“I’m blessed to be alive.”
Those are the words of Gene Cyphers, who lived on the second floor of The Davenport when the building partially collapsed Sunday.
Now, with the help of his pastor and his Hope Church community, he has a new place to live in LeClaire.
Left in the rubble are precious mementos: A scarf his mother knitted for him, a ring his brother game him, and pictures.
“I walked off with my cellphone, keys and a flashlight,” Cyphers told Local 4 News while – with his pastor, the Rev. Renee McGinty – he shopped for footwear at Holmes Shoes, Moline.
McGinty said the church has a ministry home in LeClaire that was fully furnished, but empty. And now Cyphers is living there. “It was a no-brainer,” she said.
To hear more of our Local 4 News conversation with Gene Cyphers and Rev. McGinty, click on the video above.
Search efforts continued Saturday at the site, where three people are believed to remain in the debris.