July 14, 2025 • 17 mins
On May 20, 2013, a catastrophic F5 tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma — a city already no stranger to devastation. In its path: three daycares, no basements, no storm shelters… and dozens of terrified children and heroic teachers. What happened next defies logic. Hear firsthand accounts, tearful prayers, and the unforgettable miracle that left a city changed forever.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The More Fire Department is no stranger to tornadoes.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
The city has been hit by three.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Violent tornadoes since the historic Mayor nineteen ninety nine f five.
Speaker 4 (00:10):
I don't know how to explain it, how to describe it.
Speaker 5 (00:14):
This is this is terrible. This is war zone terrible.
Speaker 6 (00:20):
This school is completely gone.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
This is miracles in the news. Welcome back to Miracles
in the News.
Speaker 7 (00:30):
I am excited to hear what you're gonna share with
us today, Holly.
Speaker 8 (00:35):
Well, you know about my obsession with tornadoes. I know
you like tornadoes too, so yes, I was looking for
a tornado miracle story and I came across this story,
which it's crazy and it still gives me chills to
even think about it.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Oh, I'm excited.
Speaker 7 (00:51):
We actually, when I was in eighth grade, we actually
had a tornado hit our house, as you know.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
True and not like a ton of damage.
Speaker 7 (00:59):
But ever since then, I have been super fascinated by tornadoes.
Speaker 8 (01:04):
Yeah, they're so interesting and kind of beautiful, but at
the same time so scary. And I'll admit, like, I
have chased tornadoes in my car before.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
That sounds safe.
Speaker 7 (01:16):
Yeahsion actually does that too, though, so I'll see.
Speaker 8 (01:20):
I knew there's a reason I liked him. But seriously,
like they're just I think we're all a little bit
fascinated by tornadoes. But I've only ever chased a small tornado,
and today's story is about an F five tornado, which
I would never chase. I don't know what you know
about F five tornadoes, but their wind speeds can be
(01:42):
between two hundred and sixty one and three hundred and
eighteen miles per hour.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Wow. Yeah, that makes me a little bit nervous about
the story that you're gonna be sharing with us today.
Speaker 9 (01:55):
Well it should.
Speaker 8 (01:56):
And sadly, this tornado, like a lot of F five
tornadoes do, did take lives. It took twenty four lives.
Even so, it's really tragic. But as I read about
this tornado, amidst the tragedies, there were some absolutely incredible
miracles that happened.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Well, I'm already sad, so they're better be there better
be some good things.
Speaker 8 (02:22):
I know, I'm sorry, I know that's the bummer. I mean,
it's just reality. But just wait for it, because this
is an incredible story and it took place in twenty
thirteen when this F five tornado hit More, Oklahoma. It's
a suburb of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. That's where your son lives.
Speaker 9 (02:40):
Yes, it is.
Speaker 8 (02:41):
I actually have a son, Mackay and his little family
who live in a suburb of Oklahoma City.
Speaker 9 (02:47):
So yeah, this one, this story was a little extra
scary for me.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Sure.
Speaker 8 (02:52):
But on May twenty, at twenty thirteen, a tornado warning
was issued for More. At two fifty two pm, a
cloud rotation had formed and was starting to touch down
on the ground, and by three h one PM, a
tornado emergency had been issued for More, which is the
highest tornado alert that you can have. It means that
(03:13):
there's a severe threat to human life.
Speaker 7 (03:15):
Okay, so how big was more like? Are we talking
spread out farmland? Are we talking like densely populated city.
Speaker 8 (03:23):
Well, I've been to More and it's pretty densely populated.
I would say it probably has around like sixty something
thousand people who live there. Anyway, So three years before
this day, Abby Larsen had finally saved up enough money
to buy a daycare, which was her lifelong dream. She'd
always wanted to own her own daycare, and on the
(03:43):
afternoon of May thirtieth, twenty thirteen, Abby had run over
to Walmart to just grab some juice for her daycare.
