'What was normal isn't anymore'

by Sonja J. Keith

Friday, May 2, started out as a typical day for Sancy Faulk. She dropped off her 2-year-old son with her parents at their Damascus home and headed to Conway to her job at Central Baptist College.
But it wasn’t to be an ordinary day.
Sancy had no idea that in a short time after she left home that a tornado would ravage her Black Hill Road neighborhood. “We knew it was supposed to rain but we didn’t know it was so going to be so bad.”
With her husband, Travis, in Texas for his work, Sancy dropped off Layne with her parents, Sam and Kay Hutto. A short while later, when the weather began to look threatening, Sam told his wife to get ready to leave to seek shelter with other relatives. Sancy’s aunt and uncle had already picked up her grandmother and had taken her to their home to wait out the storm in their basement.
“When he went outside he could see the funnel in the sky. He said the clouds and everything were being pulled toward the funnel.”
The Huttos quickly huddled under stairs off their garage and braced for the storm. Kay held Layne and Sam piled clothes over them before laying his body on top of them as protection. As the storm raged, the sound was very loud. “They thought the tornado had gone over them but didn’t do any damage because they didn’t hear anything hit the house,” Sancy said. “But when Dad lifted the garage door, they couldn’t get out.”
Nine trees in the yard were uprooted, with two landing on the house, but there was no interior damage. Miraculously, most of the trees had fallen in a direction as to miss the house.
Sancy received a call at work about 8:45 a.m. from her dad. “He said everybody was OK but a tornado hit the house.”
Leaving immediately to return home, Sancy found that the weather conditions were still bad. “It was so dark you couldn’t see the road. The rain was so hard and blowing sideways, and it was hailing.” Traffic was stopped on Highway 65 which was littered with trees and debris, so Sancy drove on the shoulder to get as close to her road as she could before setting out on foot. “I had to crawl over trees to get to our house.”
The damage was so severe, Sancy explained, that neighbors Jim and Maria Thayer were trapped in their storm cellar when a tree fell across the door. “He called my dad and asked,” ‘Are you OK? Can you get me out?’ They were getting them out when I drove up. They were fine but their house was horrible. It was really, really bad.”
It was nearly 1 o’clock before Sancy finally made it to her parents’ home. “It’s not that far but there were so many trees,” she said. “When I walked in, Layne said, ‘I’m OK Mommy’ and he was playing like normal.”
But the events of the morning had been anything but normal. “Layne would say, ‘Nana cried and Mommy cried.”
What followed seemed like an immediate outpouring of love and concern – as well as chainsaws and supplies – from relatives, friends and co-workers at CBC as the cleanup began. There were many phone calls as well as visits and offers of help, making it difficult at times to work.
First Baptist Church in Damascus was set up as a command center, with meals prepared and served on site and delivered out in the field by volunteers and the American Red Cross. “A hot meal is nice, especially when you’ve had sandwiches for a week and a half,” she said. “There were other churches and banks – a lot of people did meals and took around food. We definitely had lots of help. We were provided for.”
While her parents’ home was not severely damaged, the Faulk’s home shifted during the storm, and the roof apparently was lifted off and set back down. The ceilings, walls and floors will have to be replaced because of trapped water. Damage is estimated to be about $50,000.

Instead of rebuilding (which would take four months before it could start and four to six months to complete), the Faulks have opted instead to build a metal shop with living quarters on land behind her parents’ home. With good weather, it should be completed by late July. Work will also be going on at her parents’ home as well as at Southside Baptist Church, where they attend. “It’s just a lot to think about.”
In the meantime, the Faulks are living in Travis’ parents’ camper at their home, which is powered by a generator. Sancy admits living in an RV can be challenging. “I’ve learned to be content in my current situation and with what I have, and I have learned what is important. You look at things differently.”
Despite the losses and inconveniences, there have been some bright spots as a result of the storm.
The family was “close anyway,” according to Sancy, “but we had to become more dependent because of the circumstances.”
Their faith has also been affected. “I think our faith is stronger because we saw God’s protection in all of this,” she said. For example, a family that normally takes cover in a bathtub during severe weather went instead this time to their storm cellar. “In this storm, a tree went through the bathroom into the bathtub,” she said.
“In story after story, you see God’s protection.”
The experience has also strengthened her support of the United Way. A financial supporter since she went to work at CBC, she now knows personally how important the organization and its member agencies can be to families in need. “I was always thinking I was doing it for somebody else. When I looked at the agencies, I didn’t know how I would use them. Things change in a moment and you need them.”
She also plans to offer greater support to the Red Cross. “I know other people will need them.”
Sancy is grateful for the support and friendship she has among her co-workers at CBC. Admittedly she has difficulty focusing on work when at CBC with thoughts of what still has to be done at home. At home, she thinks about work. “What was normal isn’t anymore.”
“When something like this happens to you it is bad but the whole family rallies around you and you move on. But when it happens to you, your parents, your grandparents, your church, your pastor’s home and every home around you for as far as you can see, it is just so overwhelming. But, through it all, our family is stronger, our church is stronger and our community is stronger. Only God can do that!”