One Week Later, Portland Remains Strong And Focused

One week ago. a miracle happened in Portland, MI. An F1 tornado ripped through the small town of Portland, MI and all survived. It may not have been the strongest storm Michigan has ever seen, but the resolve and will of this small town is greater than what Mother Nature threw at it.

On a return trip from Grand Rapids on Sunday, my girlfriend Sara Marie and I decided to take a look to see for ourselves and maybe get a better perspective of what the news could only describe. What we saw was amazing. The walls and roof of the 150 year old First Baptist Church ripped open for all to see. Trees uprooted and vehicles overturned. Amid the destruction left in the wake of the storm, we heard machines and chainsaws running. Saw groups of people helping each other and standing in front yards, talking among themselves and just being "neighborly." A common pastime that seems to be lost in today's society.

In a later conversation with my good friend Brian Keel, he told me of how his last minute decision to pass on going to the Goodwill store may have saved his life. 20 minutes before, he changed his mind and just after the store was demolished, trapping two people who escaped uninjured. Another miracle in itself.