When her assistant, Heather Walker called her father said there
is a bad storm and I called all the parents
are coming to get the children.
Speaker 10 (04:01):
Ten minutes later she said, it's bad.
Speaker 9 (04:03):
I need you to get back here quick.
Speaker 10 (04:05):
She and the rest of my staff had already put
all the children in one location. She had the infants
in car seats, and.
Speaker 9 (04:13):
She had exactly what she needed.
Speaker 10 (04:15):
She had our prepared our emergency preparedness binder.
Speaker 7 (04:20):
Oh my gosh, it would be so scary to have
to be in charge of all those kids in a
situation like that.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
I mean, my kids, they get scared just hearing thunder.
Speaker 9 (04:29):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 8 (04:30):
And Abby was rushing back to the daycare because she
knew that Heather was dealing with all of this on
her own, so she hurried back. But while she was
running back, the tornado had not only touched down, but
it had evolved into a two mile wide F five tornado.
Speaker 9 (04:48):
Gosh, that was heading directly for their daycare.
Speaker 8 (04:52):
And she barely got back in time and hurried and
joined the group of teachers and parents and thirteen children
in the bathroom or her assistant, Heather had already prepared
everyone as much as she possibly could.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
The staff did have a tornado plan, and as the
twister approached that day, they put it into action. I
had all my teachers and the kids go into the bathroom.
I passed them our little nap mats that they actually
take naps on, and I had them put them over
their children, and then we were all locked and cuddled together.
One of our parents had said a prayer and then there.
Speaker 7 (05:28):
Was okay, so nap mats in an F five tornado. Like,
I'm not sure exactly how effective that's going to be.
I mean, I'm sure it's better than nothing, but like,
it'd be ideal if they had a basement or a
shelter to go into.
Speaker 8 (05:44):
And unfortunately they didn't have a basement or a tornado shelter.
So yeah, so that was the best they could do.
And you know, Oklahoma gets a lot of tornadoes so
and most of them are not crazy big like this,
so I think they kind of get lulled into a
sense of like, oh, it's fine, you know, yeah, but yeah,
(06:05):
they didn't have a basement or a shelter.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
It's crazy.
Speaker 9 (06:07):
So here's where it gets even crazier.
Speaker 8 (06:11):
You're not going to leave this, but a second and
a third daycare Kids USA Daycare and a gope Land
Learning Center who also didn't have basements or storm shelters.
Oh my god, we're also in the direct path of
this insane tornado.
Speaker 9 (06:28):
And as a tornado approached a gopy.
Speaker 8 (06:31):
Land Learning Center, a teacher named Miss Kathy heard something
absolutely terrifying on the TV.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
The newspeople are saying, if you're not underground, you will
not survive. Just waiting for that moment. It was tearing
up seven eleven across the street. This is it, it's here,
It is honest.
Speaker 7 (06:50):
Would be so terrifying, And to have to be in
charge of all these kids.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Yeah, you can so scary.
Speaker 9 (06:56):
The fear in her voice.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Oh what do you mean?
Speaker 8 (06:59):
At this point, all they could do is just sit
there and brace for impact. I mean, I can't imagine
how to artifying that would.
Speaker 11 (07:06):
Be fifteen babies and toddlers inside the steak here the
tornado was determined to demolish.
Speaker 12 (07:12):
Who had them in the bathrooms? At first we had
blankets on top of them, pillows, But then one of
the directors brought us some crib mattresses that they'd gotten
out of the cribs, so we put them out on
top of them.
Speaker 11 (07:23):
It's perfect, you know, they were all covered Britney Rogers.
The teacher here held the babies tight, including her own
fifteen month old son Brady. Well, the roof filled back
and the walls caved.
Speaker 6 (07:35):
In, and at that point the lights went out. The
roofs sucked off the building and the next thirty seconds
to a minute was just devastation. All kinds of debris
was hitting us. I was thinking, how is my son
gonna make it?
Speaker 10 (07:52):
Without a small.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
The daycare was completely destroyed.
