GREENSBORO, N.C. — This Friday marks four years since a tornado tore through Guilford and Rockingham Counties.
East Greensboro was hit particularly hard. Homes, schools and businesses were destroyed. Four years later, some damage remains while others made repairs.
It's getting harder to see the scars. Roofs have been replaced. Broken trees and light poles have been cleared.
"It's probably one of the hardest things I've witnessed," Brandi Rojas said.
Rojas grew up on Phillips Avenue and she's watched the transformation over the last four years.
"When I tell you the bounce-back of Greensboro has been impeccable, for us to go through something that does not happen here," Rojas said.
She went through it herself.
She and her husband's church, Max Life Church, was also damaged in the storm.
"My husband had to literally crawl through the trees to get to our church and by the time he got back to the car, all he could do was shake his head," Rojas said.
They almost gave up their ministry but found motivation in the rubble.
"We had a sign on the wall held up by two-sided tape that was still there," Rojas said. "For us, that was a sign that we had to keep going."
Their congregation met at sandwich shops and other churches for two years before finding their current space on Market Street as the pandemic began.
The chairs, drum set and soundboard are just some of the things donated to them after the storm.
Despite the odds, their congregation grew. In part, because someone suggested they start an online church.
"They were inspired by what they saw us go through and come out of. So we started E-Max and have members from Detroit, Michigan all the way down into Georgia," Rojas said.
There are a few reminders from the building they left behind including a flag used during prayer walks.
"It symbolizes the unity among us," Rojas said.
She hopes that same unity continues as the city moves on after the storm.
