In Wynne, Arkansas, “where there was once despair, there is now the beauty of grace”

Leann Lovell still remembers the weather forecaster urgently calling out street names and county road numbers in Wynne, Arkansas. A tornado was bearing down on March 31, 2023. The twister would kill four people, injure 26 others, and destroy or damage dozens of homes in Wynne, home to 8,300.

Lovell, who founded Wynne Relief and Recovery after the tornado struck, mobilized volunteers, and established a 21,000-square-foot warehouse to coordinate donations and recovery efforts.

“Our community would quickly see love on display as everyone helped each other,” she recalled, speaking at the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) Annual Celebration, held in New Holland on February 27-28 under the theme “Working Together.”

She also remembers National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster including MDS, arriving in Wynne. “The case management was up and running and MDS was contacted,” she said. “The work ethic seemed to be ingrained n everyone, regardless of the part they played.”

MDS volunteers built four homes in three months.

“MDS isn’t just building and repairing homes. It’s about what is within—and that’s love,” said Lovell. “Where there was once despair, there is now the beauty of grace.”

The tornado, she added, was where people found their true selves—and found grace within the grit.

“MDS, you will forever be special to me,” she said. “You came as strangers, but you left as family.”