Speaker 13 (07:59):
It just went black, you know, when the power went out,
and then all of a sudden, the building was just gone.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Just gone, like in an instant. What like was it
just a pile of rubble?
Speaker 10 (08:09):
Like?
Speaker 2 (08:09):
What what does that mean?
Speaker 8 (08:10):
Yeah, so all three daycares lost their roofs and the
walls were literally crumbling around them and with debris flying everywhere.
So the really crazy thing is that one child named
Aria Baird, she was a GOFE learning center and she
got she started to be sucked up out of the
building and her teacher, Miss Kathy, just reached out and
(08:33):
grabbed onto her leg.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
It's scary started pulling her up. She said, don't let
me go, don't let me go. She's screaming, ha, you know.
And I was like, I'm not letting you go.
Speaker 9 (08:44):
You go, I go with you.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
And I'm like, we're taking the.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Tolet with us.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
I held on that little girl's leg so tight that
my fingers are white.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Oh my gosh, that's so crazy.
Speaker 9 (08:56):
I can't even imagine.
Speaker 8 (08:57):
And with this debris flying all, I mean, they were
getting pummeled by stuff, and brave teachers they just all
covered the children with their bodies, children and babies with
their bodies, many praying or crying out to Jesus.
Speaker 9 (09:13):
And let me tell you, their prayers were heard.
Speaker 8 (09:16):
Miraculously, not one life was lost in any of these daycares.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Wow, how is that possible? That's amazing.
Speaker 9 (09:27):
Yeah, it truly was a miracle.
Speaker 8 (09:29):
And afterwards the parents were grateful to God and grateful
for these amazing angel teachers.
Speaker 9 (09:36):
Who have saved their babies. Yeah, it was just amazing.
Speaker 13 (09:42):
I am not an expert, but in my heart, I
really believe that if they hadn't covered those children, if
we hadn't covered those children, those children would be gone.
And if it weren't for Heather, if it weren't for
Heather and Abbey, I think I know the outcome would
have been much different, much different.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Very thankful for them.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
They risked life to save my child.
Speaker 9 (10:06):
That means the world to me.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
A sentiment echoed by the smallest survivors.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
My dangerous day.
Speaker 7 (10:16):
He's so cute, not the sweetest, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 9 (10:20):
Yeah. And we got to hear from little Aria too.
Speaker 8 (10:23):
She was the one that was being sucked into the
tornado and she was saved by miss Kathy.
Speaker 9 (10:28):
But you got to hear from her too.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Okay, trincle trinkle.
Speaker 5 (10:38):
Like a riding in this guy. My name's Aria and
I am for I remember me going up into the
tornado and my life was getting floating up a little bit,
(10:58):
and Miss Kathy's me from there.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Wow, these teachers were such heroes.
Speaker 7 (11:06):
I mean, it like reminds me of the teachers who
when there's a school shooting and they put themselves between
their students and the shooter and they're just willing. I mean,
I've been a teacher before. I know these students they
do feel like your own children, And I just I
think it's incredible.
Speaker 8 (11:23):
It was absolutely miraculous and all three of these daycares
lost their roofs, but Agape Land and a step above
were completely demolished. I mean there was nothing left. Only
these bathrooms were partially left. I mean they walked out
of these bathrooms to find just devastation completely surrounding them.
Speaker 9 (11:46):
And the crazy thing.
Speaker 8 (11:48):
Is, when I first started researching this story, I thought
I was reading about one daycare. I thought there was
one daycare that had experienced this crazy miracle and survived
this F five tornado. And then as I kept reading,
I started realizing, wait, this is like three different daycares. Wow,
somehow miraculously these people were all spared.
Speaker 7 (12:12):
Yeah, I mean, clearly these were miracles. If you can
see the video, there's just like piles of rubble everywhere.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
The walls caved in.
Speaker 7 (12:20):
It is an absolute miracle that anyone could survive that,
let all of the children in all these daycares.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah, though, it like it.
