After deadly tornado, Tennessee communities worship, rebuild in the rubble: 'Our faith is very, very strong'
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After a deadly tornado swept through the heart of Tennessee last week, killing dozens and injuring many, the Nashville area and surrounding communities are pulling together with faith and resilience.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and his wife joined Mount Bethel Missionary Baptist Church's Sunday service under a tent in the parking lot after the roof was ripped off the building on March 3. Construction workers paused to pray and worship before getting back to the rebuilding efforts.
TENNESSEE ‘HERO’ DOG DIES AFTER SAVING FAMILY FROM DEADLY TORNADO
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"Through it all, God is good," Bobbie Harris, 79, told the Associated Press after she lost her rental home, job and part of her church. "He saved me."
Pastor Jacques Boyd speaks to worshippers during a service in a tent at Mount Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, Sunday, March 8, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. The congregation held their Sunday service in a tent in the parking lot near the church facilities, which were heavily damaged by a tornado March 3. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Pastor Jacques Boyd urged his congregation, "We must trust in the savior who does not deliver us from storms but through storms."
Cookeville Mayor Ricky Shelton shared images of 18 wooden crosses with initials of the loved ones who died lining the highway. Shawn Moser, a resident in the area, made the crosses and hopes to give them to the families, WKRN reports.
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"Please continue to pray for the families, emergency responders, volunteers and our community," Shelton wrote. "God bless!"
The spirt of the Volunteer State was on full display in the days following the tornado as President Trump surveyed the damaged and offered his condolences to the grieving community Friday.
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Dax Kelly, a 3-year-old boy, was seen riding his tricycle around his neighborhood, offering to help rebuild with the tools he had in the back.
Becky Kelly and her 3-year-old son, Dax, talk to "Fox & Friends" about the volunteer work following a deadly tornado that swept through their city of Cookeville, Tenn. (Fox & Friends)
"He loves to have his tools and he likes to help the workers," Becky Kelly, Dax's mom, told "Fox & Friends." "Faith is everything ...God has always had his hand on us and our faith is very, very strong."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.