it takes coaxing; I had to return to one room three times before the girls finally complied. After all of the girls were where they were supposed to be, I ran back to the commons to get instructions from our R.D. She handed us flashlights, and let us know that we would be on the buddy system and that we would run to the hallway between her office and the spare room if things got serious. Less then five minutes later, Union University was ripped apart by an F4 tornado that took 35 seconds to go from one end of campus to the other. When the dust settled, covered in dirt and debris, we sat very still. Electrical wires were over our heads. We began to sound off, praying we were all alive. As we sounded our names, we could hear the boys from the complex across from ours calling out to see if anyone needed help. There was dirt and debris in my hair, my eyes, and mouth, but I was unharmed. I was on the end of the hall, my arm next to the door joist. There was a small hole next to me and I was able to crawl out into what had been our RD's office, but now was a wide gaping area of debris. About half of the girls climbed out of this hole behind me while the others crawled through on the other side. As everyone began to emerge, I realized that many of my fellow R.A.'s had been injured. One was cut across her hand, another had glass in her chin, and still another had blood streaming from a cut at the top of her head. The boys were still trying to see who needed help, and many were calling out the names of their girlfriends and fiancees. The helpless feeling that came over us as we called out names and waited to see if there was an answer is beyond definition. That is when the R.A. training kicked in and we just started getting everyone out and to the P.A.C. building. Another wave of storms were on their way and we could not be out in the open like this. Soon the police and firemen arrived. One looked around and said there would probably be at least 100 bodies. Several girls were under 15 feet of debris, and some of the boys were under more. It took almost four hours to get everyone out. Many of the students were injured, but by God's grace, all 1200 were alive. Some injuries were serious, but all are going to recover. We will, with God's help, rebuild and go forth. God was good, His protection specific and individualized. Despite the efforts of the media, no student could be found that was bitter or angry. We had been frightened, and were certainly dazed, even broken and hurting, but our most overwhelming emotion was gratitude and hope in Christ because he protected us and brought us safely through the storm.

R.A.'s and Union staff bagged and tagged dorms.

For three days after the storm I helped until I was able to go home. We didn't get to do my dorm.

On February 9th, four days after the storm, I arrived home in FL. We began insurance proceedings and I prepared to return to school packing things from home to replace what I had lost. Before I left one of my roommates called very excited. The National Guard had taken over and our room had been 'un-condemned' long enough for it to be bagged and tagged. In the end I received clothes and books I thought were lost for good. I lost some earthly treasures but, the eternal ones, all my friends, were safe.

Rankings:

Listed in U.S. News & World Report’s top tier universities for ten consecutive years
Carnegie Foundation’s “Top Tier University”
Time magazine’s “500 Best Colleges”
The Princeton Review’s five “highly selective” private universities in Tennessee
The Templeton Foundation Guide for Colleges That Encourage Character Development
America’s Best College Buys
America’s Best College Scholarships

Our Story: 2/12/08

My roommate, Liz and I, were invited to share at our college ministries group back home in FL.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed"

February 9, 2008

Hello everyone!

I am so glad to be home in Florida, but was very sorry to leave Union Friday. I know many of you have been trying to contact me and I can't tell you how much I appreciate your prayers, and your concern for my safety. When the tornados hit, I was in a hallway between Ema's office and the spare bedroom in the girl's commons at Union. The building basically fell in around us. We were covered in debris and there were some electrical wires over the top of the "cocoon" we were in. We weren't allowed to move for a few minutes, but were soon able to crawl out through the gaping hole that minutes before had been Ema's office. When we got outside, there was rubble everywhere. Girls began coming from their rooms and crawling out of the debris. I don't know if you have seen the pictures but there is no doubt that it was NOT an accident that every student on that campus survived. God was truly protecting each and everyone of us in very specific and special ways. The stories coming out of this event of people who should logically be dead and aren't, are absolutely incredible. I am thankful that we serve a God who loves His children. I know that many people are asking why He would allow this to happen to a Christian campus, and I have to say that I would rather this happen to us than to anyone else. There is not a student on our campus who is not grateful to be alive. We do not blame God for what happened, and it is impossible to have a bad attitude about all that has gone on when we can so clearly see the way that God had His hand on us. I have never felt so loved or protected. It was as though Satan decided he was going to attack us and Jesus looked him right in the face and said, "NO, these are MY children, and you are not going to touch them!" The last few days have been incredible, but exhausting. I didn't sleep much Tuesday or Wednesday nights, and sudden sounds (especially of the wind blowing) still freak me out. I'm so grateful to be here though and I wanted to let all of you know how much I appreciate your thoughts and prayers. I'm thankful to all of you for your concern about me and about the students at Union. I hope you will continue to pray for us as the school tries to figure out what they are going to do about housing (only 20% of our dorms are left), and as the students begin replacing cars, computers, text books, clothing, etc. I was very fortunate that my car was untouched. For anyone that would like to help, you can go to uu.edu where they have the information on the recovery efforts and on volunteer needs.

Thank you again!!!!

Blessings,
Victoria

When we crawled out it was pitch dark. I am still

amazed I had glass and debris all over me yet I had not one cut.

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