Offering food, sweat, and comfort. brown tells me he s learned something and wants to tell the people of joplin, don t turn down help and don t give up. if you can t go anywhere, you always go home. wouldn t it have been easier for you to pack it in, say i m not going back and startover somewhere. would have been a whole lot easier, but i won t let this get me down. reporter: a full month after a deadly tornado and so many still so slow to turn the corner from surviving to recovery. david mattingly, cnn, tuscaloosa, alabama. you re in the cnn newsroom for this special report. this special joplin memorial service this sunday, may 29. it s going to begin any minute. live pictures of all those who
In all these things we are human conquers in things that love us. i am confident that neither death, life, angels, rulers, or anything that comes to powers or anything else in all of creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of god in christ jesus our lord and now with the hymn of promise, the chancellor choir of the first united methodist church under the direction of larry sandler. you re watching live the joplin community memorial service taking place in joplin, missouri. 143 people died in the tornado that devastated the community one week ago. now a special service to honor the dead and the survivors. what s this option? that s new.
Be moments where you just say where to begin, how to start. there are going to be moments where after the shock has worn off, you feel alone. but there s no doubt in my mind what the people of this community can do. there s no doubt in my mind that joplin will rebuild. and as president i can promise you your country will be there with you every single step of the way. [ applause ] we will be with you ever step of the way. we re not going anywhere! the cameras may leave! the spotlight may shift! but we will be with you every step of the way until joplin is
National response. also promising the federal government will be here long after the cameras lead. so really sort of an upbeat message from the president, a realization it will take yearing to recover but the federal government will help. thanks so much from joplin, missouri. appreciate it. also in joplin, casey wian. casey, the president got a chance to see firsthand for himself the devastation there. you also got a chance to talk with people who said it s not six miles that this tornado was on the ground but perhaps double that number. reporter: absolutely. it s 12 miles. we went from the beginning till the end, west to east and followed the path of the tornado yesterday and it s 12 miles, and it s about three quarters of a mile wide. an incredible path of destruction. the president is a very popular
Hundreds of men, women, and, yes, even children who helped their neighbors dig out of the ruins. a monument to the sear search & rescue crews who came swiftly to aid the quick and the dead. by god s grace, we will restore this community. and by god s grace we will renew our souls. one year from today, joplin will look different and more different still in two years and three and five. and as the years pass, the moral of our story will be the same. love thy neighbor. god bless. [ applause ]