Speaker 7 (12:28):
Does make me pause and you know, wonder about the
people who did die in the tornado, why they weren't spared.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (12:38):
I think that's a question that we all have, you know,
every time. Yeah, I know, genuinely, I don't think we
can second guess God. I think we just have to
trust that He has a plan for each of us,
and that when there is divine intervention, I think we
just have to praise Him for it. And when there isn't,
(12:59):
we still have to praise him and have faith that
God is still good.
Speaker 7 (13:03):
He is he can see the bigger picture, like he
can just see so much more than we can.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Yes, trust his trust, his reasons.
Speaker 8 (13:12):
Yes, his ways are not our ways, and his thoughts
are higher than ours. And so by the way, I
have sworn off chasing tornadoes after.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Doing this story, but made Christian listen to the story too.
Speaker 9 (13:26):
So yeah, make him listen to it. I realized that's.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Probably more tornado chasing.
Speaker 8 (13:32):
No, seriously, And since the tornado in twenty thirteen, a
lot of people have donated their time and their money
and they've pitched into health. These daycares rebuild and happy
Larsen's dream of owning a daycare has not died with
this tornado. Still alive and well, she still has a
daycare and all of the schools in Oklahoma City have
(13:53):
gotten storm shelters now, including these daycare centers.
Speaker 7 (13:57):
So yeah, hall Aeenking, like, why don't they have better
shelters in Oklahoma go to a basement, go to a
shelter or something.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
So I'm glad to hear that well.
Speaker 8 (14:07):
And one thing that I know is that God always
turns whether it's tragedies or whatever happens to us, for
our good. And both miracles and tragedies can be catalyst
for change. And this tornado brought about a lot of
change for this city. They came up with better building requirements,
and they mandated more storm shelters, and the whole city
(14:28):
has become a model for other cities on how to
prepare for a devastating tornado.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
Today, the city is stronger, safer, a model of how
to rebuild better. The term more strong originated in the
aftermath of the tornado. It's a city defined by its resilience,
stronger today than ever before, and a model for how
to come back from the brink to thrive.
Speaker 8 (15:00):
Three years after the twenty thirteen tornado, many of the
children who survived the tornado came together for a celebration
of life and they sang a fun.
Speaker 9 (15:09):
Song called the prep Step.
Speaker 8 (15:13):
So we will end with a segment of this song,
which I think would be awesome to teach to your kids.
Speaker 9 (15:18):
You can find it.
Speaker 8 (15:19):
On YouTube for those of you who are parents or
grandparents and want to teach your kids about preparing for
a tornado. But let me just tell you this is
going to get stuck in your head all day. And
I apologize for a warning. Yeah, all right, let's hear it.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Okay, one, two, three, here we got.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
Yes in casa the emergency. I know who to come
my eye contacts near and talk weekend, tie them all.
Speaker 7 (15:56):
Prep step.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
Thank you suh the emergency.
Speaker 8 (16:03):
I know what to do.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
My family, they will have a friend.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
I practice it too.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
I take that to my kids.
Speaker 8 (16:14):
That was just a snippet of that song. If you
want to listen to the whole thing, you can find
it on YouTube. Like we said, But and Emily and
I are going to learn the dance for that song for.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Sure, are we. I think you would do really good
solo of that dance.
Speaker 9 (16:27):
Oh no, I don't want to do it by myself.
You gotta do it with me.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
But you like the song, it's catchy.
Speaker 9 (16:33):
Okay.
Speaker 8 (16:34):
Anyway, thanks everyone for joining us for another Miracles in
the News. We hope that you have a wonderful day,
and don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already. And
make sure to give us a review, share with your friends.
You know all that good stuff, We appreciate.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
All of it, and do the prep step.
Speaker 9 (16:52):
Do the prep step, do it. Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
If you have a miracle to share, tact us at.
Speaker 8 (17:00):
The Miracle files dot com or find us on Facebook.
Speaker 7 (17:04):
We're now releasing multiple episodes each month, so subscribe on
your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for amazing video content
as well.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Join us next.
