Had you heard of Joplin before the tornado?

We had! In fact, we stayed their 2 1/2 years ago when Jared was interviewing for a residency program. We stayed with Jared's sister's family. They lived in Joplin, Missouri.

We had so much fun on our trip out there at Halloween time with Steph, Morgan, and Keira.
We even got to watch "The Sword in the Stone" in the clubhouse of their apartment.

*For those who are wondering, Yes!!! I did dress Alexia as a sumo wrestler for Halloween that year. What can I say? I have a slightly warped sense of humor.

Just this past fall, Morgan got a job at a different news station, becoming the head sports news anchor. So, they moved their now family of four (Avery was added to the family) to Washington.

We know that Heavenly Father provided this fabulous opportunity for them at the perfect time, since the following picture shows what their apartment looks like after the tornado struck the city of Joplin:

At the time of the tornado, Morgan would have been at work and Steph would have had to go and seek shelter with her two girls in tote. Where did Steph usually go for shelter? She went to her clubhouse. As seen above, the clubhouse was almost entirely demolished, the heaviest hit building of all the units! There is a high likelihood that she and her two darling girls would not have made it!!! So many have offered up prayers of gratitude in their behalf; we love them so much!

For those interested, THIS LINK is their past apartment's website that displays what it was like "Before" the tornado.

And this OTHER LINK is footage of an interview of their past Stake President (a church leader).

P.S. Jared's sister's family was featured on Morgan's new news station for a special personalized report of the tornado in Joplin, MO. To check it out CLICK HERE!