London residents turn to music, faith adjusting to new normal after tornado
LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56) — Songs of salvation rang through what is left of the Finley Trailer Park in London on Wednesday evening.
John Ward is the creator of 'The Appalachian Channel' on YouTube and Facebook. He has been in London several times since an EF-4 tornado came through on May 16.
He met with survivors and documented their stories.
Wanting to help, he gathered up some people he knew to provide food and music for this healing community.
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The evening included free hot dogs from 'Happy Dogs' and gospel music from Gary Dugger and the Cupps, a family and faith-based southern gospel group from Williamsburg.
'Just getting together and having a little bit of church service, just to praise God for the people that did make it. You know, there's quite a few losses, but there's a lot of miracles that happened,' said Ward.
Bare ground marks where homes once stood, and piles of debris are reminiscent of demolished memories. The people in this community do not have much left.
But what many of them do have is something that can't necessarily be seen; it's a feeling. It's their faith. And it's what's kept them going these past few weeks. Especially those who narrowly escaped, like Monroe Murphy.
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'I laid down on the floor. Next thing I know, my trailer just upside down explodes. I end up way over there by that deck, just hanging on for dear life. It was awful,' Murphy told FOX 56. 'God had his hand on me. Saved me from all that.'
He said the sheer fact that he's still alive is a sign from God in itself, but said finding a Bible lying next to him after getting picked up and thrown by the tornado is just another reminder that there was someone, or something, watching over him.
'I don't know where the Bible came from, and it had a cover on it. It was Psalms 91:11. It said, 'The Lord will give the charge over his angels to protect you all your ways.',' Murphy told FOX 56.
Now, he is trying to find the owner.
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The Bible is blue with 'Wendall Hammond, Love, Nancy' inscribed on the front.
'That was truly just God letting me know that he was there with me and that he protected me. So, He's got some type of purpose for me. I'm not sure what it is yet, but hopefully I'll live up to His expectations,' Murphy added.
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