Speaker 8 (17:14):
Time as we discover more of God's miracles, and don't
forget to look for his
Speaker 9 (17:18):
Light in your own lives.
The More Fire Department is no stranger to tornadoes.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
The city has been hit by three.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Violent tornadoes since the historic Mayor nineteen ninety nine f five.
Speaker 4 (00:10):
I don't know how to explain it, how to describe it.
Speaker 5 (00:14):
This is this is terrible. This is war zone terrible.
Speaker 6 (00:20):
This school is completely gone.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
This is miracles in the news. Welcome back to Miracles
in the News.
Speaker 7 (00:30):
I am excited to hear what you're gonna share with
us today, Holly.
Speaker 8 (00:35):
Well, you know about my obsession with tornadoes. I know
you like tornadoes too, so yes, I was looking for
a tornado miracle story and I came across this story,
which it's crazy and it still gives me chills to
even think about it.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Oh, I'm excited.
Speaker 7 (00:51):
We actually, when I was in eighth grade, we actually
had a tornado hit our house, as you know.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
True and not like a ton of damage.
Speaker 7 (00:59):
But ever since then, I have been super fascinated by tornadoes.
Speaker 8 (01:04):
Yeah, they're so interesting and kind of beautiful, but at
the same time so scary. And I'll admit, like, I
have chased tornadoes in my car before.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
That sounds safe.
Speaker 7 (01:16):
Yeahsion actually does that too, though, so I'll see.
Speaker 8 (01:20):
I knew there's a reason I liked him. But seriously,
like they're just I think we're all a little bit
fascinated by tornadoes. But I've only ever chased a small tornado,
and today's story is about an F five tornado, which
I would never chase. I don't know what you know
about F five tornadoes, but their wind speeds can be
(01:42):
between two hundred and sixty one and three hundred and
eighteen miles per hour.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Wow. Yeah, that makes me a little bit nervous about
the story that you're gonna be sharing with us today.
Speaker 9 (01:55):
Well it should.
Speaker 8 (01:56):
And sadly, this tornado, like a lot of F five
tornadoes do, did take lives. It took twenty four lives.
Even so, it's really tragic. But as I read about
this tornado, amidst the tragedies, there were some absolutely incredible
miracles that happened.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Well, I'm already sad, so they're better be there better
be some good things.
Speaker 8 (02:22):
I know, I'm sorry, I know that's the bummer. I mean,
it's just reality. But just wait for it, because this
is an incredible story and it took place in twenty
thirteen when this F five tornado hit More, Oklahoma. It's
a suburb of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. That's where your son lives.
Speaker 9 (02:40):
Yes, it is.
Speaker 8 (02:41):
I actually have a son, Mackay and his little family
who live in a suburb of Oklahoma City.
Speaker 9 (02:47):
So yeah, this one, this story was a little extra
scary for me.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Sure.
Speaker 8 (02:52):
But on May twenty, at twenty thirteen, a tornado warning
was issued for More. At two fifty two pm, a
cloud rotation had formed and was starting to touch down
on the ground, and by three h one PM, a
tornado emergency had been issued for More, which is the
highest tornado alert that you can have. It means that
(03:13):
there's a severe threat to human life.
Speaker 7 (03:15):
Okay, so how big was more like? Are we talking
spread out farmland? Are we talking like densely populated city.
Speaker 8 (03:23):
Well, I've been to More and it's pretty densely populated.
I would say it probably has around like sixty something
thousand people who live there. Anyway, So three years before
this day, Abby Larsen had finally saved up enough money
to buy a daycare, which was her lifelong dream. She'd
always wanted to own her own daycare, and on the
(03:43):
afternoon of May thirtieth, twenty thirteen, Abby had run over
to Walmart to just grab some juice for her daycare.
When her assistant, Heather Walker called her father said there
is a bad storm and I called all the parents
are coming to get the children.
Speaker 10 (04:01):
Ten minutes later she said, it's bad.
Speaker 9 (04:03):
I need you to get back here quick.
