 This storm, too, will pass: Then what? Thoughts from a hurricane survivor |
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by Vera Moore |
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On the morning of September 14, a co-worker sent me an animated online We stayed at home in Mobile, Alabama, safe and secure in familiar, comfortable surroundings. We recharged our appliances and had plenty of batteries in all sizes. We filled our large cooking pots and plastic containers with water. We had a good supply of food and prescription medications on hand. We notified the deputy general secretary that we would remain near the mission information line to be ready to respond as soon as the hurricane passed over. Her response was an order, with a smile, to follow the instructions of local authorities, evacuate and be safe. At 1:30 a.m. in the soft candlelight we listened to Ivan's winds, but they did not compare to the freight train-like roar of 1969’s Camille outside our motel room window all night long in Slidell, LA. We survived Camille, as we had Hazel the year we married, 1954; in 1979, when our daughter was in the ninth month of her first pregnancy, we asked a nurse to stay with us through Frederick; we saw the mountains of debris piled along Highway 90 in Louisiana following Betsy in1965 and we had spent much time in a home that had survived the terrible storm of 1906. Comforted by these memories, we lifted prayers for everyone, name-by-name, and dropped off to sleep. At 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday we could see by daylight; “Great, there is a dial tone,” so we sent an email to bosses, co-workers, family and friends, that all was well. Lack of power didn’t stop this mighty notebook computer! We wiped the dampness from the porch rockers, placed them back into their upright positions and enjoyed the coffee from the thermos. “Oops, the dial tone is gone; no, it's back again; no, gone again!” We began listening to the reports of how the storm changed direction and all is not well with our neighbors to the east. Thursday we spent being frantic that others were doing our jobs for us. Friday we decided to venture from our complex to see if we could find an Internet connection in order to at least respond to emails. No, everything was boarded up tight, traffic lights were not operating, and downed trees and debris were everywhere. We went home and attempted to be calm and wait for the effects of Ivan to pass. On Tuesday power and phone service were restored; we began to get reports from friends and family who had been worried about us and from those who had not been as safe. Some dear friends who have survived Polio now must deal with a neighbor's tree fallen into the second story of their brand new home. UMW Listserv shared names and effects of the storm on our neighbors, so near and yet so far as their communications are limited. We talk much of the next time. Will we again feel safe in our apartment? Will we leave; suffer the period of not knowing then, like our neighbor to the east, return home to a cement slab where our home was? Will we ever be on the other side of Ivan? In the animated greeting card, the little boat sailed over the smooth waters
in bright sunlight following the storm. How helpless we feel as we see so many
suffering, all their possessions lost in the storm. We've phoned UMCOR at 800-554-8583
and made a contribution to #982410, Hurricanes 2004. What more can we do? We
can only encourage you to do the same. Please give in Jesus’ Name, trusting
that God will help us all to put Ivan behind us and prepare for what is yet
to come. Vera Moore is the Mission Information staff for the General Board of Global Ministries, based in Mobile, Alabama.
Date posted: Sep 25, 2004 |
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