Compassion in the midst of Smithville catastrophe

The small town of Smithville, Miss. can be best described as an area of vast destruction.

On April 27, a deadly storm barreled through much of North Mississippi and Alabama, producing tornadoes and leaving virtually nothing in its path.

Although that tornado devastated the town over two weeks ago, there is a silver lining in the wake of the disaster. This massive destruction has brought together volunteers from all over the nation donating supplies and helping those in need who lost everything.

The United Way has set up a distribution center in Smithville, located in a 600,000-square-foot facility that was previously a furniture store. Once the tornado took away the town, leaving this building damaged yet still standing, the remaining furniture was replaced by wall-to-wall supplies including: food, water, clothing, toys, medicines, toiletries, baby supplies and much more.

Each day at the distribution center there are numerous volunteers that assist those who seek help, including Michael Webb of Wisconsin and Karen Stevenson of Texas, who both feel that something greater told them to come to this small town of Smithville.