Dozens of Tornadoes Slash the South and Midwest, Leaving Trail of Destruction and at Least 39 Dead

“I had an empty void in the inside that I would fill with, other people's compliments,” Jed Hill said. “Just completely self-medicate with any mood, mind altering substance. I wanted to be seen, heard and known by my father – I never was.”

In the mid-2000s, Jed Hill was a rising star in college football. With filled stadiums of thousands chanting his name, the future was set to be one of fame and success. However, it wasn’t the love of the game that drove him, but the desire to be loved by his father.

“I remember the times that we would come home and my dad would be in a mood and start beating us and hitting us,” Jed said. “I thought love was something earned. The reason why I played football was because, when I was younger, I would play backyard football with my brothers. I’d notice how happy my dad was when he'd see us catch a pass. I didn't even like football, I just did it because I hoped that one day my dad would say he's proud of me.” 

Even as Jed was in the running for the NFL, his father refused to acknowledge his accomplishments – and then tragedy.

“I make the tackle and my own teammate hit his helmet into my ankle, and the bottom of my foot was touching my shin,” Jed said. “First thing I screamed is ‘Why, God? Why would you do this to me?” That took me out of being entered into the draft or even trying out. I went through a nine-month rehab. I felt empty, just completely empty. I felt useless. One moment you feel on top of the world, and the next moment the world feels like it’s on top of you.”

While working to rebuild his body, he was approached by a modeling agent at the gym who offered him a gig. Jed soon found himself on the covers of countless fitness and fashion magazines, eventually becoming an actor in Hollywood. But even as the stars aligned, he still craved for his father to take notice.

“I would come home and it was everybody else who was so excited to see me,” Jed said. He would just sit in the corner and look at me and sometimes shake his head like I had done something shameful. I remember how bad that hurt. I would get compliments from other people. They’d tell me how great you look. Then again, I’d be left just feeling empty and still hurting.”

As Jed was driving his motorcycle to an audition for a movie, a car ran a red light causing him to crash. Once again, all his ambitions were derailed in an instant as he was taken to the hospital with broken ribs and a shattered jaw.  

Jed said, “That was another moment in my life where I cried out, ‘God, why did you do this to me? Don't play in my life. My life is going so good, I don't need you.’”

He was prescribed opioids during his recovery, eventually becoming addicted. He started selling drugs and stealing so he could score more. Finally, arrested and sentenced to prison, Jed was ready to end it all.  

“I just wanted the pain to go away,” Jed said. I tied the sheets around the top bunk of my cell that night, and I tied three knots underneath my neck, tucked my feet underneath the bottom bunk. I leaned forward and took my own life.”

Jed awoke in the hospital six days later after having died and been resuscitated. As he sat in bed, wishing he hadn’t survived, a nurse did something that changed everything.

“She said, ‘Jed, if you can really be honest, your life can be different.’ She handed me a little New Testament Bible,” Jed said. “I remember just sitting there just starting to think about being honest, how I’ve been lying to myself, covering everything that I’ve been through in my life, not letting anyone in to know what I was going through. My view of a Heavenly Father was so clouded by my earthly father that I wanted nothing to do with Him, even though my mother would make us go to Sunday school and church sometimes. So, I remembered some of the verses growing up. I turned John 3:16, ‘That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ I was tired of perishing, and I wanted to be a whosoever. I wanted to feel the love and the compassion I had never felt before. And that moment broke me. I said, ‘God, I give you all that I am, it's not much. I give you all that I will be, do something with it.’”

Reading The Word and praying daily, Jed committed his life to Christ. Now a pastor, Jed doesn’t worry about the approval of his earthly father anymore. Instead, he serves His Heavenly Father by leading others to Jesus.

“I had to apologize to God,” Jed said. “He didn't make me a drug addict. He didn't cause my father to abuse me. I had to reveal this void in my life and give it to Him, and now the Spirit of God dwells inside of me. I was preaching and my dad came to the altar, and he accepted Jesus into his heart. I've forgiven him one hundred percent. I love him. Now that I have my son, he’s a miracle, I'm going to love him and remind him of how proud I am, even over the small things, because I know what that feels like not to feel that. God has a redemptive plan in spite of where you’ve been or where you think you're going. He has a redemptive plan to redeem you, restore you, renew you, and to make you belong.”

“I remember seeing the muzzle flash,” Sean Houle said about the fateful night he was shot in the face. “I felt like I got punched by the Hulk. I could see all the blood and I closed my eyes preparing to open them up in heaven.”

A K-9 officer with 10 years of experience, Sean knew well the dangers that came with the job. But nothing could have prepared him for what would happen on the night of February 21, 2021. At about 3 a.m., Sean approached a criminal in his car who had evaded arrest just a few hours before.

“I tell him, 'Lemme see your hands, you're under arrest,'” Sean said. “All of a sudden he dives from the driver's seat over to the passenger side area of the car. When I grabbed onto his arm, I got sucked into the car. It was a fight immediately.”

The two spilled out of the car onto the pavement. As Sean struggled to subdue the criminal with one hand, he was trying to holster his gun with the other. “But it would not go in,” Sean said. “I didn't feel like at that time that I was at the level of deadly force yet. I didn't feel like I had risen to the level yet of being able to take his life.”

Sean managed to call for backup in the middle of the fight, but they were still several blocks away. On any other occasion, he would be able to press a button on his vest to release his K-9, Jax, from his cruiser, but the button was malfunctioning – then he lost his gun.  

“The gun pops out of my hand,” Sean said. “We make eye contact, and he dives. I see his hand hit the gun and it lines up perfect with my face. I knew that I'd been hit in the face and I knew that it was bad enough that I had bone and blood coming out. Now, I was a saved Christian. I was mentally preparing myself to leave this side of life and be at heaven’s gates. But something happened though. When I closed my eyes I saw my wife and my two kids, and I saw them as real as anything I'm looking at right now in front of me. I literally felt like I could reach out and I could touch them. It was like when I saw that this desire to fight just came over me. The only way I know how to describe it is it was supernatural.”

