Editor, Gazette-Journal:

On April 16, 2011, the Gwyn family and friends were celebrating Ezra Allen Gwyn’s 1st birthday. We had gathered in the garage because of damp, wet weather. As Ezra had enjoyed his first birthday cake and was about to open his gifts, the tornado made its uninvited presence known.

We all (15 of us) hit the floor and waited as the howling winds and trees did their damage. As we emerged to see just what has happened, we praised God that we were all safe, without an injury or scratch. Then the miracles began.

I’ll try to remember all the love we felt: All the hugs, words of encouragement, food, clothes, water, power saws busily at work, all through the day Sunday. My children, other family members, friends and others that we didn’t know—those who had hearts as big as an ocean—began to show up. The phone rang and rang … What do you need? What can we do? People came crawling over trees, houses that had been flattened and lo...