John and Debbie react as they see their new home for the first time.

JOPLIN, Mo. –It was down to the wire—a photo finish.

With just minutes to spare, volunteers from Operation Blessing and the Home Depot scurried to put the final touches in place on John and Debbie’s home for the big reveal.

See photos

More than 300 volunteers from OBI and the Home Depot had taken on an almost impossible challenge: to rebuild the couple’s tornado-damaged home in just seven days.

Teams helped gut the house down to studs, installed dry wall, a new roof, siding, windows, electrical wiring, plumbing, flooring, a new kitchen and bathroom, paint, and also furnished and decorated the living room and bedroom.

But they didn’t stop there. Teams also built a tree house in the backyard for their grandsons, a vegetable garden, arbor and koi pond.

“We told John and Debbie we would put a new roof on their home and try to help them ‘a little’ with the house,” said Jody Herrington-Gettys, OBI’s U.S. director of disaster relief. “We downplayed it in a big way telling them we would ‘try’ to help them a little more but could not promise to do much.”

More than 300 volunteers from OBI and the Home Depot worked together to rebuild the couple’s tornado-devastated home in just 7 days.

For John and Debbie however, a new roof would have been help enough. Since the tornado struck, the couple, both in their mid-sixties, had been living in a tent in their backyard, unsure of how they were going to rebuild their home.

On the day of the big reveal, however, they got much more than they bargained for. Hundreds of volunteers walked up their street to greet the couple and welcome them home.

“I thought I was going to have to live in a tent for the rest of my life,” said a tearful Debbie when she saw her renovated home for the first time.

“I had no idea this was happening. I am just speechless,” she told media. “The tornado destroyed everything we owned. Now I have a home. I can't believe that all of these wonderful people came to help us.”

The family even got an unexpected celebrity surprise when the Joe Gibbs Racing Team's Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, along with his pit-crew team met them. Joey and team lent a helping hand to the renovation by donating items for the backyard as well as helping to build the tree house and shed.

“The house is gorgeous. I have never had anything like this. It's just beautiful,” Debbie said.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 1997- 2012 by Operation Blessing International of this page and all contents. No part of this site may be used without prior written consent from OBI. All Rights Reserved. Questions or comments? Email us at operation.blessing@ob.org.