Speaker 10 (04:05):
She and the rest of my staff had already put
all the children in one location. She had the infants
in car seats, and.
Speaker 9 (04:13):
She had exactly what she needed.
Speaker 10 (04:15):
She had our prepared our emergency preparedness binder.
Speaker 7 (04:20):
Oh my gosh, it would be so scary to have
to be in charge of all those kids in a
situation like that.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
I mean, my kids, they get scared just hearing thunder.
Speaker 9 (04:29):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 8 (04:30):
And Abby was rushing back to the daycare because she
knew that Heather was dealing with all of this on
her own, so she hurried back. But while she was
running back, the tornado had not only touched down, but
it had evolved into a two mile wide F five tornado.
Speaker 9 (04:48):
Gosh, that was heading directly for their daycare.
Speaker 8 (04:52):
And she barely got back in time and hurried and
joined the group of teachers and parents and thirteen children
in the bathroom or her assistant, Heather had already prepared
everyone as much as she possibly could.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
The staff did have a tornado plan, and as the
twister approached that day, they put it into action. I
had all my teachers and the kids go into the bathroom.
I passed them our little nap mats that they actually
take naps on, and I had them put them over
their children, and then we were all locked and cuddled together.
One of our parents had said a prayer and then there.
Speaker 7 (05:28):
Was okay, so nap mats in an F five tornado. Like,
I'm not sure exactly how effective that's going to be.
I mean, I'm sure it's better than nothing, but like,
it'd be ideal if they had a basement or a
shelter to go into.
Speaker 8 (05:44):
And unfortunately they didn't have a basement or a tornado shelter.
So yeah, so that was the best they could do.
And you know, Oklahoma gets a lot of tornadoes so
and most of them are not crazy big like this,
so I think they kind of get lulled into a
sense of like, oh, it's fine, you know, yeah, but yeah,
(06:05):
they didn't have a basement or a shelter.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
It's crazy.
Speaker 9 (06:07):
So here's where it gets even crazier.
Speaker 8 (06:11):
You're not going to leave this, but a second and
a third daycare Kids USA Daycare and a gope Land
Learning Center who also didn't have basements or storm shelters.
Oh my god, we're also in the direct path of
this insane tornado.
Speaker 9 (06:28):
And as a tornado approached a gopy.
Speaker 8 (06:31):
Land Learning Center, a teacher named Miss Kathy heard something
absolutely terrifying on the TV.
Speaker 3 (06:37):
The newspeople are saying, if you're not underground, you will
not survive. Just waiting for that moment. It was tearing
up seven eleven across the street. This is it, it's here,
It is honest.
Speaker 7 (06:50):
Would be so terrifying, And to have to be in
charge of all these kids.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Yeah, you can so scary.
Speaker 9 (06:56):
The fear in her voice.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Oh what do you mean?
Speaker 8 (06:59):
At this point, all they could do is just sit
there and brace for impact. I mean, I can't imagine
how to artifying that would.
Speaker 11 (07:06):
Be fifteen babies and toddlers inside the steak here the
tornado was determined to demolish.
Speaker 12 (07:12):
Who had them in the bathrooms? At first we had
blankets on top of them, pillows, But then one of
the directors brought us some crib mattresses that they'd gotten
out of the cribs, so we put them out on
top of them.
Speaker 11 (07:23):
It's perfect, you know, they were all covered Britney Rogers.
The teacher here held the babies tight, including her own
fifteen month old son Brady. Well, the roof filled back
and the walls caved.
Speaker 6 (07:35):
In, and at that point the lights went out. The
roofs sucked off the building and the next thirty seconds
to a minute was just devastation. All kinds of debris
was hitting us. I was thinking, how is my son
gonna make it?
Speaker 10 (07:52):
Without a small.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
The daycare was completely destroyed.
Speaker 13 (07:59):
It just went black, you know, when the power went out,
and then all of a sudden, the building was just gone.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
Just gone, like in an instant. What like was it
just a pile of rubble?
Speaker 10 (08:09):
Like?
