Sonntag, 26. Juni 2011

Our last days in the US

Only 16 days left for us here the in the US...
And how awesome is it that God is allowing us to make these last days here count!
Thx God

last week we arrived here in Alabama and I (chriss) have been out all week from 7:30am till about 6pm to help in the Tornado relief efforts here in Alabama Huntsville that was hit April 27th with an F5 Tornado. only 13 people died here, although up till now over 340 people died here in the US due to Tornados and their destruction.

It was intense, terrifying, shocking, awesome, painful, hard, tough, fun, blessed to be honored to be a part of this.
The first day I came to a place where a couple of neighbors had a B-B-Q Party and all stayed in the one house and about 20 yards/meters one of the most devastating Tornados touched down and picked up a house, throe it into a tree and took the rest to smash it into the owners lively hood - his store.
All with the owner watching this... the friend who had just gone across teh street to get something for the BBQ never came back...
And now we're in there, picking up the rubble and trying to save anything that might have a personal or emotional value for the owner and his family...







Jesse, the home owner was deeply moved that so many from all over came to help him clear his property! There are only 60 days after the Catastrophe to get all the junk to the side of the streets to be picked up.

The next day a roof needed to be fixed again with a blue tarp until the owner lady has enough money for the final fixes...
and the rest of that week we cut trees... all sizes and shapes in all sorts of crazy positions...
It was hard, dangerous work, as these trees were blown over in all sorts of directions and many of them under a lot of tension or pressure...
But it was fun too. Especially driving the skeet loader...

more pictures below...


But when you are out there, it's real intense as some of the homes are unharmed and th house right next to it it totally blown away...
People here say that they rather have a hurricane than a Tornado, because they are so much more destructive and at the same time so absolutely unpredictable...
Like these trees were blown over on both sides of a house, but the house literally untouched, only a few shingles needed replacement...

And then there are these powerful conversations with the others that work or the home owners about suffering and pain... why does God allow it? What is God's plan? What does the bible say about a year like 2011 that has already outnumbered the whole last century on major natural catastrophes?

So please pray for Nancy, a old colored lady that lost all she had and now lives in a tiny mobile home on her property and is the most thankful and loving person I have met in this last week.
Also pray for Jesse, that He might be moved to give up his self reliance to turn to Christ for His salvation and hope, not his own ability to just "deal with it."

here are a few more pictures to give you some more impressions:

2 Kommentare:

  1. heftig... ich fühle mich gesegnet, an einem Ort zu wohnen, an dem so starke Tornados sehr unwahrscheinlich sind.
    ich hoffe und bete, dass sowohl Handeln als auch die Gespräche Früchte bringen.

    AntwortenLöschen
  2. Mensch, Chriss! Bin genau wie Elke froh, dass wir hier so etwas nicht haben.
    Toll, dass Ihr hingefahren seid um zu helfen.
    Das geht ja durch Mark und Bein, was Du da zu berichten hast.

    AntwortenLöschen