Sean opened his eyes to see the man with his gun aimed at his head. He jumped up, swinging out his arm at the moment it fired, shooting his hand.

“I had just fallen back to the ground,” Sean said. “I get on the radio for the final time and that's when I say, ‘Help, I'm dying.’ I remember I could see on the street flashing blue and red lights coming down the road, so I knew they were showing up. I knew my help was finally there.”

With his jaw shattered and the carotid artery on his right side severed, Sean was bleeding to death. Miraculously, an ambulance was nearby and got him to the ER without a moment to spare. He stayed conscious the whole way until he was put under for surgery.

“The Lord put each and every piece of this puzzle together,” Sean said. “He put every person, every piece of equipment, everything exactly where it needed to be to allow me to live that night.”

Sean suffered a stroke and required seventy-two units of blood. After hours in surgery, while his loved ones prayed, he finally stabilized. He would go on to have a dozen operations to reconstruct his jaw and left hand after losing a finger, but he recovered quickly, to which he gives all the credit to God.

“He worked through those doctors and surgeons hands,” Sean said. “No doubt I should be dead from a medical standpoint, but God had other plans.”

The shooter was apprehended shortly after fleeing the scene and it was discovered that he had dropped a gun of his own during the fight. He was sentenced to between 34 to 43 years in prison.

“The Lord settled into my heart, ‘Do not be angry and do not hate,’ Sean said. “I've forgiven him for what he did to me. My hope and prayer for him is that he will come to know Christ at some point in his life before it's too late, before he passes on and that chance is gone.”

Sean is back to enjoying life with his family. Both he and his K9, Jax, retired from the force and he has gone on to work with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team as a chaplain coordinator. He now shares his story of survival at public speaking events, looking to inspire others and encourage them to put their faith in Jesus Christ.

“This was to be used to bring Him honor and glory,” Sean said with a smile. “I'm getting to do things inside of this life that if I had not been shot, I would never be able to. Speak about God and speak about faith and speak about what He did for me and what He can do for others. It feels incredible to be able to wake up every day and take a breath, to walk around with minimal deficiencies, to be able to continue to make memories with my kids, with my wife, and to worship God and thank Him for what he did for me.”
 

Eight-year-old Apriani and her family live in this remote village in the hills of Indonesia. There people there have always struggled to find water to drink. 

“We usually get water from a small pool in the forest,” she told us.  “The water is murky, looks oily, and smells bad.”

Apriani told us she’s afraid to drink the water because it often makes her sick.   “The water tasted bad when I drank it,” she said.  “I remember my stomach hurt really bad and I had diarrhea. I also got rashes on my skin because of the water.”

According to Apriani’s mom, finding water during dry season was an even bigger challenge.   “The pool would dry up,” she said.  “We had no choice but to fetch water from the river.  On the way, we encountered snakes.  Then we had to turn back because we were scared.  I often wondered if it was better to give my children the dirty water—or just not let them drink.  I knew they were getting sick from drinking it.”

Then, thanks to YOU, Operation Blessing came and set up a clean water project for Apriani and 33 other families in their village.  First, we installed Water Harvesting Systems.  The collected water is purified and then stored in 500-gallon tanks. Now there is clean water available for everyone to use for washing, cooking, and drinking.                     

“I am really happy because my family received this clean water” Apriani said.  “We don’t have to use water from the  pool in the forest any longer.”  Her grateful mother added, “We are so grateful and thankful because God sent kind people to help us.”   

“May God bless you all,” Apriani said, with a big smile. 

Partnering with CBN means more than just giving—you’re helping feed and clothe families, providing medical aid to those without access to hospitals and doctors, and helping provide clean water for the thirsty. Your faithful giving brings hope to the hopeless and the truth of God’s Word to millions of homes through The 700 Club! Help bring the love of Christ to the world when you become a CBN partner today! 

8-year-old Charlie said his parents always seemed to be fighting and didn’t seem to care about their kids.   

“Our household was often in chaos,” admitted Jemis, Charlie’s dad. “Frequently I would argue with my wife. All I thought about was having fun, drinking, and being happy.”

“When we got drunk, we would not care for our children,” added Leny, the children’s mom.  “Domestic violence was a common thing for us.”

One day a neighbor invited Charlie to a Sunday school in Indonesia where they live. There he watched a Superbook episode by CBN Animation called the “The Final Battle.” It was the first time he’d ever watched a Bible Cartoon.  “In that story I learned that God defeated all demons,” said a serious Charlie.

At the end of the episode, Charlie prayed with his teacher to become a Christian. He said “The Final Battle” also triggered him to pray for his parents.

“I wanted God to defeat the devil that gripped my parents,” he said.   

Just two weeks later Charlie’s mom Leny went to church.  “The first time I went to church, I was trembling like someone who was scared!” she said.  “I was afraid I might faint. The sermon seemed to pierce my heart! That day, I cried!”   

Leny said the Lord has truly transformed her heart.  “Jesus is changing everything!” she added with tear filled eyes.   

Charlie continued to pray, and 2 weeks after that his dad came to church!

“On Saturday night,” said Jemis, “I decided that I would go to church the next day. I didn’t tell my son because I was a little afraid. So that night I secretly prepared my shoes and clothes.”

Charlie’s parents now attend church every week and also prayed to become Christians and the change in his family has been dramatic.      

“Now my parents no longer fight and they no longer drink,” said a smiling Charile. Through Superbook my family and I came to know Jesus! Thank you and God Bless you!”