A day in my life !

• Posted by Rev. Lisa Taylor June 9, 2013 - #  - 673 views
  Natural disasters are by far hard to comprehend on small levels, but when entire communities are effected much less a whole state is devastated. It is something that words can never do it justice, but I am going to try to convey my experience to those that never experienced this before. Please forgive me if I come off a bit angry. It is very emotional frustrating time for many , life has been lost , families have been displaced on a grand scale , media is concentrating on one area only and this has become the poster child for national coverage , I understand Moore Oklahoma is in fact a highly populated area and suffered greatly. But did you know small towns such as Carney and Luther was devastated ? Bethel Acres lost two of their own from their community,Little Axe didn't fair much better, Shawnee had small communities within the city limits completely destroyed , but yet only Moore was used by the media in order for so many commercials depicting Red Cross and how wonderful they are coming in and helping with relief , and used by entertainers highly well known to hold benefit concerts, even our beloved sports star's donation that exceeded a million dollars to off set cost of what Red Cross was spending on food and water for the responders and families in the Moore area.Many text to donate 10 dollars to Red Cross in order to say they reached out to help and for that I am thankful but I ask you to research for your self about this corporation before committing anything to them, do not get me wrong Red Cross has helped in many ways but also has turned away almost just as many. Remember the small towns I mentioned above? Bethel Acres did not have Red Cross show up until the Friday following the tornado , then gone two days later. Carney well I can say honestly Red Cross was there but hidden behind a gated fence behind the police station which was not a perfect place because it took me some time to locate their set up. Now if it was hard for me to find then how hard would it be for families that are in need , shocked and numb to find ? Can you imagine in your wildest dreams what it's like yet? I am very proud of Assembly of God in Carney for stepping up organizing donations and setting up tables to feed those that are in the area helping with restoring electricity and cleaning a way debris for these families , I witnessed people side by side working and breaking what bread there was trying to keep each others spirits uplifted during a time that faith and hope has been shaken to its very core. I am very honored to have met and work with such good people and extend my hand when ever it is needed to the staff and congregation of Assembly of God in Carney, You can call upon me any time and I will be there . Now for those that do not know this area , I have been traveling a wide area to bring help and donations to these communities during the first tornado even up to the day before the second monster that plagued Oklahoma the following week, If you are wondering why I was not knee deep in debris the day of this particular day then let me share with you what was going on, a few of those that know me enough that I allow into my life knows this already so to those please bare with me as I explain , In April a couple of weeks before my birthday a woman in my community took ill and was hospitalized with many complications , she suffered greatly and we almost lost her twice, she went into a coma and lost her hands as a result of all this. Her mother is a wonderful friend of mine for over 20 odd years, a couple of weeks before the first onset of storms she was sent to a halfway hospital, this for those that do not know what this is, it is a place that when a person is not sick enough to be hospitalized any longer but too sick to enter a rehabilitation center. She weathered out the first tornado in Midwest City, then on the day of the second tornado she was transferred to one of the best rehabilitation centers we have at Jim Thorpe hospital, I was with her along with her mother as they settled her in, this was emotional for both mother and daughter . Yes , I was aware of the weather and already was receiving information by the weather center along with text by good friends that wanted to keep me safe. I knew the dangers and I knew what needed to be done to prepare but no matter how much information one gets it never includes what really is unknown and never factors in the unexpected . I calmly read the reports and then as one of the staff came in to ask if we had any questions I brought up the subject of in case of emergency weather wise what was their game plan, she explained their policy and the information was well received . Time was the enemy of the day but her comfort was the focus at the moment, an hour passed and the nutrition staff member came in to go over her dietary needs, as she was mapping out her game plan an announcement was made over the intercom stating the first call for code black, those that do not know what code black stands for , it is action to preparing for lock down of the hospital so the staff can get a head count and get things ready for transfer of their wards to safety . I have to give it to this staff member because she really down played the importance of the announcement in order not to alarm and frighten the visitors or the wards , I know how much everyone was on edge because of the last tornado. She was really able to keep a level head and a blessing to the staff at Jim Thorpe Hospital. I reminded my friend she had things that we needed to attend to