#60: Sentry

#60 of my most viewed photos on Flickr. In Muzaffarabad, a Pakistani guard watches over the rubble of the Neelum Hotel, once a 12-story building, reduced to a pile of rubble. Several people lost their lives here. Though all the bodies had been recovered, the stench of rotting flesh lingered, emitting from human limbs left behind in the debris. I will never forget the smell. I shot this during my trip to cover the devastating 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit Pakistan in 2005. Muzaffarabad is in Kashmir state.

#72: Clouds Over Springfield the Day of the Catastrophic EF5 Joplin Tornado

#72 of my most viewed photos on Flickr. This unusual formation appeared shortly after the tornado struck Joplin, Missouri in the late afternoon, Sunday, May 22, 2011. Springfield is about 70 miles from Joplin.

Treasures in Heaven

After yesterday, Matthew 6:19-20 means more to me. It reads: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal" (NKJV).

I ministered in Joplin, MO, yesterday where the huge F5 tornado destroyed a major part of the community a while back. At the close of the first service I prayed with a man with a smile on his face and a testimony of God's goodness on his lips. He told me he had lost both his home and his business. He had nothing left. Then he said, with a glimmer in his eye, "That's why it's so important to 'lay up treasures in heaven.'"

After that, how can I ever complain again?

Joplin Tornado 2011 Part 1

Survey of the destruction left behind by the F5 tornado that leveled a broad swath of Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011. Death toll stood at 151 on June 8.



Photography by Ken Horn

Joplin, MO, Post-Tornado

I traveled to Joplin, Missouri, yesterday with Frank Vice of AGWM. He brought his pick-up and did some work for Convoy of Hope's efforts there.


St. John's Hospital, Joplin, Post-Tornado


This fire broke out among the ruins nearly two weeks after the tornado hit.


Fire engines and other emergency vehicles were quickly on the scene.

Relief Efforts Continue in Joplin

Dr. George O. Wood on Tornado Relief Efforts in Joplin

Pakistan Earthquake 2005

Stills taken of the destruction caused by the massive earthquake in Pakistan in 2005. I took these shortly after the quake.

Pakistan Earthquake 2005 from TPE AG on Vimeo.

Waiting for Hurricane Ike

Peggy and the Convoy Disaster Response team are on their way to Jackson, Mississippi, to decide a course of action.

A couple of her shots of the Houman, LA, site that distributed supplies and aid to thousands.

Peggy's in Her 6th Day of Disaster Response in the Gulf

I'm so proud of her. No one loves people more or works harder than my Peg. She's been in both New Iberia and Houma. They have already served hundreds this morning and they're trying to decide what to do about Ike.



Here's the latest from the Convoy site:

First Gustav Distribution Site Opens to Full Capacity

“We didn’t know what we were going to get into when we volunteered to help, but it’s been extremely rewarding” said Convoy of Hope volunteer Travis Spencer. “Pulling into town with a fleet of Convoy of Hope trucks, the State Police escorted us, putting squad cars at every intersection so that we could sail right through. Sirens were blaring, people looking out of their doors and windows and seeing a caravan of the red, white and blue flagged Convoy of Hope trucks.”

Spencer is part of a five-man team from Mattoon, Illinois, that is volunteering to help Convoy of Hope with its response to Hurricane Gustav. You can help!

Convoy of Hope established a Point of Distribution (POD) to serve victims in New Iberia, La., which has a population of 33,000. The POD has experienced nonstop traffic since it opened at 7 a.m. Wednesday. “It’s been a bumper-to-bumper line of vehicles that has no end – it’s at least a mile long.” Spencer said that the team served more than 2,000 families by mid-afternoon. He’s been told that power and clean running water are not expected to be available for at least another 7 to 14 days.

Additional relief supplies — water, food and ice — are being distributed in Baton Rouge, Donaldsonville, and Houma, Louisiana.

Convoy of Hope continues to monitor the development of potential hurricanes – Hannah, Ike and Josephine — which could increase demands on our fleet of trucks and relief workers.

“When disasters occur, our first impulse is to respond with all the force we can to help as many people as we can,” said Hal Donaldson, President of Convoy of Hope. “We worry about how we’re going to pay for it later, believing that people will give generously if they know that others are getting real help.”

Your online gift will be put to immediate use bringing help and hope to the victims of Gustav and the storms that are following closely.

Spencer said that people in the Gulf are appreciative of the help from Convoy of Hope, “So many people have been expressing gratitude for receiving something as simple as ice. Some are diabetics and need to keep their insulin cool.”

“When victims learn that we came from other states just to help them, they’re amazed and say how much they appreciate us and the people who are making this possible,” he said.

More From Gustav

This is a photo of the truck Peggy drove down, loaded with MREs. See Peggy's blog for her latest update.

Chasing Hurricane Gustav

Peggy is in Jackson, Miss., with the Convoy of Hope Disaster Response Team. She got up this morning and drove a large Convoy pickup loaded with MREs down. They rendezvoused with other CoH personnel part way and now they are splitting up again. Heading toward Baton Rouge and then Hammond, LA. Hopefully the good news continues and the storm is not as bad as expected.

Peggy says FEMA and other response personnel are stacked up in Jackson, waiting to decide where they should go.

Let's keep praying.

Katrina 2-Year Anniversary

It has been 2 years this month since Peggy and I were on the Gulf Coast following the immense Hurricane Katrina. She was there with Convoy of Hope and I was there for TPE, reporting and shooting photos. I made my photos into several slideshows. Here is one that clearly shows the devastation. (My sister, Pat, who lives in Pascagoula, MS, just got out of a FEMA trailer and back into her home.)