Unexpected Disaster

The swollen river

A flooded road

I took this shot on our flight home--see the flooded rivers?

This was right after we got back from the flooded trailer home--we got awfully wet!

Annie and Loretta, wet as can be

No electricity.....

See the tree that fell on this house?

See the white shed? Right beside it was where the trailer home used to be.

Yikes!

Last weekend we were shocked to realize that the storms we were getting in TN were no small thing--one minute we were all having a relaxing, rainy Saturday at the Campbell's, the next thing we knew Mr. Campbell was shouting for us--a family down the road needed urgent help.

We didn't know what to expect, but we hastily threw on coats and sneakers and ran out into the rain.

We weren't at all prepared for the sight we were met with when Mr. Campbell's van pulled up. A trailer home was standing in the midst of a rushing river, and the people it belonged to were wailing in terror. The water was rising, and they knew if it got any higher, their whole house could be washed away. We had to cross the river and make our way over to the trailer's entrance. We thought we might have to help move all the stuff out, but just a short while after praying, we saw that the rain was letting up, and the water was going down. Whew! We girls were somewhat stunned with what we had seen, but it really made us see how grave the situation really was. The rain let up for a while that evening, but unfortunately it had picked up full-force again by night fall. In the early hours of the morning we had to rush down-stairs to help mop up flooding in the Campbell's own basement. It took hours of mopping, but it still wasn't nearly as bad as many of the other people's homes near-bye. We found out later that day, that the trailer home we had been been at the day before was now completely washed away. Just gone. Thankfully the family was safe, but I'm sure it was devastating.

Electricity went completely out--no phones, no running water. Annie and I were meant to fly home that Monday, but the whole airport was closed down, and our flight had to be canceled.
By Tuesday, the sun was finally shining, and Mr. Campbell took us for a drive around the area. Its amazing how much destruction water can do! Trees had fallen on people's houses, water had washed across roads and swept away people's things. We saw sofas, trucks, and piles of household items lodged in completely un-natural places. It was just baffling to see! We heard that thousands of people had lost there homes, possessions, and in some cases even their lives. We felt extremely thankful for God's hand of grace and protection on us, and found it interesting that He had allowed us to be there at such a time!