Hurricane Ike, Part 2

Hurricane Ike, Part 2

Welcome to Christianity Oasis. This is Hurricane Ike, Part 2 from our Sojourn With Luz Leigh Collection. We hope you enjoy this enlightening reading and it helps you on your own be-YOU-tiful Christian walk.

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Sojourn With Luz Leigh

Hurricane Ike, Part 2

Saturday, 13th September 2008. The day that will be etched in the memory of millions of people along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, especially along the eastern portion of Texas and western area of Louisiana. Hurricane Ike made his appearance. For those of us who were awaiting his arrival, it was akin to the birth of a baby. You knew he was on his way; you knew when his appointed time of arrival had been set; you had made all the preparations you could think of and now all you could do was wait. When Ike struck, we were almost glad because it is so nerve-wracking to sit, waiting for something to happen. And then as the height of the storm is dashing against you, as in childbirth, you know this will soon pass, but at the moment you would like to scream, "Oh, when will those winds subside? When will that horrible noise quieten?" And then after several hours, the eye of the hurricane passes over you, giving you some relief. But you know the back side of the storm will soon be upon you and you will endure the "labor pains" again.

We were preparing to make our way through the next days, even weeks, with no power except our battery powered lanterns and flashlights. We would be sharing a portable gasoline generator with Don. He would bring the generator to my home, connect my refrigerator for a few hours. We could listen to the radio, but even if the television stations were able to broadcast, my cable company was without power, so no TV.

David, who was out and about helping others, was made aware that a semi-trailer truck loaded with 200 gasoline generators was on its way to our area. It would take approximately three hours for the truck to arrive, so David put our names on the list to have two generators reserved for us. The price of the unit was approximately $599.00 but we would have paid twice that amount to have power. The company that was selling the units were not increasing their prices; that was their everyday price.

By 9:00 p.m. Saturday night David arrived with the generator, along with two friends who were helping unload, set up the unit, fill it with gas, show me how to operate it. Then Wes pulled the starter cord, and vooooommm, the engine began humming. (Note: This is being typed Tuesday morning, 16th September, and that lovely, though noisy machine is providing power for me to run my computer.) I am not very mechanically inclined and was not able to start the generator Sunday morning, but now I have mastered the art. I think; better not brag.)

Back up a bit. Saturday two of my landline phones were still working, the old-fashioned ones that require no electricity to operate. But shortly after 11:00 p.m. even those were not working. Therefore, we had to rely on cell phones. I don't know if it was because so many people were using their cell phones, or there had been some minor damage to some of the equipment, but we began having difficulty maintaining our signals. I tried to us mine as sparingly as possible because my needs were being taken care of by my children .

Saturday afternoon Tammy and Kate packed their belongings and "moved" back to their home. It got really quiet around here; back to normal.

During the night I noticed the brightest, prettiest full moon shining high overhead. I went to sleep, thanking our Father for His goodness. A few hours later I was awakened by thunder, and then I heard the rain. Oh, no, I thought. The ground is already saturated from the Ike-related rains. Since I could do nothing to stop the rain, I went back to sleep. When I awakened the next morning, there was sunshine. Oh, thank you Lord.

Our pastor had sent an email late Friday saying there would be worship service Sunday morning, even without electricity. So, at the appointed hour Don picked me up and we headed off to church. As we neared the parking lot, we saw four semi-trailers. They were loaded with ice, bottled water and MREs. Don went his way to see what he needed to do; I made my way into the grand foyer, sometimes referred to as Higher Ground, where folding chairs had been set up. Sarah, the church pianist, was playing on a small piano that had been moved from one of the nearby rooms. Other musicians would soon join her; the doctor who plays the saxophone, Marty on bass.

We sang without hymnals or the words being flashed on a screen. We sang three hymns, one being "Amazing Grace," then Dr. Rogers spoke for a few minutes. His text was from John 6 that tells of Jesus' feeding the five thousands people and then His walking on water.

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