A sister of a Waco pastor escaped with her life as her home crashed down around her when a deadly tornado rampaged through Joplin, Mo.

Now, her brother, David Turner, is at the site, picking through the rubble of the home in an attempt to help his family and others recover. His image was caught by an Associated Press photographer and broadcast around the world.

Pastor David Turner of Waco sorts through belongings at a house of one of his sisters in a devastated neighborhood in Joplin, Mo., on Thursday.
Charlie Riedel / Associated Press

Turner’s sister, Jill Turner, was in her laundry room when the tornado struck. The laundry room was the only room left standing, and she was unharmed, Calvary Chapel pastor Albert Fuentes said.

The twister missed the home of another Turner sister nearby.

Calvary Chapel, where David Turner is an associate pastor, is collecting relief supplies to send to the scene and help Joplin residents recover.

Jeff Nommensen and Jill Bradley, members of the church, accepted contributions Friday afternoon in a parking lot at the intersection of Fourth Street and Webster Avenue beside a truck normally used for mission work.

One of the church’s first donors Friday was a homeless woman who asked what they were doing and then gave them two T-shirts, Nommensen said.

“We were so touched that she did that. It was the widow’s mite,” he said, referring to a Gospel passage about a woman who dropped her last two small coins in the Jerusalem temple’s collection box, drawing a comment from Jesus that she had given more than many prosperous people who put in much more.

“We’re not discouraging any type of gifts. We’ll take clothing, but what we’re really looking for is bottled water, nonperishable food, work gloves, masks and other items to support people working on cleanup,” Nommensen said.

A separate announcement by the church also specified baby wipes, diapers, flashlights and batteries.

Jill Bradley, of Calvary Chapel, collects donated items for victims of the Joplin tornado.
Rod Aydelotte / Waco Tribune-Herald

The church plans to take a truckload to Joplin this weekend and another mid-week. The donation station in the parking lot will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, Calvary pastor Albert Fuentes said. It will be open for an indefinite number of days after today, but no hours have been set.

“We’re trying to recruit more volunteers,” Fuentes said. “People can bring donations into the church Sunday and any other time on the weekdays if there’s no one in the parking lot.”

The church, one of a nationwide federation of nondenominational Calvary Chapels, began in a storefront on Franklin Avenue.

It now subleases space in the Waco Outreach Foundation’s building at 400 S. Fourth St. with Sunday services and strong weekday ministries to students.

dbolding@wacotrib.com

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