Speaker 2 (08:09):
What what does that mean?
Speaker 8 (08:10):
Yeah, so all three daycares lost their roofs and the
walls were literally crumbling around them and with debris flying everywhere.
So the really crazy thing is that one child named
Aria Baird, she was a GOFE learning center and she
got she started to be sucked up out of the
building and her teacher, Miss Kathy, just reached out and
(08:33):
grabbed onto her leg.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
It's scary started pulling her up. She said, don't let
me go, don't let me go. She's screaming, ha, you know.
And I was like, I'm not letting you go.
Speaker 9 (08:44):
You go, I go with you.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
And I'm like, we're taking the.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Tolet with us.
Speaker 3 (08:47):
I held on that little girl's leg so tight that
my fingers are white.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Oh my gosh, that's so crazy.
Speaker 9 (08:56):
I can't even imagine.
Speaker 8 (08:57):
And with this debris flying all, I mean, they were
getting pummeled by stuff, and brave teachers they just all
covered the children with their bodies, children and babies with
their bodies, many praying or crying out to Jesus.
Speaker 9 (09:13):
And let me tell you, their prayers were heard.
Speaker 8 (09:16):
Miraculously, not one life was lost in any of these daycares.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Wow, how is that possible? That's amazing.
Speaker 9 (09:27):
Yeah, it truly was a miracle.
Speaker 8 (09:29):
And afterwards the parents were grateful to God and grateful
for these amazing angel teachers.
Speaker 9 (09:36):
Who have saved their babies. Yeah, it was just amazing.
Speaker 13 (09:42):
I am not an expert, but in my heart, I
really believe that if they hadn't covered those children, if
we hadn't covered those children, those children would be gone.
And if it weren't for Heather, if it weren't for
Heather and Abbey, I think I know the outcome would
have been much different, much different.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Very thankful for them.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
They risked life to save my child.
Speaker 9 (10:06):
That means the world to me.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
A sentiment echoed by the smallest survivors.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
My dangerous day.
Speaker 7 (10:16):
He's so cute, not the sweetest, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 9 (10:20):
Yeah. And we got to hear from little Aria too.
Speaker 8 (10:23):
She was the one that was being sucked into the
tornado and she was saved by miss Kathy.
Speaker 9 (10:28):
But you got to hear from her too.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Okay, trincle trinkle.
Speaker 5 (10:38):
Like a riding in this guy. My name's Aria and
I am for I remember me going up into the
tornado and my life was getting floating up a little bit,
(10:58):
and Miss Kathy's me from there.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Wow, these teachers were such heroes.
Speaker 7 (11:06):
I mean, it like reminds me of the teachers who
when there's a school shooting and they put themselves between
their students and the shooter and they're just willing. I mean,
I've been a teacher before. I know these students they
do feel like your own children, And I just I
think it's incredible.
Speaker 8 (11:23):
It was absolutely miraculous and all three of these daycares
lost their roofs, but Agape Land and a step above
were completely demolished. I mean there was nothing left. Only
these bathrooms were partially left. I mean they walked out
of these bathrooms to find just devastation completely surrounding them.
Speaker 9 (11:46):
And the crazy thing.
Speaker 8 (11:48):
Is, when I first started researching this story, I thought
I was reading about one daycare. I thought there was
one daycare that had experienced this crazy miracle and survived
this F five tornado. And then as I kept reading,
I started realizing, wait, this is like three different daycares. Wow,
somehow miraculously these people were all spared.
Speaker 7 (12:12):
Yeah, I mean, clearly these were miracles. If you can
see the video, there's just like piles of rubble everywhere.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
The walls caved in.
Speaker 7 (12:20):
It is an absolute miracle that anyone could survive that,
let all of the children in all these daycares.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah, though, it like it.
Speaker 7 (12:28):
Does make me pause and you know, wonder about the
people who did die in the tornado, why they weren't spared.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (12:38):
I think that's a question that we all have, you know,
every time. Yeah, I know, genuinely, I don't think we
can second guess God. I think we just have to
trust that He has a plan for each of us,
and that when there is divine intervention, I think we
just have to praise Him for it. And when there isn't,
(12:59):
we still have to praise him and have faith that
God is still good.
