Hurricaine Gustav

Wow, what a week it has been! We survived the storm just fine. A few trees down, lots of debris, but no structural damage. The aftermath was not so "fine". 3 hour gas lines, no power, no running water. 4 hot cranky kids, 2 hot irritable parents....need I go on. I had no idea what a wimp I am. I am totally dependent on air conditioning. the humidity was the straw that put us over. We broke down on day 3 without power, and bought a generator. We still didn't have running water because we are on a well with a pump. But at least we were cool in the camper. Of course with gas over $4 a gallon, we could only afford to run the generator for 12 hours a day. We were blessed to have power back on day 4 at about 7 pm. The twins were so excited to be back in the house with the lights and air on. The ran around with their arms above their heads squealing and laughing, it was just too cute. There are still hundreds of thousands of people with out power in southern Louisiana. Baton Rouge is still under a mandatory curfew until 65% of the households get power. It isn't being reported in the national news, but it has been very hard for the people here. Many homes have been destroyed by fallen trees in our area. This is the worse disaster in Baton Rouge history. Our children will return to school tomorrow, but BR will be out at least another week. Please be in prayer for the people of Louisiana, especially as Ike threatens the Gulf Coast.

p.s. There have been many "heroes" here. Our National Guard (along with many nearby states National Guard) have been a huge presence handing out supplies and keeping our streets safe, many other states and federal law enforcement officers have also come to help our local law enforcement keep order (than have been fight in the gas lines and people stealing generators off of front porches). Many churches, especially ours, Healing Place, have stepped up and been the hands and feet of Jesus. Giving out food, water, ice, and even free gas. Sending out crews to help clear trees and debris. It has been a long week with many life lessons. I for one, found that I was not spiritually prepared for this storm/trial. I will be making some personal changes, so that I will hopefully be more Christ like during the next trial. I had no idea my attitude was so closely tied to a/c and running water... lesson learned, I hope!