Forney Church Serves as Lost and Found for Tornado Victims

Old family photos, wedding dress found among the rubble

The Mustang Creek Community Church in Forney has become a lost and found for the tornado victims in the Diamond Creek Estates.

Neighbors in the heavily damaged area have found many personal items and keepsakes that belong to others, and turned them over to the church staff who has spent hours sorting and organizing everything.

"Every time we find something that belongs to somebody else we put it in a different pile so we can take it over there and give it to them," said Billy Howard who is helping his father cleanup.

One wall in the church is covered with old photos from some of life's biggest moments like graduations and wedding days, and some date back to the 1950s. Other keepsakes like children's artwork, a wedding dress and a pair of scrubs with infant footprints have also been turned in.

"We had some volunteers who were out in the field and they just came in with a stack, it just started with three or four pictures and next thing we know in the foyer we have all these people coming in and we just have stacks of stuff everywhere," said  Gena King, pastoral administrative assistant with Mustang Creek Community Church.

As of this writing only a few people have claimed their mementos but the staff says the reaction of those people was rewarding.

"When she saw the card that one of her grandchildren wrote her and on the outside it said 'Mimi' and she just kind of broke and I thought, 'Oh, if that's the only card that gets back to anybody then I know we've done what we were supposed to do,'" said King. "I don't want it to be about what was destroyed I want it to be about what's brought back together."

For more information on the items found call the Mustang Creek Community Church at (972) 564-4250.

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