On Sunday afternoon, May 22nd, around 4:00pm, my wife and I were taking a nap when Paige’s mom, Lisa Satterfield, called Paige’s cell phone from Baxter Springs, Kansas. Lisa casually told Paige that a tornado hit Joplin; then she had to take another call and said goodbye.

Paige woke me up, told me what her mom said, and I quickly jumped online to check out any tweets from Joplin. Sure enough, I immediately began reading things like, “Total devastation;” “Hospital hit hard;” “Massive tornado.” We turned on the Weather Channel to see footage of reporter Mike Bettes in front of St. John’s Medical Center. It looked terrible. I got back online and mapped St. Johns in comparison to Paige’s grandparents home. According to Google Maps, their home was approximately 1.6 miles from St. John’s. By this time, we started to worry, though we were only beginning to understand the sad enormity of the disaster and the personal effect it had on our family.

We were pulling into our church parking lot at 6:00pm (Arizona time) when Paige’s brother, Drew, called from Baxter Springs to share the much-anticipated news: “Grandma and Cathy are okay,” he said, “but Grandpa…”. Paige interrupted him with her voice shaking, “But what about Grandpa?!”

Grandpa didn’t make it.

Paige and I decided at that moment that we would turn around, go home, and book the next flights out of town to be with the family. After a brief time of prayer in the parking lot with some dear family and friends, we headed home, bought two one-way tickets, reserved a rental car, packed, and caught a few hours of sleep. We were on a plane headed for Tulsa at 6:30 Monday morning, May 23rd.

After a long day of traveling, Paige and I arrived in Baxter Springs, Kansas, just 16 miles from Joplin, late Monday afternoon. For the next 72 hours we spent our days searching for valuables and keepsakes at the site of where the Buttram’s home once stood and our evenings sharing smiles and tears with family.

Below is the video recounting some of our time in Joplin. Even in the midst of sadness, God brought comfort and relief.



Also, here is a link to view some of the pictures I took while there.

I want to thank all of those who knew of this event and offered prayers of behalf of me and Paige and the Satterfield/Buttram family. We have much to thank God for. Clearly, it was nothing short of a miracle that anyone survived in that home. God was merciful.

God continues to teach us many things through this providence. We are learning to better trust in Him through all of life’s tragedies; to be mindful of the brevity of life; to rely solely on Christ for our every need; to know the comforting power of the Holy Spirit; to grow in love for one another; and to be grateful and content with all that God has given us.

Our faith is strengthened knowing that God is sovereign over the winds and rain. Grandpa Odell didn’t die a minute sooner or a minute later than God planned it. And as my sister-in-law Morgan said, “It’s kind of comforting knowing that Grandpa died in a tornado.” Thinking that an odd statement, Paige probed for some clarification. What Morgan meant was that it’s comforting because we know that tornadoes are acts of God, not acts of men. He wasn’t killed in a car accident or by a gunshot, but in a tornado. Therefore, we rest fully in God’s providence knowing that Grandpa was taken by God from this sin-cursed earth to heaven where he now sits at the feet of His beloved Jesus. (But knowing how much of a collector of precious metals Grandpa Odell was, we’re just hoping he’s not chipping away at the gold pavement!)

Paige and I love these words from Psalm 91, and they seem especially relevant in light of what has occurred:

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” …If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.” Psalm 91:1, 2, 9, 10

Thank you again for continued prayer on behalf of this family and all of the families affected by the Joplin tornado. We know that the faithful prayers of God’s people are effective as we see God’s strength and comfort touching Grandma Evelyn, Cathy, and the rest of our family.

David Giarrizzo

By David Giarrizzo

This past weekend our church family spent three days and two nights up near scenic Sedona, Arizona, for our annual family camp. The event provided an opportunity for many to escape the 116 degree heat of Phoenix and trade it for the more tolerable 101 degrees of Oak Creek Canyon. As nice as it always is to leave the fast-paced, big-city atmosphere for a few days and to relax and fellowship with God’s people surrounded by the beautiful mountains, trees, and streams of His creation, at this year’s conference we were especially blessed by the sound, biblical preaching of Pastor David Dykstra.

In four valuable messages Pastor Dykstra covered the four chapters of Ruth through clear, exegetical observations and practical, encouraging applications. The central theme of Ruth focuses on God’s providence and provision in a family’s life. Of course, though, while God is the central theme, there are many other thoughts and lessons that stem from the story like spokes on a wheel: wise and unwise decision making (Ruth 1); providing for God’s people (Ruth 2); the kinsman redeemer as a type of Christ (Ruth 3); and redemption from sin, adoption by grace (Ruth 4). Ultimately, as Pastor Dykstra pointed out for us, this story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz is but one historical snapshot that is a part of the metanarrative of scripture as we see later through the life of David and the birth of Jesus in the opening pages of Matthew’s gospel.

But it was the focus on God’s providence in the story of Ruth that refreshed me most this weekend. To define God’s providence, Dykstra quoted from the Heidelberg Catechism which states,

27. Q. What do you understand by the providence of God?
A. God’s providence is His almighty and ever present power, whereby, as with His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth and all creatures, and so governs them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things, come not by chance but by His fatherly hand.

In reformed circles, God’s providence, his sovereignty, his divine authority are spoken of often, especially as these attributes relate to election and salvation (and rightly so!). But as a Reformed Baptist, what I find most refreshing in this study is considering this doctrine while looking at a biblical example of God’s providence being acted out through the characters Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. It was God in his providence who guided Naomi and her Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth, to Bethlehem where Ruth would meet Boaz. And it was God who provided them food and safety and a kinsman redeemer. From the smallest details of this story to the most prevalent, we are assured from scripture that all things are under the authority and will of God (Job 42:2; Proverbs 16:33; Isaiah 46:9-10; Daniel 4:17; Matthew 10:29; Romans 9:14-21).

As I listened to these lessons from Ruth about the providence of God in all things—“fruitful and barren years…health and sickness, riches and poverty”—I was struck by the very little, seemingly insignificant things in life that I let come and go without even taking much notice of how God’s fatherly hand is involved. Last week, for example, my wife Paige and I celebrated four years of marriage. As I think back to the days before I knew my wife, and then the months and years we spent getting to know one another, and then the last four years that we spent getting to know each other even more, that 20/20-hindsight kicks in, and I am able to recognize the providence of God in initially turning my affections towards Paige and in the conversations and quiet moments we shared and through our friends and family and in other countless events that, put together, have led us to where we are today. And none of this by chance, but by God’s loving guidance every step of the way (Proverbs 16:9). As encouraging as this thought is, I am likewise reminded that I need to continually be transformed by the renewing of my mind that I may be able to “discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

I give glory to God for granting me with a wife who He knew would be a godly, faithful, perfectly suited helper and life-long companion to me. It was God’s providential hand that provided me with a wife. And whether it is the ancient relationship of Boaz and Ruth or the modern marriage of David and Paige Giarrizzo, the same God is the sovereign orchestrator of our lives and love. Praise God for His providence and provision!