Kansas Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists (KNCSB)

Canadians help rebuild in Greensburg

Groups from Canada, Louisiana and Tennessee joined KNCSB volunteers for a mid-February rebuilding project in Greensburg, Kan. An EF-5 tornado destroyed most of the small southwest Kansas town on Friday night, May 4, 2007. Here, the volunteers pour footings for a new home for a couple whose mobile home was destroyed by the tornado. (Photo by Eva Wilson)

Fighting a bitter wind chill on a mid-February morning, a group of men from Canada and Kansas labored to finish preparations to pour footings for a new home in Greensburg, Kan.

An EF-5 tornado destroyed most of the small southwest Kansas town on Friday night, May 4, 2007. Now Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptists and other faith-based groups are working to rebuild homes there.

The first KNCSB rebuilding team worked in Greensburg right after Thanksgiving in 2007. Then a group from Canada joined the effort in mid-February 2008. Groups that partner with the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists also participated. They included groups from the Louisiana Baptist Builders and from Faith Baptist Church, Bartlett, Tenn., in the Memphis area.

A year earlier, the four groups had worked together in New Orleans rebuilding homes flooded by Hurricane Katrina.

By afternoon on that chilly February day, the bright sun had caused the temperature to warm up enough to pour concrete. The homeowners’ brilliant smiles warmed the hearts of both the Southern Baptist volunteers and the men who delivered the concrete.

On that fateful night, the couple left their mobile home, heading for a motel. However, the tornado struck when they reached U.S. Highway 54 that runs through the center of Greensburg. So they took shelter under a convenience store canopy. A rental truck on the other side of the highway slammed into their classic pickup truck. Their pickup’s windows imploded. But miraculously, they suffered only minor injuries.

Now they are anticipating a new home, built by volunteers. This couple’s home will be part of a March spring-break building blitz in Greensburg. KNCSB volunteers will be serving there March 16-28.

If you would like to participate, please contact Elijah “Touch” Touchton at 620.230.9962. Or send e-mail to

More information will posted here as it becomes available.