"I'll be surprised if we don't wind up by this weekend," said Crane, who -- along with North American Mission Board DR coordinator Bruce Poss -- is staffing the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief incident command center stationed at Bethel Baptist Church in Memphis, about four miles south of Henryville.

"I really appreciate the support of NAMB Disaster Relief," Crane said. "They've really come alongside of us with full support in Indiana."

Crane also praised the leadership role of First Baptist Church in Henryville and their young pastor, Toby Jenkins. The church survived the tornado as it barreled down Henryville's Main Street, although most of the windows were blown out by 175 mph winds. Jenkins and 200 others took shelter in the church's basement.

"A real ministry has been taking place in Henryville," Crane said. Right after the tornado, more than a half-dozen Baptist chaplains came to the town, making 165 ministry contacts and seeing three salvation decisions. Although half of Henryville was destroyed, Crane said the townspeople are closeknit and busy helping each other move on with their lives.

In Kentucky, some 100 SBDR volunteers from three states continue to respond in five towns following the devastating tornadoes that rolled through the state March 2, killing 21 people.

In all, last Friday's tornadoes killed at least 39 people across five Midwest and Southern states. In addition to the 21 victims in Kentucky, 13 perished in Indiana, three in Ohio and one each in Alabama and Georgia.

Six of Kentucky's 21 victims were killed in hard-hit West Liberty, a town of 3,500 about two and a half hours southeast of Louisville. First Baptist Church in West Liberty was practically destroyed, as was the home of pastor David Cook. However, Cook and his family survived and with the help of SBDR volunteers moved into the parsonage at nearby New Hope Baptist Church. Continued...