This is from Mike's sister Linda Forrest...being passed and shared. Reading this has lifted my heart, ---brought comfort in knowing the strong faith both Tina and Mike shared with our Lord.
Thank you Dawn Goodwin-Spann for sharing with us all..
Debi Vernon-Eaton
As most of you have seen, horrific tornadoes ripped through northern Alabama Wednesday evening...and you may have, as I usually do, expressed sorrow for lives lost, and then life moves on. But, Thursday morning, my heart was crushed and and my life came to a halt as I learned that my older brother Mike, and his wife of 31 years, Tina, were killed as an F4 tornado crashed into their house as they huddled together with their 2 dogs, in the bathroom. The entire home was ripped from it's foundation and strewn into the lake down the hill behind their property in Ohatchee, Al. Mike and Tina were texting our family to let us know what was going on, and we assumed when we didn't hear from them anymore after Mike's last transmission at 6:56pm Wed., that the power was just out.
I've never known anyone in my life who was always enthusiastically resolved to see Jesus as Mike. At many family gatherings, in the midst of wonderful meals and belly laughs, Mike would say, "Wow, this is how it's going to be in heaven, and we get to do this all the time!" He tailored all of his responses and interactions with people to reflect his love of the Lord, or to give the Lord credit and glory for everything. Tina and Mike were so excited to learn about the deeper things of the Lord and to have known, in the last 5 years the power and giftings available to them through the Holy Spirit. Tina read every book she could get her hands on to learn more and more about her abundant life through Jesus and Holy Spirit.
I am so comforted to learn that Mike and Tina both had smiles on their faces as they crossed over, and that is their daughter's last view of them, on this earth. I can hear Mike chuckling, "Haha, I'm so glad to be out of that shell of a body!" It gives me peace to talk to Jessica, their daughter, (my first, "sweet baby.") and to hear hope in her voice, and to feel the bubble of grace around her as she walks a difficult road for a 28 year old. Her husband, James, and his family have stepped up beautifully these last 24 hours. Their daughter, Ariel, who is 5, was the apple of Mike and Tina's eye, and she will wonder in days to come why she can't see Papa and Nana anymore.
Of utmost importance to me is Mike and Tina's son, Blake. He as been deployed for 9 months, the last 3 being in Afghanistan with the marines. Mike and Tina had bought him a new truck, and were welcoming him home next Friday May 6th, in North Carolina for Mother's Day weekend. We are waiting to hear when he will be flown home, to Birmingham. He will come home to no parents and no belongings. His dog, Cuz, was found wondering around, yesterday, and Jessica's in-laws will keep him for Blake.
My Mom is doing remarkable well, as she trudges through waves of emotion at different moments. My sister, Millie is
flying in from Wisconsin, this afternoon, and all of her children are making their way here in the next couple of days from Colorado, California, and Wisconsin. Uncle Mike loved to tease all of them. My brother Steve is dealing with the new, "man of the family," title, with grace and humility, and much sooner than he ever planned. He and his wife, Kathryn, are in Alabama today, with Jessica, working out details, and meeting with funeral home staff.
Anyone who was a friend to Mike, through Facebook, knew of his amazing sense of humor...unmatched, corny, and hilarious. As they prepared for the impending storms, Mike posted that it looked like they might be going to visit the land of Oz this afternoon...and as the tornado was upon them he mentioned the wind stopping, and in the eye of the storm, two of his last posted comments were of his trust in the Lord: "Thanks. Jesus is callin' the shots-AMEN! ;<) We have angels to protect us, or usher us into heaven. HA! No fear here!"; "If I drop off line...either our power has gone off, or I'm with the ONE who holds all the POWER ;<)" Mike and Tina would want their testimony to be of their total dependence, love, and desire for each of us to know the One who loves more than life itself, and that life is always and only worth living, when we know, trust, and depend on Jesus Christ.
