After Hurricane Gustav

Hurricane Gustav was a natural disaster second only to Hurricane Katrina. Why aren't you hearing this on the news? I don't know. Maybe because this is not New Orleans, because it "wasn't as bad as expected," because it's an election year and it's political, or because there are more sensational stories. Who knows.

Life is slowly returning to normal. Many, many people are still without power across the southern portion of the state. We anticipated a month to six weeks without power, so when the lights came on four hours after we returned home, we considered ourselves incredibly blessed!

A few more stores open each day. Some grocery stores are open, but every line at every register stretches to the back of the store. We were fortunate to be able to pick up a few items to carry us through until things are a bit more normal. I don't plan to shop for awhile. Although most people have been amazingly patient, tensions are still high for some. I feel more comfortable staying in, plus I don't want to wait in line for 2 hours with 4 little kids. During our evacuation, Billy's mom picked us a bunch of beautiful pears from the old pear trees on family property, so we're blessed with fresh fruit. These pears are a hard variety that last a long time.

By the time we returned, a lot of cleanup had already taken place, so the roads were at least passable. There are still huge trees down everywhere. Yesterday Billy and some other staff members from our church helped a lady whose home was destroyed by an enormous oak. Billy said it was so big two men reaching around it could barely touch hands.

We'll finally be able to have church services again Sunday. Sunday is also my 30th birthday, and I can't think of a better gift!