Joplin Missouri Etsy Members

After spending a full day and half the night in front of the tv watching the CNN tornado coverage from Joplin Missouri I felt compelled to contact our Etsy Members located in Joplin Missouri. (hope I didn't break too many Etsy rules in doing so!)
Please keep these shop owners in your thoughts and prayers and consider supporting these shops when they are all back on their feet again.
I will update these shops when I hear from their owners (updates are in purple), feel free to leave comments below, I have sent the link to these shop owners.

Bells and Unicorns
I am fine. Closing shop for awhile.
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AM/FM Art & Oddities
My husband and I live in Joplin with our 3 children. Our house is north, so it is good. The town has no clean water and gas is shut off, but those are mild inconveniences. What we truly need are prayers for our friends and family that have lost everything. Most specifically, pray for Brad and April Ramsey and kids, Laura Betz, Nancy O'Banion, Sam Lewis, the Hatfields, the Sloans, Melissa Reed and family, the Welborns, Brittany Hodson and the loss of her grandfather. We are both teachers, and the students at our schools are very upset (not Joplin). Pray for the kids.

Thank you,
Amber Mintert

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AmberZon
From Jeca Creations...
and...the AmberZon shop owner, Amber, is fine. She is a close friend of mine and probably just hasn't checked her e-mail in several days.

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The Little Garden Shop
Thank you so much for the support. My house was missed by about 10 blocks and my shop is fine. I have been working in the devistation with my family and friends and honestly the only reason that so many people made it through is by the grace of God. Please continue to pray for the families who lost loved ones and houses, it will be a long road to recovery. God Bless!
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Walleringbear Studio
We had some damage but we are up and running again! Thanks for caring!

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Klipsnscraps
Hi, thanks so much for contacting me! Me and my husband were spared by the tornado, amazingly. All the surrounding apartments were damaged/destroyed, except our row of 4 townhouses. We just have some roof damage, and one of our cars is destroyed. We cannot believe that our car was destroyed, and our place is still standing. Some good friends have lost everything, and many people are still missing. We were driving in town when the tornado hit, and ended up right behind it! When the tornado was gone, we were just minutes behind its path. The high school I went to is gone, churches we went to are gone, whole neighborhoods. My husband was pulling people out of debris in the middle of the road. There were abandoned cars everywhere, and every single car window blown out. Some cars were still running and the lights on, but no one to be found. It's so terrible and has been hard to deal with. Fortunately, there are many people, local and non-local that are helping however they can. And the businesses that are left are giving their time and services to victims and workers for free. Joplin has always had a high risk for tornados, but they usually miss us. And there are so many other things in the world going on, with Japan, Alabama, the flooding...it's overwhelming. Again, thanks so much for reaching out and thank you for your prayers!
♥ Jessica
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Presenceremembered

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Janes Glass Art
Hi I'm located in Carl Junction which is a small town about 6 miles south of the disaster area. My family and our home and my studio are fine. We have many friends, however who have lost everything. It will take a long time for the Joplin community to get back on their feet.
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NostalgiaRus

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J Designs Mom of Four
Thank you so much for sending the sweet email. The devastation here is unreal. My family and house is fine. So many friends lost everything.
I love this Etsy community!
Jennifer
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Touch Of Pink
Thank you for checking in on me! My family and I were all out of town when the tornado hit so we are all safe. Our house made it through without damage unlike so many of our friends. Please continue to pray for our community and those who have lost so much.
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Five Peas From A Pod

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Kristin's Laboratory
My family and home are safe. We were just a few blocks from the worst of the damage, and were without utilities of any kind for about a day. Most utilities are back on.

As I try to think of words to describe how this disaster will effect my city I am overwhelmed. Our major medical center is unusable; our high school, one middle school and three grade schools are unusable; the two large home center stores are gone; two grocery stores are gone; and many businesses and homes were leveled. I also realize we are blessed to have a lot of good people and churches here and in surrounding communities that will help care for us.

I don't think I will be making much jewelry in the next week. As school has now been dismissed for the rest of the school year I think my kids and I will volunteer to help at our church.

Thank you so much for your concern. We would appreciate your prayers for Joplin.

Kristin Girard
Kristin's Laboratory
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Itsy Bitsy Bowtique
Yes I am an Etsy shop owner from Joplin. My house and SUV did sustain some damage but we are still able to live in our home and drive my car (minus windows). We are so very lucky. My husband, 3 yr old daughter and I huddled in her closet and prayed. I prayed the hardest and loudest I think I have ever prayed! God was looking out for us because the most damaging "eye" of the storm was just 2-3 blocks from our house. My mother's church and our best friends live on the block that had complete destruction. My mom and step dad were in their church when the monster ripped through our city. As soon as it was over I called my mom and she said "it's all gone! The church, houses across the street...they are all gone!" Our friends just down the block from her church so we knew we had to get to them. We couldn't get through on phone lines to see if all were okay so we walked. It's only about 4-5 blocks from our house but it took about an hour to get there because of all the debris in the road, sidewalks, yards, etc. We are the lucky ones who have no direct losses from this storm. All of our family and friends are alive! A few a little banged up but praise the Lord they are all alive!! It's is absolutely heart breaking to drive around. This is my hometown, my family, my stores, my friends, my roads.....it's all different now. Houses or stores I remember driving by just aren't there anymore. The day before the tornado I just drove through the part of town that was hit and was in some of the stores that are now gone. It's just unbelievable. Photos online just don't do it justice. Not sure where you are from or if you live close but if you ever get a chance, come to Joplin and see how this has affected our community. We have grown closer, helped out people we don't know and just celebrated life! Joplin will rebuild and we will be a closer community. We will talk about this for years to come!
Thanks for thanking of us Joplin folk!!
Adrienne
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IttyBittyLiddy
When the terrifying tornado hit my little town I was with some of my family, at our cousins. We were going to celebrate a graduation. But all to soon we rushed 11 people all into the bathroom and prayed that Jesus Christ would save us all. He did save us, none of us in the house were hurt. but houses just down the street were rubble. I never in my whole life thought I would live to see something so tragic happen in my town. All of my family and church are okay, though many lost there houses. Pray for us, Because we do not know who has been lost.
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Indaway Designs
Sorry it has taken so long for me to respond.
I am fine, fortunately I was 20 miles from where it actually hit.
Trying to volunteer in any way possible.
Thank You for your concern!