Speaker 7 (13:03):
He is he can see the bigger picture, like he
can just see so much more than we can.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Yes, trust his trust, his reasons.
Speaker 8 (13:12):
Yes, his ways are not our ways, and his thoughts
are higher than ours. And so by the way, I
have sworn off chasing tornadoes after.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Doing this story, but made Christian listen to the story too.
Speaker 9 (13:26):
So yeah, make him listen to it. I realized that's.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Probably more tornado chasing.
Speaker 8 (13:32):
No, seriously, And since the tornado in twenty thirteen, a
lot of people have donated their time and their money
and they've pitched into health. These daycares rebuild and happy
Larsen's dream of owning a daycare has not died with
this tornado. Still alive and well, she still has a
daycare and all of the schools in Oklahoma City have
(13:53):
gotten storm shelters now, including these daycare centers.
Speaker 7 (13:57):
So yeah, hall Aeenking, like, why don't they have better
shelters in Oklahoma go to a basement, go to a
shelter or something.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
So I'm glad to hear that well.
Speaker 8 (14:07):
And one thing that I know is that God always
turns whether it's tragedies or whatever happens to us, for
our good. And both miracles and tragedies can be catalyst
for change. And this tornado brought about a lot of
change for this city. They came up with better building requirements,
and they mandated more storm shelters, and the whole city
(14:28):
has become a model for other cities on how to
prepare for a devastating tornado.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
Today, the city is stronger, safer, a model of how
to rebuild better. The term more strong originated in the
aftermath of the tornado. It's a city defined by its resilience,
stronger today than ever before, and a model for how
to come back from the brink to thrive.
Speaker 8 (15:00):
Three years after the twenty thirteen tornado, many of the
children who survived the tornado came together for a celebration
of life and they sang a fun.
Speaker 9 (15:09):
Song called the prep Step.
Speaker 8 (15:13):
So we will end with a segment of this song,
which I think would be awesome to teach to your kids.
Speaker 9 (15:18):
You can find it.
Speaker 8 (15:19):
On YouTube for those of you who are parents or
grandparents and want to teach your kids about preparing for
a tornado. But let me just tell you this is
going to get stuck in your head all day. And
I apologize for a warning. Yeah, all right, let's hear it.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Okay, one, two, three, here we got.
Speaker 5 (15:44):
Yes in casa the emergency. I know who to come
my eye contacts near and talk weekend, tie them all.
Speaker 7 (15:56):
Prep step.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
Thank you suh the emergency.
Speaker 8 (16:03):
I know what to do.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
My family, they will have a friend.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
I practice it too.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
I take that to my kids.
Speaker 8 (16:14):
That was just a snippet of that song. If you
want to listen to the whole thing, you can find
it on YouTube. Like we said, But and Emily and
I are going to learn the dance for that song for.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
Sure, are we. I think you would do really good
solo of that dance.
Speaker 9 (16:27):
Oh no, I don't want to do it by myself.
You gotta do it with me.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
But you like the song, it's catchy.
Speaker 9 (16:33):
Okay.
Speaker 8 (16:34):
Anyway, thanks everyone for joining us for another Miracles in
the News. We hope that you have a wonderful day,
and don't forget to subscribe if you haven't already. And
make sure to give us a review, share with your friends.
You know all that good stuff, We appreciate.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
All of it, and do the prep step.
Speaker 9 (16:52):
Do the prep step, do it. Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
If you have a miracle to share, tact us at.
Speaker 8 (17:00):
The Miracle files dot com or find us on Facebook.
Speaker 7 (17:04):
We're now releasing multiple episodes each month, so subscribe on
your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for amazing video content
as well.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
Join us next.
Speaker 8 (17:14):
Time as we discover more of God's miracles, and don't
forget to look for his
Speaker 9 (17:18):
Light in your own lives.
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