Burns |
EDITOR'S NOTE: Union University sophomore Molly Burns wrote the letter, reprinted below, to teachers who wanted to know how she survived the devastating Feb. 5 tornado. Molly is the daughter of Wendell and Leslie Burns of Dyersburg, is a 2006 graduate of Dyers-burg High School, and was crowned Miss DHS. She also served as senior class president.
Hello Everyone!
As all of you know, an F-4 tornado ripped through the campus of Union University one week ago at 7:02 p.m.
That particular Tuesday began like any other: class at 9:25 and 10:59, lunch in Coburn cafeteria, and a quick mail-check. The afternoon was slow and relaxing. I ran a few errands and enjoyed the 70 degree weather. Around 6 p.m., I got in the shower. With two roommates in night class and another out to dinner, I had the room to myself. When I got out of the shower, they had all returned because of the "bad weather" we had been hearing of all day long.
To be honest, these weather warnings and early school releases had really annoyed us considering Union never lets classes out early. 6:30 p.m. rolled around and we were all joking about the weather. I called my dad to hear his take on it. He said that Dyer County was calming down, but he wasn't really sure about Madison.
Next thing I knew, the sirens were sounding. But, as you all know, sirens are a very normal occurrence in West Tennessee.
At Union, we are instructed to go to our downstairs neighbor's rooms with pillows at the sound of a siren. So, my roommate, Michelle, and I began running around like idiots grabbing every pillow off of our beds and cracking jokes about taking the entire futon downstairs. As we arrived downstairs in Duncan 7, it looked like hangout central: music was playing, the TV was on, and popcorn was popping. The living room was filled with 17 girls who had yet to take the warnings seriously.
I remember saying, "Can you believe we pay $24,000 to go here and this dumpy bathroom is our shelter!?"
A little before 7 p.m., my roommate, Rachel, turned to me and said, "Wanna go upstairs and get our homework? We could at least be productive."
As I began to shake my head "yes," two R.A.'s burst into the room and told half of the girls to leave immediately (so we would all fit in the bathrooms.) Suddenly, the "stupid" warnings didn't seem so stupid anymore. Our final instructions were to go into the bathroom when the lights went out, but there was no time for waiting. As soon as they left, the walls began to tremble as if the building were coming off of its foundation.
Chaos broke out as all 10 of us ran to the bathroom shouting, "O God, run!"
We had barely shut the door when the lights went out. It sounded like a freight train was rolling through the bathroom. Glass was breaking from the windows outside and combined with the debris hitting the door. The pressure from the tornado was unreal. It holds your body to the ground and causes your ears to pop, so what follows can only be described as silent chaos. I know that we were all screaming and crying, but I could hear nothing.
As the shaking continued, the ceiling began to crumble in and water from the outside and the busted pipes poured in on us, burning hot. Our nostrils were filled with the smell of dirt, and the girls in the tub looked up and saw the room above us (my room) and sky.
Then it stopped.
All was still and an eerie silence filled the space.
Immediately, we checked on each other, prayed and began making calls to loved ones. I checked my phone and had one message from my mom saying "seek shelter." I replied, "We've been hit. I'm ok."
I was standing closest to the door and decided to step out to see if it was as bad as it sounded. The scene was surreal. I know this is a weird description, but it looked as if all the rooms had thrown up their contents into the living room.
Part of the wall was blocking the front door, bringing us to the realization that we were trapped.
One of my guy friends finally got through to me to see where were were. I told him that we were trapped, and less than a minute later, the door was breaking in. The room was flooded with faces, some familiar and some unknown.
Since we hadn't taken the warnings seriously, we were all barefoot. They began an assembly line, passing girls through the room and shoving shoes that didn't fit onto our feet. (I wear a 5.5 and came home in size 9.5 shoes.)
Forty-five minutes after we had been hit, we emerged from the "dumpy bathroom" that had offered us protection. As we turned the corner, we saw that the campus we considered home had been turned into a war zone. Entire dorm buildings had been flattened. We just knew that our friends living in them were dead. As we were ushered to a new shelter in White Hall, Rachael's dad had already arrived to take us home. I cried the whole way home, wondering how many of my peers were dead.
I spent the following week at Union volunteering to clean and sort student belongings that had been found. I have been blessed beyond measure with the amount of things I got back from my room. It has prompted me to give so much away because it is unnecessary to have so many earthly and material things. If you have seen pictures, then you know that many, many students will receive none of their original possessions.
As a campus, we are learning to start over and rebuild.
God's unmatched power caused this destruction, yes. But, more importantly, His unmatched power saved 1,300 students that night.
Please continue to pray for Union and the students and faculty who were so graciously spared. I am so grateful for your prayers over me and concern with my wellbeing.
Zephaniah 3:17 says that our God is mighty to save, and I couldn't agree more!
If you would like to give anything towards Union, they are collecting gift cards (from Wal-Mart, Target, etc.) for those who will have to start over with nothing.
Any donations can be given online or sent to:
Union University
Disaster Relief Fund
1050 Union University Drive
Jackson, Tenn. 38305
"God gives and God takes away. Blessed be HIS name." Job 1:21
With love and thanksgiving,
Molly currently is a sophomore at Union University with a major in Spanish and a minor in psychology. She is a member of Chi Omega, active at Fellowship Bible Church and preparing for her third mission trip to Guatemala. She plans to get her teaching license for Spanish, graduate and possibly go into mission work overseas.