Two missionaries serving in the Kentucky Louisville Mission narrowly escaped injury Nov. 6 when a tornado destroyed the top level of their apartment building in Newburgh, Ind.
"At first we didn't know exactly how much damage had been done," said Elder Tyler Moss of Rexburg, Idaho. "But we went outside and realized that our neighbors' apartment upstairs had been torn off. We walked around the neighborhood. It was completely leveled. We were really lucky that we didn't get hurt. It was a really powerful tornado."
The missionaries were sleeping when the tornado struck at 2 a.m. They awoke to breaking glass. Elder Paul Adams of Ogden, Utah, covered his head with a pillow.
"It was a scary thing," he said. "I knew it was something powerful when it was happening. ... I knew people would be hurt out there."
The twister, which struck parts of Indiana and Kentucky, killed 22 people and destroyed hundreds of homes, businesses and churches along a 20-mile path. However, all missionaries and members are safe following the storm.
In addition to the missionaries' destroyed apartment, one Latter-day Saint home sustained minor damage, according to a Church welfare report. The missionaries' car was also damaged in the storm.
The tornado was the deadliest to hit the area since 1974. At least 17 people died at the Eastbrook Mobile Home park east of Evansville, Ind.
"I feel really grateful," said Elder Adams in speaking of having been spared from the storm's deadly force.
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