Linda
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Carvers Candles
Thanks so much. I hadn't logged into Etsy since the tornado. I was very fortunate. Thank you so much for your concern, and I'd be interested in getting to know more Joplin Etsy folks.
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Made Of Clay
I am fine, my pottery is fine we had really minor stuff happen from the storm. However the community I live in is devastated. The photos on the news do not tell the story at all of how bad it really is. There are over seven thousand household either destroyed, severly damaged, or altered. Mostly destroyed, so our community is forever changed whether the storm left you homeless or not. Everything is changed--everything. Prayers are much needed and appreciated for the people of Joplin. Thank you for your inquiry.
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Neva Plume
Thank you so much for the support. It has been a nightmare. 1/3 of our city has been wiped away. We were very fortunate- 2 blocks from where it hit. Please keep praying- 1500 people are still unaccounted for. The scary thing is we are expected to get hit again in the next hour or two. Thank you again for checking on us. Our community has been very blessed by the country already. You can check my FB page for updates, however Internet has been on & off.
Abby
Nevaplume on Facebook
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Khecht Gallery
Thanks so much for doing this, my husband and I lost our apartment and so all the stuff that I had on my site unfortunately. He was at the south YMCA and is fine, I was in the 15th street walmart and have a broken leg and some cuts in my head. All in all, I was very lucky. We are starting to figure out how to get back on our feet. Thank you for the prayers and support and if there is anything/anyone specifically we can pray for please let us know as we are praying for our city. Thanks again!
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Jeca Vintage
Reading this made me cry. Thank you so much!
I was not effected personally by the tornado. It hit around 10 miles away from my house. It did take several of my friends houses but by the grace of God no one that I know was killed or injured severely.
So far, I do not think any of our etsy team members have been effected terribly
I am very thankful to our governor, Jay Nixon, and declaring Joplin a disaster area within 24 hours of the disaster. Because of this it allowed the National Guard to come in and help out immediately. Fema came yesterday and has been amazing. We have police and fireman here from all over the country. Because of this, everything is running very smoothly.
It is going to take years to rebuild. The one thing we would like everyone to remember is to not forget us. When the press leaves and the president leaves (who will be here Sunday) it is our habit to forget about the tragedy. We are going to need help by money, volunteering and prayers for several months.
We are a city who will rebuild!!!
I have been adding updates to my personal facebook page but I will now be adding them to my etsy facebook fan page under the name Jeca Creations. Joplin has several facebook pages that give detalied information and updates. The one I have added to my page is www.facebook.com/joplinmo

Again, thank you for your concern. If you are needing any other kind of information please feel free to ask.
I am only around my computer in the evening since I have been volunteering in the clean up but I will check my e-mail when I can.
Jessica
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Life Weaver

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Scrapbookpagedesigns
Thanks for your concern and prayers. We were two miles away from the devestation and had no damage, but just a power outage. No problems. A member of our family lost their home(a fellow scrapbooker) I spent the last three days drying out albums, pics, etc. That is the only way I knew to help. The pictures don't tell the true story...it is so much worse. Our town is mostly gone: our high school, three elementary schools, 8,000 businesses and homes.
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Element of Spirit

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Weddlemeyer

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Hollingshead

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Creative Exploitations
Your message is a breath of fresh air in this hard time. By the grace of God our home wasn't hit and my family was in kansas city for a graduation.. I have many many friends that have lost homes and vehicles. it's ten times worse than the pictures you see.. it feels like a bomb hit our home town. We need prayers and donations..

www.redcross-ozarks.org/donate/

thank you so much for care about complete strangers. It means more to me than you will ever know.
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CountryCuddles

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GotTeamSpirit

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SpicyJoMo
My husband and I arrived at the scene about 20 minutes after the tornado hit. We live just ten blocks away from houses that were completely flattened. We could not believe our eyes. We immediately got out of the car and started looking for people amid the constant hiss and smell of gas leaks. Several people stopped me and asked where they were and, for a while, we weren't sure, as there were no landmarks or road signs. We finally came upon my father-in-law's office building which we only knew because of the crumbled sign sticking out of the debris. It is completely surreal. Our friend lost her house and was trapped until a neighbor came and dug her out. She broke her arm in two places and several ribs, but is alive and praising God for her protection. A friend who worked at Academy Sporting Goods decided he would go home on his break to have dinner with his wife; the tornado destroyed Academy but they are fine as is their apartment.
I have heard at least 30 first hand accounts and close calls. I work at Freeman Hospital East and have seen several brought in on stretchers looking absolutely in shock. My drive to work everyday is unrecognizable and my only landmark it the outline of a Taco Bell sign that I pass on the way. It's amazing driving to different shelters and seeing yet another area that has been, not just touched by the tornado, but completely leveled. This is all so unreal. I am SO completely touched by the spirit of our city and the heartfelt sentiment from all across our great country. Joplin has shown me that there is still love in this world of locked doors, climbing crime rates, and shootings. I could not be more grateful and proud of the heart of our nation being SO eager to help and seeing the truckloads of supplies and the groups of people that are coming down to help people dig to find anything salvageable. Thank you thank you thank you for your concern and your support.