It's Good to be Back!

What a long, strange trip it's been.  We've all seen the aftermath of natural disasters on TV : hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods....and tornadoes.   I can honestly say, you have no idea how overwhelming it is unless you survive one and see the destruction first hand.  As I drive through town now, it is hard to recognize neighborhoods that I travel everyday.  Trees have been sheared off, homes destroyed, power lines down. 

These pictures were taken on our street, immediately after the tornado:

This house is across the street and 3 houses down from us.  

This is in the yard, next to the house above.
They are forunate the tree on the left fell into their pool rather than onto their house.

On the other side of our block, behind our house.
People were trapped in one or both of these houses for a short time.

I'm thankful that our power and internet were restored after a week.  I went 2 days without coffee before we got a generator.  It wasn't that bad, but it was nice NOT to have a "lack of caffeine" headache finally.  I had a headache from the stress of the situation so a little coffee was really nice.  Even the powdered creamer wasn't so bad.  :)   I didn't realize just how physically tired I could be from emotional stress.  I guess I suffered from an adrenaline crash.  When it goes, so does your energy.

What's left at the intersection where we turn to go into our residential area.

Steeple at the Baptist Church.  Lots of damage here.

This sign was bent by the sheer force of the wind; estimated to be as much as 175 mph in this EF-4 tornado.

Another sign, bent by the wind.  {Sorry this one is a bit blurry}

Traffic lights at a downtown intersection as they were tangled by the storm.

The sky was INCREDIBLY blue that next day with perfect puffy white clouds.

I quickly realized how peaceful life is with no power and before the hum of generators filled our neighborhood.  The was no light pollution so the stars were brighter than I'd ever seen them.  The weather was a bit cool at night; perfect for sitting on the screen porch with my family...talking; around the light of a single candle.  The only sound was the sound of our voices.  It was nice to not have the distractions of TV, internet, phones...the world.  Don't get me wrong.  I couldn't have been Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I enjoy my creature comforts, but a break from them makes them not so routine any more and makes you appreciate time with family even a little more.

As I hung hand washed clothes on a makeshift clothesline, I was SO thankful that I had purchased a bag of wooden clothespins when we were at the beach a couple of weeks ago.  I bought them to close bags of cereal and potato chips while we were there.  Little did I know I would use them for their intended purpose only a few days later.  It was a good reminder that God always holds me in the palm of His hand...even when I don't realize it or think about it.

Life is returning to more of a routine.  The SG Etsy Shop opened back up today!  School resumed after 8 days out because of the storms.  People are doing daily things again...going to lunch, shopping, going to Walmart {yes, even WM was closed for a time after the storm}.  Power is on in most of the city, but not all.  Some people are still on generators and have no internet.  There is still a long, long way to go.  Storm debris still litters the streets.  Power crews are still here from all-over.  The guys from Texarkana, Texas have been on our street alot.   I thanked one of these gentlemen yesterday and told him how much I appreciated all they had done.  I think he may have been embarrassed by the attention.  He smiled and said he was looking forward to being done so he could go back home.  I don't blame him.

Home is a wonderful place to be!

Tornado Update & a Message of Hope

It's been a little over a week now, since the tornado.  We were lucky enough to have our power restored on Tuesday of this week; then the internet connection came back up on Wednesday.  There are still many parts who town who have neither service.  Some people are still using generator power and finding wi-fi hot spots where they may.

Clean up & volunteering is in full force.  It is wonderful to see how this little town has pulled together.  The Red Cross is here, the National Guard is here, Christian faith-based help is here from many parts of the country and the local people are helping each other.

The church can be the heart of many communities.  Our little town is sometimes known as the "city of churches" because there are so many in close proximity to one another.  That's one of the nice things about small-town Alabama. :)  Two downtown churches were completely destroyed.  Others, like mine, suffered a great deal of damage.  We lost our beloved stained glass windows among other things.

