The Cripps Family

Photography by Fotocrew Member, Natalie Pitts“For my first fotolanthropy story, I was very excited to shoot some friends of mine; the Cripps family! There are certain people in life that inspire you to change the way you think when you’re faced with trials, and Kallyn is one of them! After everything her and her family had been through, she remained so incredibly positive. Every time I would talk to her and ask how she was doing, she just had the best attitude! She would tell me that it was God’s plan for this to happen and that He will provide what they needed to start over. It was so awesome to see The Cripps family put so much trust in the Lord during a difficult time. I feel so blessed to have shot this sweet family and to get a tour of their new, beautiful home! Check out their story below!

“You never expect something so extreme to happen to you, but when it does, it changes your life forever. On April 3, 2012 our house was destroyed by a tornado that came through Royse City. My husband, my 18-month-old son and myself were all huddled in the closet when it hit us and the emotions we felt were indescribable. Unless you have had a near death experience yourself, you cannot fully grasp the fear and sadness we were feeling as the tornado ripped through our house, destroying everything in sight. All I could say was, “Jesus protect us” though in the back of my mind I thought we were about to die. I clung to my son and my husband knowing that they were the only two things that mattered to me in that moment. The sheer volume of the whirlwind was disorienting and seemed to go on forever. In a matter of seconds the storm was over and all I could think was “how in the world did we survive this?” My husband hesitantly emerged from the closet to survey the damage. A few minutes later he instructed me to get out of the closet and head to what was left of our front door. I passed from room to room quickly surveying the damage and what was left of my home. I remember feeling like it was all just a bad dream and I would wake up at any moment to my nice normal house. Nothing looked like it did before. Debris was scattered everywhere. Insulation and sheetrock lined the floors. The roof was completely gone and it had begun pouring down rain. Everything was soaked. I did not have time to process what was happening before my husband escorted me to our neighbor’s vehicle so that we could get to safety.

It has been a long road back to normal, but God has been good. We have been blessed with amazing family and friends who were willing to do whatever we needed them to do. After 3 1/2 months, we are finally back in a new house. God has restored all that was lost, and then some. He has blessed us beyond measure and we are so thankful that he had a plan. For whatever reason, God spared us that day. He most certainly took what Satan meant for evil and turned it for the good!”” – written by Fotocrew Member, Natalie Pitts

 Feel free to post a comment of encouragement to this family that has shared their story with us!