4/27/11 Storms

Love this! A friend of mine posted it on Facebook, and I loved it, so I stole it. :)

So much has been going on all around us. The storms of 4/27/11 were some of the worst ever in our area. Only one other outbreak of storms in the state compare to them, and it was back in the 1970's. Tuscaloosa, AL was hit, and so were Rainsville, AL & Trenton, GA, along with many other countless communities. It is always a somber event to witness things like this, but when it is nearer to you, you feel it even more.

Please keep my best friend, Sheena Quizon, in your thoughts and prayers. She has lost her home and so many of her things in the Tuscaloosa tornado. I can't imagine what she's going through, and I feel so helpless to be so far away!

Since Zach & I are so close to Rainsville, we felt that there would be atleast something we could do there. We went to church on Sunday morning, which was a sad but inspiring service, then ate lunch and headed out. We ended up finding work (and plenty of it) at a relief center that had just been set up that day. It is located in Rainsville in the building of Orchard Lanes bowling alley & Zoom In photography. It used to be a Winn Dixie, so it has tons of room. When we first got there yesterday afternoon, it was almost empty, but when we left some hours later, it was filling up quickly! Praise the Lord!

See what God can do?! This building was empty just a few hours before this photo was taken. I hate that I didn't take a Before pic, but you can imagine it being empty.

There's my sweetie working. The clothes just kept coming!

Bring more, if you are able! These people will have to replenish EVERYTHING- clothes, food, home stuff, toiletries, etc.

Water and drinks galore!

Please spread the word about this place!! I have been posting things non-stop on FB (which is about the only thing FB has been good for lately, besides Bin Laden comments), and have already heard from many that have made donations. This is such an awesome set up, and I hope the word gets spread to the victims in need!! If you have any questions about it, please let me know!

******

Our only loss was what food we had in our fridge & freezer. From what I've seen at work with claims, the amount we lost was not much at all compared to others. If food and power for a few days are the only losses we had, WE ARE BLESSED!! Being without power gave us a chance to enjoy the little things in life, that's for sure. We spent one night playing Scrabble, and another night hanging out (by candlelight) with our friends & neighbors, David & Amy & their kids. It's amazing how much we can actually do without, isn't it??

I went into work on both Thursday & Friday, because we were absolutely covered up. It was a strange experience working in the dark and with only one phone line, but it did the job. We cooked out from a charcoal grill with things that we were cleaning out of our freezers.

After work on Friday, Zach & I headed to his mom's in Chattanooga for a mini get-away. It was nice to visit with her and enjoy power again. We had to take Miss Daisy with us, but she was actually very well-behaved. I was surprised!

We ate and shopped in Chattanooga, then headed back home before it got dark on Saturday night. The days weren't too bad without power, but the nights were boring. We were blessed, though, in that we have a gas grill for food and a gas hot water heater for hot showers. There aren't too many people around that had gas water heaters, so we were blessed in that.

Heck, we were blessed just to have each other & our home. Period. 

We had heard that some of downtown FP had power by Saturday afternoon, and I received a text that day that FBC was having the Sunday morning service. We got up and went to church that morning- my curly hair and all. It was a sad, but sweet service, with so many calling out prayer requests and telling stories of how they were touched by what had happened. We were so inspired by others who were sharing stories of helping others, that we decided to take part. We ate lunch (the best Cracker Barrel meal I have ever had, it felt like), then headed to Rainsville.

I encourage you to help others in need whenever the opportunity arises! You never know when it might be you on the other end, needing help from others.

On another note, we were resting and enjoying TV on Sunday night after we got home. We had power restored to our neighborhood sometime Sunday afternoon. We learned while watching The Celebrity Apprentice the news about Bin Laden. I did hate that we missed the end of the show, though! I caught a screen shot, just so I would have it. This will be one of those times where you will always remember where you were the day you heard the news.

I couldn't believe it when we heard it! There are so many mixed emotions surrounding this- some people on FB are posting the Bible verse on how we shouldn't be happy when an enemy falls, and I agree to some extent. I just can't help but be glad that this man is not on the face of this earth any longer. It's safe to say that the families linked to 9/11/01 feel the same way.

So many different events wrapped up in this one week. I definitely know that 2011 has been an eventful year already, and not in a good way. I pray for what God has in store for the rest of this year.