Another Central Indiana Pastor with Joplin, Missouri ties

 WHITESTOWN - Hoosiers from Traders Point Christian Church have strong ties to Joplin, Missouri. Their relatives were there when the deadly tornado hit Sunday night.

Senior Pastor Aaron Brockett and his wife are both from Joplin, and they have many family members and friends there. They made contact with their relatives and everyone they know is safe. But their thoughts are with those who didn't survive, and also with hundreds of homeless Joplin residents.
"The tornado came through there and ripped through the street, so most of it's gone and I grew up there," Brockett said.
He says his grandfather just barely escaped the tornado's path.
"He pulled the car over and knocked on the door of a stranger and huddled on the floor until the storm passed," Brockett said.
Brockett says despite all the video of the devastation, the enormity of the damage still hasn't sunk in.
"I just was watching some of the aerial footage of the helicopter flying over, and I don't even recognize much of what I see," said Brockett. "I see bits and pieces, but the Sonic restaurant that my wife and I went to on our first date, it's gone. So it's stuff like that that kind of hits you pretty hard when you look at it and realize that's where you grew up, and some of those places were places where you hung out, and some of those people were the people that influenced you. It's pretty devastating."
He calls a picture of a park where he played as a child, now destroyed by the storm, is "haunting."
Brockett went to Ozark Christian College in Joplin, and says some students from central Indiana are attending class there. However, the college was not damaged and is now being used as a shelter.
He has heard from dozens of people via Twitter and Facebook, some offering prayers and others offering or looking for help.
"There are people I grew up with who live in different parts of the country asking if I'd heard from someone we know," Brockett said.
Seeing his hometown destroyed has definitely shaken Brockett, but he says it hasn't tested his faith.
"It's a big mistake to try and offer explanations, instead of coming along and loving those people. This gives us an opportunity. It's amazing to see strangers helping each other and having connections," he said.
Brockett and his wife plan to travel to Joplin this week to bring supplies donated to the church. They are still in the process of organizing that