Thank you so much to my awesome beautiful friends and family for the most comforting, unbelievable outpouring of love, and prayers...it's the body of Christ, the way it's supposed to be, and I am undone as a recipient of your heart-felt extensions of God toward me and my family. This is a trauma, but not a devastation. A sadness, but not without comfort because of a love that is unfathomable and immeasurable. Jesus has a good track record with me of His faithfulness, and it won't waiver.
love to all,
Linda
The only fact I have, at this point is Lemley Funeral Home in Onenta, Al, which is the town where the church is: World Outreach Church
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Working hard, loving God
Working hard, loving God
Neighbors and friends remember Michael and Tina Forrest as a lively, happy pair who worked hard and loved God.
“They were two of the most incredible people you will ever meet,” Gadsden resident Gina Coggins said Thursday as she stood next to the cinderblock foundation of her friends’ old home — the only part of the structure still intact.
They moved from Hoover to their lakeside home on Neely Henry Lake in Ohatchee a year ago.
The Forrests’ neighbors — Kim and Mark Thompson — also recalled the couple’s dedication to the Christian faith and their hardworking ways.
Mike Forrest was the kind of neighbor who always said hello, Mark Thompson said, the kind of guy who waved when he saw you.
Mike Forrest worked long hours at a Publix grocery store in Birmingham, Coggins added. But his first love was graphic design, she remembered. Before the economy went sour, Mike helped design pages for a contracting company with Southern Living Magazine.
The Forrests leave behind a daughter who works in Birmingham and a younger son, stationed as a Marine in Afghanistan, Alabama Deputy Fire Marshal Tommy Wiggonton said.
Coggins attended church with the Forrests at the World Outreach Center in Oneonta, and Tina Forrest worked as a paralegal at Coggins’ Gadsden law firm.
“Tina and I left the office together yesterday. We walked out together at the same time, saying we were going to go home and take cover,” Coggins said through tears. “And she did; they posted on Facebook later that they were hunkered down in their house with a pot of coffee. They were two of the most wonderful people.”
Tina Forrest, 49, was found dead under a tree near the banks of Neely Henry Lake Thursday morning.
First responders had pulled Mike Forrest from the lake sometime late Wednesday or early Thursday morning. Forrest was alive when emergency workers found him, but he died from his extensive injuries at a hospital in Gadsden Thursday morning, Wiggonton said.
Tina had spent much of her free time in recent days talking about how excited she was her son, Blake, was coming home from Afghanistan at the beginning of May, Coggins said. Tina planned to drive to Camp LeJeune in North Carolina next week, just so she could be the first person to hug her son, who’s been gone since last summer.
“They were the best neighbors,” Kim Thompson said. “And now they’re gone and we’ve lost everything, too.”
The Thompson’s mobile home was also destroyed in the storm, along with five other homes along the Eagle Cove Road stretch that overlooks Lake Neely Henry.
Jessica Peterson, the Forrests’ daughter, cried when she arrived to see the wreckage that used to be her parents’ home. As she scoured the debris, searching for a photo album, a family Bible, a muddy picture of her brother in uniform, Coggins looked on, tears rimming her eyes.
“This is so hard. I just can’t believe it,” Coggins said. “The last thing they posted on Facebook was, ‘It’s headed our way. We’ve got angels to protect us or angels to usher us into heaven. No fear.’ Yes, that was them.”
from http://annistonstar.com/bookmark/13034290-Loved-ones-remember-those-taken-by-Wednesday%E2%80%99s-stormsThursday, April 28, 2011
Tina Summers Forrest
April 27, 2011, Ohatchee AL in Calhoun County Live Tina Summers and Mike Forrest. They live in a small ranch home with a lake across the street. Tina loved living in the country. She was a wonderful cook and was always making breads and jams..The simple things of life..just plant it, it will grow and then you can it, freeze and eat all winter long.
In the past few month Tina had redone her kitchen. From stripping the cabinets and painting them. The walls, country tops it wall was posted step by step on Facebook. All was finished and she was so proud of her work. Just last week she had made Ariel a pillow case dress..oh how she loved that little girl.
Tina was able to speak to Blake last weekend, Blake is serving in Afghanistan and was due to be home soon. Jessica lives in Birmingham not far away.
My heart is breaking for Blake, Jessica and all the other family left behind...I hold in my heart that there is a reason for all things, and it's not my to ask why..God had other plans for Mike and Tina...
Please hold them and the family in your hearts and prayers..
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