After the storm, Zunmas said, he received calls and texts from concerned parishioners who saw the tornado heading for the church.
Among them were Paul and Kathie Westerman, parishioners of Holy Cross for about eight years. The Westermans live about 15 miles south of town, and they worried as they saw the tornado form and head toward the church. They called Father Zunmas immediately after it stopped.
"We called to see how he was, and his first words were, 'I'm alive,'" Paul told CNA.
The Westermans said they could not drive to the church that night - all surrounding roads were blocked due to downed power lines. But they came two days in a row to help out and to support their pastor.
"We just ran over and gave him a big hug and said, 'Thank God, he's alive,'" Kathie said.
A hug "in the time of coronavirus!" Fr. Zumnas added.
"I don't care, he's alive," Kathie said.
On Friday, the Westermans and other clean-up crews were helping to clean out the debris, salvage furniture from the rectory, and cover the part of the church where the roof was torn off to prevent it from getting wet in the next storm.
The Westermans said they were "very heartbroken" when they saw the damage to their church, but there was one thing that gave them hope.
"The best thing that ever happened was (a stained glass window of) Stanley Rother was still there. He was undamaged," Kathie said. "Something went through the window right beside him, but his stained glass is still there."
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Blessed Fr. Stanley Rother, a native Oklahoma farm boy turned priest and missionary to Guatemala, was beatified in Oklahoma City in 2017.
Zunmas said he has felt supported by the parish and by the Catholic community, including Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, who drove to the parish the day after the tornado.
"People have been very, very supportive," Zunmas said. "My bishop came down yesterday and then my mentor, my first pastor, Father Don Wolf. And so many people from the community, our parishioners and members and pastors, everybody came by to help out."
"I toured the tornado destruction in Madill today with Fr. Oby Zunmas whose rectory was destroyed while he took shelter in a safe room. Holy Cross Catholic Church sustained damage, but is repairable. Please keep them in your prayers," Coakley said Thursday on Twitter.
Zunmas said he is grateful to God he is alive and the damage wasn't worse, and that he has been encouraged by the goodness of people at this time.
"We do have generous people who are willing to help. Maybe sometimes they don't think about it, but when something happens, they want to come together. They want to make sure you're okay," Zunmas said.