We were among the members who came to our church the day after the storms to begin clean-up.  We were able to see things that most of our members won't be able to see because the major clean-up has begun now.  Our sanctuary and part of our building is now a "hard-hat only" area and completely off limits to members.   It is estimated that 6-9 months will be necessary to do all of the necessary repairs.  Luckily we have space that was not damaged in which to worship in the meantime.

We took pictures on that day after;  from a perspective that few had. After much thought, we decided to put together a video with a message of hope.  Little Gracious did most of the work on this which just a few suggestions from Mom. :)

We Survived the Tornado

I live in Alabama.  April 27, 2011 is a day that we will never forget and never want to repeat.  Our town was devastated by an EF-4 tornado... possibly more than one.  The downtown area of our little town was devastated.  Many 100+ year old trees were literally ripped up by the roots.  Many homes have been completely destroyed.  Many business now lay in a rubble heap.  The landscape was changed forever.

My family was blessed.   We suffered no physical injury and only minor damage to our home.   We watched the TV weather until our power went out.  I knew that the tornado was close.  I saw the swirling debris cloud right before we took shelter in our linen closet.  I heard sounds of things breaking, trees coming down & wind blowing, but most the sound of my own voice praying.  I was afraid of what I would see when we emerged.  Praise God! Our house was still standing.  The damage was minor.  Our neighbors down the street weren't so lucky.  There are probably 3 houses on our street that will have to be torn down.  They had multiple trees fall on them.

At my home, we still have no power or internet connection...and we don't have smartphones.  We were able to get a generator a few days ago, which has made things easier.  Luckily, Sew Daddy likes to grill so he's been able to cook much of our frozen food before it spoiled.  Frozen pizzas & homemade lasagna are very good when cooked on a Big Green Egg.

Last Thursday, we drove a 2 hour round trip to find gasoline and a wifi connection.  At that time, I put my Etsy shop in vacation mode.  It will remain that way until power & internet are available again.  Today, I'm at a family member's house to check email for the first time since the storm.

I will be checking into FB later today.  Given the number of emails I was finally able to read  today, lots of you have posted on my personal wall and also the  SG wall.  I haven't read them yet; still trying to get through about 300 emails. :) Your ourpouring of support, concern, offers to bring us supplies , etc is overwhelming.  I can never thank you all enough; especially because there are only a few of you that I've ever met face to face.  I don't want to call it "the kindness of strangers" because I feel like I know so many of you even though we've never met.

I have lots of pictures that I would like to share but that will have to wait a few more days.  Today when I came to a family member's house to get internet access, I brought my camera but forgot to bring my camera cable.  I grabbed my cell phone charger instead.  However, I'm sure you've seen pictures on the news. I heard that Diane Sawyer opened one of her broadcasts over the weekend with a picture of our church sanctuary.     I can only image the other images you've seen.  I have to say, seeing it on TV is nothing like living it.  Many times, I've just been overcome with tears when I see our town...landmarks gone forever.   I heard that Diane Sawyer said that our church would not be worshipping this past Sunday.  I'm happy to say that she was mistaken.  Our church did meet on Sunday, with no power, in the fellowship hall.  It was standing room only!  God's people came together and it was wonderful.

That brings to mind another point.  This little town has united to help each other.  Even with the devastation, all area churches and other organizations are working together to doing outreach during this difficult time.   It's a true test of God's people.  It is up to US to help our neighbors and not wait for the government to do so.  Of course state and federal aid is here, needed and will be needed for months to come, but the Church is doing what God expects us to do.  I'm thankful for the service of our first responders, police force, state troopers and national guard soldiers whose presence is so reassuring.

There was a community faith service on Sunday night.  It was a time for people to gather, pray and just take a break from reality for a couple of hours.  We were treated to a free concert by Casting Crowns and it was incredible!  Many, Many thanks to Mark Hall, the members of the group and the local officials who were able to provide that for our community.

Ok, I've gotten a bit long winded here.  Just know that I appreciate you all and ask that you continue to pray for our community!

much love,
Pam