Dallas Avenue Baptist Church

Hundreds of Mena residents were displaced by the storm. About 600 homes are reportedly damaged, with many uninhabitable, Polk County Judge Roy Stanley said Friday.

A number found refuge at the Family Life Center of Dallas Avenue Baptist Church.

Pastor Donnie Edwards said he was checking on church property and members in the aftermath of the tornado when he was called to the church in response to reports people were lined up at the doors. He said the church has offered to serve as a temporary shelter in emergencies.

“We’re a mission-minded church,” Edwards said, noting several church members earned experience on a 10-day mission to the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina.

Friday, the church was providing food and shelter to those whose homes are destroyed or too damaged to live in. They also provided temporary space for numerous people who were forced from the central part of town following the storm, or who had left and were unable to return until emergency officials had addressed downed lines, gas leaks and other storm hazards.

Volunteers — many who spent the night responding to calls for help — were also given meals and rest at the church.

Edwards said he has been stunned by the offers of help from numerous sources. Donations of food have come in from both corporations like Tyson Foods and Walmart and from “mom and pop” businesses, individuals and groups.

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SOURCE: http://www.kfsm.com/news/kfsm-news-easter-on-hold-in-mena-090411,0,5323461.story

Easter Sunday on Hold for Many in Mena
Churches say Services Still Scheduled
Russell Jones Reporter
April 11, 2009

MENA, Ark. - After Thursday's tornado, many family's Easter plans are on hold while they sift through their damaged homes.

Wayne and Jennifer Madison said when the tornado sirens went off, they didn't want to risk staying in their apartment near City Hall, so they moved to a place they knew was secure; an old bank vault down the street.

"His dad's studio used to be an old bank and when they tore it down they left the bank vault in there, door and all," said Jennifer on Saturday.

"I was standing right inside the front door when it went by, and it sounded like... two or three trains going by," said Wayne.

The Madisons said they'd been in the apartment, their first, for about four months; now, it's been deemed unlivable after the tornado took off half the building's roof.

"We'd planned on spending our first Easter there, and now… not so much," said Jennifer.

Meanwhile, the city's churches escaped much of the damage that affected the rest of the city, and say they have plenty of room for anyone that needs a place to go on Easter Sunday.

"We usually have an Easter Egg hunt, but we had it last week… There were almost 500 people that came out, so thank God that we did that last week, not this week," said Pastor Donnie Edwards with the Dallas Avenue Baptist Church.

Edward's church has also opened as a shelter for people whose homes have been damaged, or are in the area volunteering to help clean up debris. Tyson Foods Inc. also donated two trucks full of chicken and volunteers to grill it, so the church could hand out meals to people around the area.

"We're feeding tornado victims, we're feeding volunteers, we're feeding officials, just anyone that needs it… and we're not just waiting on them, we're taking it out into the hardest-hit areas," said Edwards.

More than 150 volunteers from out-of-state churches are also expected to stay at Dallas Avenue First Baptist when they arrive Monday to help with the cleanup.