I'm not much of a morning person but this morning was different. On this morning, June 1st, we were heading to Moore, Oklahoma as part of a tornado relief team; we were going to help people.
On 20 May 2013 in the afternoon we stood around the dining room table and watched (live via the weather channel) as an EF5 tornado swept through the city of Moore, Oklahoma, leaving nothing but a brown coloured strip of destruction in its wake. Even though with my mind I understood that people's lives were changing before my very eyes, it felt a lot like watching a movie.
For someone who is originally from South Africa the closest I've ever come to the aftermath of a natural disaster is the photo's and footage of television and newspapers, but this day I was going to experience it up close and personal for the first time. And not just experience it, but I had the wonderful opportunity to be part of the solution. I would realize that the reality is a far cry from the movies.
With a roughly two and a half hour drive ahead of us, we hit the road bright and early. This was going to be a busy day.