Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano toured hard-hit neighborhoods of Alabama and Mississippi on Sunday to offer condolences and pledge support.
"This is not going to be a quick comeback or an immediate (recovery) but it will be, in my view, a complete one," she said in shattered Smithville, Miss., where little was left standing.
The storms that roared across the South last week flattened churches and crushed the homes of pastors and parishioners in a ragged stretch from Mississippi to Virginia. At least 342 people were killed and thousands more hurt.
So on the first Sunday after the disaster, believers streamed into houses of worship to give thanks for being spared, to mourn the dead and ponder impossible questions. Why did some survive without any explanation? Why did others die for no apparent reason?
Many people in this highly religious region saw God at work, even amid the devastation.
"God just put his big old arms around us," said Peggy Blevins, 59, of Rainsville, Ala. "I don't understand why he takes some people and leaves others. But I thank him just the same for protecting us."
When the storm drew near, she and her family hid in a hallway of their house. She believes they survived only because some trees fell on the house, pinning it down and preventing the tornado from hurling it through the air.
"To some people it might sound cold, but God does have a plan," Blevins said. "I know I sound like one of those Southern Baptists, but I am."
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