It is hard to believe a year has passed since the tornadoes that swept through Illinois on a November Sunday morning. Devastation was everywhere. It was hard to comprehend exactly what had happened.
Much progress has been made though, and cities like Washington, Illinois are rebuilding and coming back stronger than ever. People have been helping people ever since that day and God is doing some great things in this community.
This short video is from this morning’s prayer service in Washington.
I spent part of the morning here Saturday. It was great.
Nice place to relax and unwind, and take in some of God’s beauty on what was a perfect day to be outdoors.
Today’s Positive Press is that The TODAY Show did a segment this morning about Robbie Gould and the Chicago Bears’ visit to Washington, IL earlier this month…and part of the story included interviews with my sons! I still can’t believe it.
I’d absolutely love to share the story but NFL restrictions are keeping that from happening right now. Will work on it and see what I can do 🙂
In the meantime if you missed it, here is the original blog I wrote the evening it happened:Â https://positivelysecond.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/a-goulden-opportunity/
I just want to give a shout-out to NBC for coming back to Washington and covering the story and keeping the community and its needs following last month’s tornado in the headlines. I’d also like to once again thank Robbie Gould and the Chicago Bears for putting smiles on people’s faces. They really made a positive impact on my sons and everyone they met while they were here!
Yes, I did a spellcheck 🙂
Goulden…as in Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould who, along with a bunch of his teammates, paid a visit to Washington, IL today.
It wasn’t just a photo-op and leave visit, either. Gould and the guys spent the entire day here, first talking with Washington High School football players, then eating lunch with students there, and then walking through the tornado impacted neighborhoods.
I knew where they were going to be this afternoon so I arranged to pick up my sons from school, but I didn’t tell them why. After turning onto the street where they were and seeing Robbie, I let the cat out of the bag. The boys went crazy. They are huge Bears fans!
We stopped to talk with Erica who works with Robbie’s charity, The Goulden Touch. She gave me a sharpie, then pointed us in the direction of the players and we were off.
http://www.centralillinoisproud.com/story/stories-of-survival-90-year-old-washington-man-sav/d/story/Fk5rDO-3qkaex1PxaioP7Q
Stories of Survival: 90-year-old Washington Man Saved By Two Familiar Faces
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/27/jeff-ansorge-kitchen-star-salvation-army-chef_n_4349868.html?utm_hp_ref=good-news
Jeff Ansorge Goes From Posh Restaurant Chef To Salvation Army Cook
http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-11-28/war-story-has-happy-ending-afghan-and-american-brothers-sharing-thanksgiving
This war story has a happy ending, with Afghan and American ‘brothers’ sharing Thanksgiving
positively second 