Paula Merritt / The Meridian StarFelicia Clayton, left, and her sister Shunda Brown stand with their mother, Flora Clayton, as they thank the Mennonite Disaster Service and Partners in Recovery Long term Disaster Recovery team during a house dedication Friday. Flora Clayton's home on Grandview Avenue was one of the homes damaged by a EF2 tornado in April 2018.

On April 14, 2018, when an EF-2 tornado tore through Meridian and Marion, Flora Clayton hid in her bathroom, the only safe space in her home.

That was last year.

Friday, with tears of joy in her eyes, Clayton celebrated after a nearly year-long wait.

“It’s a miracle that I am alive and that I got my home back as it was,” Clayton said.

Clayton’s house on Grandview Avenue was one of two homes dedicated Friday morning in Meridian. For the last 10 weeks, volunteers with the Mennonite Disaster Service and Partners in Recovery Long Term Disaster team have worked to repair homes damaged by the tornado. The group with the Mennonite Disaster Service are from Pennsylvania and have been working on 11 homes since February.

Kim Waters, a member of the Partners in Recovery team, said the dedication was held for the two homes because they were the ones most damaged, and the homeowners had not been able to return since last year. The other nine homes needed minor repairs, such as having a roof replaced, so those residents were able to return home, Waters said.  

‘God is going to fix it’

Clayton said that about 20 minutes after the storm hit, her home was full of flood water;  once the storm passed, she noticed that the home’s roof had caved in.

Being located in an old and historic community in Meridian, her home was one of the worst hit by the storm.

Distraught, Clayton called one of her daughters, Shunda Brown, who drove to the house, finding her mother crying outside. Brown told her mother to trust in God, pray, and not to cry. 

“God is going to fix it for you to have your home back,” said Brown, who opened her own home to her mother. 

Brown was right: workers gave the home a new roof and floors, rewired it, and painted its interior. The bathroom was the only room that didn’t need work.

The only thing Clayton could do when she saw her remodeled home was cry.

“I just had that cry of joy –  tears of joy,” she said. 

Brown, too, was pleased during Friday’s dedication, especially because it was also her birthday.  

“Just to see my mom happy on my day is just a joy,” Brown said.

‘I’m blessed’

A few blocks down, Monica O’Neal was speechless when she saw her 100-year-old home looking like a brand-new masterpiece.

“I’m blessed, I’m very thankful and appreciative,” said O’Neal, who also had to find somewhere else to live after the tornado hit.

Moving back home, she’s looking forward to hosting a big family dinner there. Returning to home also means she’ll be reunited with her sons, Malik and Alfred, who said they were excited to have their own space again. 

‘I love my Bible’

For Clayton, with a tough year finally behind her, she’s looking forward to taking it easy. She wants to sit back, relax and enjoy the company of her family.

The one item Clayton prized the most was her Bible, which was destroyed during the storm. During the dedication, she received a new one to put by her bed.  

“I’m going to read my Bible at night,” she said, smiling. “I love my Bible.”