To Bishop Sally Dyke,

District Superintendent Alan Bolte,

Rev. Heather Klason, Conference Disaster Coordinator,

and Minnesota United Methodist Churches.

It has been a week and one day since the tornado tore through our city and the surrounding countryside, leaving a path of destruction and devastation.  Our Methodist Church and Parsonage were not hit, except for two trees in the yard of the parsonage.  But many of my members were hit and I have four homeless and others with damage in varying degrees. 
Some stats:
*Five businesses were totaled, leaving 105 people unemployed, some of those in my congregation. 
*232 homes damaged; 28 totally destroyed and 76 majors damage, plus others damaged.
*34 injured in the storm, most minor, no deaths in the Wadena area.
*In one day, the Salvation Army served 1,000 hot dogs, 750 sandwiches, 500 snacks, and 10,000 bottles of water.  Churches rotated days on preparing lunches and suppers. 
*The VFW served breakfast, lunch, and supper – free of charge.
*Lions International donated $10,000 and some of those monies were used right away.
*The High School has major, major damage – parts of the Community Center landed on top of the High School and walls are crumbling.  School will start in the MN State College, which had minimal damage. Cemetery major damage-trees gone-headstones knocked over.
*The tornado was an F4 with winds 179 miles per hour.  It started 3 miles South, Southwest of Wadena, traversed through Wadena and lifted 7 miles Northwest of Wadena.  It lasted from 5:00-5:18pm on Thursday, June 17, 2010.
*40 National Guard troops and 40 different law enforcement agencies came to help keep homes safe.
*Tapley Park hit hard, community swimming pool, fair grounds, community center, hockey rink – all destroyed.
*275 plus fire fighters, from 39 departments, and 7 counties, and 4 full-time fire chiefs.
*10,000 yards of debris so far out to the old airport. * Wal-Mart received spoiled food.
*We have had 2,000 volunteers so far.  1,000 more are coming on Sat. the 26th.
*An Elementary school blue print was found 4 miles north.
*A farm picture was found at Cass Lake, near Bemidji, two hours north of us.
*Our Early Response Disaster Team came and worked all week, staying in the church.
*I am serving on a Long-Term Recovery Task Force to plan for the future of Wadena. 

There has been a tremendous outpouring of help allowing us to clean up more quickly than anticipated.  We still have a ways to go but are doing well. 
I want to extend our heartfelt THANKS for your concern, your prayers, your volunteering in picking up debris, and your donations to the Wadena UMC and to the city and county of Wadena.

Donations accepted:
*On-line at:  www.givemn.org   the Wadena tornado link.  These monies have a $12,500 matching amount attached. 
*Mid-Central Federal Bank at 520 Jefferson St. South, Wadena, MN 56482
*Wadena UMC, 23 Dayton SE, Wadena, MN  56482
If you give on-line or to Mid-Central, it would be nice if you could email the church at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it so the people will be aware how other Methodists are helping. Thanks.

Please keep us and our community in your prayers as we walk the path of recovery and growing the future of Wadena. Thank you so much  
Pastor Shirley Nelson, North Star Dist. Disaster Coordinator 218-631-3412