Whirlwind

Looks like alot of very long white balloons, don't they. This is something new for us. These are plastic tubes which are placed all over buildings here in the flooded area. They force extremely strong wind through them. Every few feet there are small holes in the plastic where the air is forced out. It is a really awesome way to try and dry out the buildings. These are inside the First Assembly Church and run 24/7. The generators that run them are sitting outside the building. They seem to do a really good job.

The clean up continues day and night. So far we have been blessed with sunny skies and today the temps were in the mid 70's with a light breeze, great for more drying.

We were at the church yesterday and saw Pastor A's wife, Tammy, clothed in her bright yellow boots that came up to her knees, air mask and gloves. She and the clean up teams, which were clad in hazmat suits and respirators, where in the basement of the church trying to clean and salvage anything and everything they could. Tammy is the children's ministry director and just the thought of all the property used going to the streets into a trash pile was a difficult thought. She had alot of things stored in plastic totes but water reached nearly everything. It makes the decision of power washing and attempting to dry or calling it a loss very rough on one's emotions. They continue to work away, tireless and yet exhausted.

People continue to stop by the church looking for cleaning supplies, food and water. Although we have given out everything from the Convoy of Hope outreach we are able to direct them to places listed in the local newspaper. Everyone is exhausted, everyone is operating on auto-pilot but everyone continues going forward.

The church held their Sunday services in a "borrowed" location of another local church that was unharmed. The time was different, the location was different, the members had to sit in pews that were not their normal ones --- but everyone came with praise and thanksgiving in their hearts and everyone left with their faith uplifted and renewed! God is an amazing God!

We will be returning tomorrow, meeting with some other relief agencies, assisting wherever we can. Please continue to pray for the entire community, and all of those surrounding us who were also flooded. It seems our city sits directly in the center with devastation all around us in every direction. We all count our blessings and everyone is praying for those in Iowa who are faced with even deeper flood waters and loss.

Until next time . . . Susan and Monty