Joplin Chick-fil-A Re-Opens: Awesome

      Well, I can't even believe that it is already September.  Anyways, yesterday, we headed up to Joplin to celebrate the grand re-opening.  It was in the part of town that was destroyed by a tornado in May (I wrote about it here), and it was rebuilt from the ground up in 8 weeks.  Amazing.

It was so wonderful to celebrate with the Starkweathers, who have been through so much in the past months since their home also is being rebuilt.





The reception from the city of Joplin was overwhelming to witness.  People were so thrilled to have their CFA back, and so happy about the restoration that it represented.  As John and I were helping to direct traffic into the restaurant, people kept rolling down their windows and telling us how glad they were that we were back.  I was about it tears half the time - it is always amazing to me to see the way that people form real relationships with our brand and business.  And, it was packed - seriously, everyone in Joplin seemed to be there to welcome CFA back.

I know I say it a lot, but Chick-fil-A truly is the most wonderful company to work with.  It is a family, and I was so happy from the very bottom of my heart to see this part of our family back in action.  And, it was so wonderful to see the way that everyone was working together to make it a great day - especially the city of Joplin by showing up in droves.
      On our way out of town, we drove through the path of the tornado, which was very sobering.  To see the damage that one storm can cause - truly, it was unbelievable.  I snapped just a few pictures, and this is months after it happened, which still blows my mind.







There is clearly still so much work to be done in Joplin.  The pile of toys in the field made me choke up, because I am in the "toy" stage of life, and I can't imagine what it would be like to start all over.  I wondered what happened to the family that lived there.  Did they all make it through the storm?  Where do they live now?  It was an excellent reminder to not put my hope or security in the stuff I have or the house that I live in.  Those things do not matter, all things considered.  That last picture is of the hospital that was devastated - so much damage.  I was glad that we had the opportunity to witness a small bit of restoration through chicken selling - I wish them all the best and hope and pray that God continues His work in Joplin, MO.