In 2023, the Williamson family found themselves in a world of chaos and loss after a horrific tornado outbreak in their hometown of Rolling Fork, Mississippi. In 2024, God’s Pit Crew welcomed the family into a new chapter of life by building and furnishing a brand new home for them. Below is a first-hand testimony from Britt Williamson about the process – start to finish.
“There are times in life when you may feel helpless, but with Jesus, you are never hopeless.
There have been many times in my life that I have felt helpless. None more so than March of 2023. On March 17, 2023, my wife Jamie had several blood clots hit the back of her brain. Two of these blood clots caused major strokes. Two Neurologists told me she would never make it out of the hospital alive.
Jamie was in ICU all that week in Jackson, Mississippi, 90 miles from our home in Rolling Fork, where I am the pastor of First Baptist Church. On the afternoon of Friday, March 24, she was moved to a regular room and her prognosis had improved dramatically. I only had a few hours of sleep all week, so once she was settled in her room, I passed out on the couch in the hospital room around 7:00 PM. A little over an hour later, I woke up to her screaming horrendously. I feared the worst. I thought she was having another stroke. I ran to get the nurses, and the room quickly filled with people working on her. Still, she continued to scream. We could not figure out what was happening until Jamie began yelling over and over, “Rolling Fork! Rolling Fork! Rolling Fork!” When I looked at the TV screen, my heart sank.
On the night of Friday, March 24, 2023, a mile wide F4 tornado with winds over 190 MPH went directly through the middle of our 1.4-mile-wide town. In two minutes, 250 of the 495 homes in our city were completely leveled. Another 70 would have to be demolished as they were beyond repair. 13 people lost their lives that night. Another three would succumb to their injuries in the days and weeks ahead. It was only by the grace of God that hundreds of people did not lose their lives that night. There was no warning. There was no time to prepare. The tornado formed eight miles west of town at 8:00 PM. It was moving at 60 MPH. At 8:08 PM, the tornado began to rip through Rolling Fork. At 8:10 PM it was gone, leaving a scene of destruction that looked as if a bomb had hit our town.
18 families in our church lost everything that night. Everything except their HOPE in Jesus. Yes, I felt completely helpless. My wife was in the hospital recovering from two major strokes. My community was torn apart by a deadly tornado. And so many families in our church were now homeless. And there was no way for Jamie to return to Rolling Fork, as we had no water or electricity. Helpless, but not hopeless.
The next few months are a blur. I call it, “tornado brain.” I was working 18 to 20 hours a day trying to minister to the people of our church and community, while at the same time trying to care for my wife. It was during this blur that God introduced me to one of His beacons of hope – God’s Pit Crew.
Immediately after the tornado, God’s Pit Crew brought in Blessing Buckets (my neighbor still has her bucket). Then, God’s Pit Crew decided to build two houses for families in Rolling Fork. One of the families selected was a young couple in my church. What a blessing! Both houses would be built at the same time, and both would be completed in 15 days. Honestly, I had my doubts. It seemed impossible. Yet both were truly completed in 15 days!
In the meantime, our community was hurting. Over 60% of our community lived in rental houses. These families had been displaced to hotels an hour away from Rolling Fork. Due to the economy here, none of the rental houses that were destroyed would be rebuilt. Since there is very little long term recovery help after a disaster for renters, I and a few other community leaders formed a new non-profit to build houses that renter families could purchase at a steep discount to enable them to return to Rolling Fork as homeowners.
We had just begun this new work when disaster struck again. My family would become the 19th family in our church to lose everything. On August 7, 2023, the parsonage we had lived in since moving to Rolling Fork in 2012 was condemned due to extreme toxic mold damage. The toxic mold was so bad, we had to leave almost everything inside and just walk away. I was only able to spare my clothes, my hunting rifles, and a knife my grandfather gave me before he passed. We lived in a camper in our driveway for three days, but the Mississippi heat was too much for the camper’s air conditioner to handle. With no available homes in Rolling Fork to rent, we moved to a two-bedroom, one-bath farmhouse 25 miles outside of town that a farmer in our church owns. Once again helpless, but not hopeless.
We were overwhelmed as a family. As a husband and father, I found myself in a place of darkness that I hope I never experience again. I had no means to provide a place for my family to live. I did not even have the ability to replace our furniture or other personal belongings. I was not even sure if I could continue in the ministry or be able to stay in Rolling Fork. I was looking at an impossible situation that only God could handle. It was too much for me, and it was taking a toll on my family. I knew I could not afford to build a home, and there were no homes left in Rolling Fork to buy. Being the pastor of a Baptist church, I knew there would have to be committees involved to construct a new parsonage. And that would be a lengthy process. I remember telling Jamie one day, “We will be lucky if we get to move back to Rolling Fork before the end of 2025.”
I was extremely helpless, but once again, with Jesus we were never hopeless. And Jesus sent God’s Pit Crew to rescue us, restore us, and bless us. I will never forget the day that Randy and Terri [Johnson] called and told us they were going to build a new home for us. I was in shock! God took our impossible situation and once again showed us that with Him all things are possible.
We moved into our new home April 15, 2024. Words cannot describe how wonderful this home is! It is so beautiful and comfortable. It is filled with incredible furniture and comfortable beds. It is a place of our own that we can call home. We praise God! And we thank God for the faithfulness and ministry of God’s Pit Crew. I am not sure where my family would be without the help of God’s Pit Crew.
Through the help of God’s Pit Crew, we were able to move back to Rolling Fork. I was able to continue to minister to the people of Rolling Fork. I was able to continue to pastor First Baptist Church. And I was able to continue the work of the nonprofit to help other families become homeowners and return to Rolling Fork. God is good. And God is faithful. God’s Pit Crew has been an incredible blessing to the city of Rolling Fork, to my family, and to my church. We are thankful!
On top of all these blessings, we now have a new family – the God’s Pit Crew family. The volunteers for God’s Pit Crew are tremendous. They encouraged in ways words cannot describe. They left their homes and families to come serve us and be a blessing to us. People we had never met who we now consider to be family. We are forever thankful to God’s Pit Crew!
May God continue to bless God’s Pit Crew.
May God continue to bless the God’s Pit Crew Volunteers!
May God continue to bless those who fund the work of God’s Pit Crew!
May God continue to shine His face upon God’s Pit Crew.
May God continue to use God’s Pit Crew to bring HOPE to the helpless.
Yes, we will all face times in life where we feel helpless, but with Jesus, we are never hopeless.”