and as we left I stopped by to inform the desk we were leaving and they made sure to take us off the list of visitors. The second we were on the road I tuned into 107.7 a station there in Oklahoma that the weather station 9 takes control of , the storm was building and moving in fast, we made it to Bristow to pick up her two grandsons when my phone went off the wall, reports of a monster tornado near El Reno , my concern was building greatly by the information I was receiving , then a text came from someone that I knew was going to be heading out to get behind this monster and follow it back through in order to report it's path and be ready as first responder, this was their job but none the less very dangerous , I replied and was told to get back to town and get braced , during the trip I contacted a friend to let them know , the radio was overwhelmed with reports of damage , people being caught on the interstate , quoted, sitting ducks with no way for protection , my heart sank , I stopped off filled the SUV to the brim in gas, then as we made it back home I ran by the house to check make sure everything had been done that could be done, I was met at the door by my daughter and in her eyes I seen fear and a hint of panic , she was telling me her grandfather was caught in Yukon with no place to go so was going to ride it out at home, she said no one was able to reach him by phone after his call, I told her not to give out any information to any family member until its over then we will deal with it, I asked where was my grandson and she said my brother and sister in law had him , so that was a load off my mind, i knew he was safe, she then stopped me and said there is something I needed to know her brother and my youngest son was sent to work at the highland yard in Oklahoma city right off interstate 40 , this was a very heavy blow because I knew he was in the path of this monster, I told her things will be fine and prayers will be answered and get over to my brothers. I didn't want to alarm anyone of what was going through my mind, as I drove my friend and her grandchildren to a safe place , she got them out and I told her I would be in there in a minute I needed to check a few things, I sit in the car listening to the radio and willing this monster to spare my son , and preparing myself to keep my faith but be ready for the worst, During this I am calling and texting my son with no replies forthcoming , by the reports I knew it was too late they had been hit head on, my prayers were now focused that if he was taken it was not painful but I still had faith because my son grew up learning the dangers and how to protect himself and others, I stepped up on the porch and took a seat next to my friends son , he was calling getting a head count of his friends and coworkers as we waited , I showed him my reports and the path of this tornado was far from being predicable , the next concern was my friends daughter, reports were coming in from Northwest 50th street another tornado was touching ground, Jim Thorpe is located on Northwest 40th , the helpless feeling was sinking in fast , knowing the damages already and the count of lost life growing, trying to focus on the ones I can help and setting aside my own growing fears , mentally preparing for it to hit us, I have to tell you it is not an easy task to accomplish and not sure I was pulling it off but gave it my best , then reports of this monster taking a hard left turn which is not normal , it spared our community . I then could form a plan as how to get myself around this storm come up on the back side and get to the highland yard, I dropped my friend and her grandchildren off at her house and assured her everything is fine and headed out , By the time I was ten minutes out I received the most glorious call ever, My son a bit shaken but alive and well hunkered down with a few other co workers as it hit them, he said there was a lot of damage but no one was hurt. Then the second call came from my daughter,she said my brother was already in route to my son and only a few miles from him. So my ducklings were safe, I then made a call found out my friends daughter was also safe, to my relief I turned around headed back home to find out how other family members were and start packing things into my SUV to head out in the morning to face the aftermath, this is a split second in my life a look into my experience, others lost everything, others lost loved ones, others lost hope and their faith, this is the time to step up to the plate , lift one another up, share a hug, share a meal, share what you have, and help the people effected by what ever it may be that is happening to them , when someone ask you why would God allow this to happen, look them in the eyes and say to teach us the importance of loving one another. People say I am one person what could I possibly do that will make a difference ? Jesus is just one person and look at the amazing work he does ! This is what ministry is all about, it's not for some off chance fame, it sure isn't about making money don't believe me ask my bank account , it isn't always about rainbows and lollipops and fairy tale endings because if for a minute that's what you think it's about your not on the right path in your own life. I do not care what religion that you have chosen as your own but I got to be honest in sharing this , be a vessel allow your faith to flow through you and do the work you other wise would not be able to do, stop the downgrading and hate , stop pointing fingers , give all that you have in order to receive all that you need, it really is that simple.