**This letter was typed up on 9/21/2004 - after our first experience with a Hurricane! We had been living in Pensacola for almost a month. Josh was in Bible College and I was teaching Speech. We decided to 'tough it out'.
The Ivan Chronicles....
Day 1 - Wednesday, September 15
We were off school today in order to prepare. We went to the store to get a few more items and headed in to stay at about 5pm. We taped our windows and covered them with a comforter and sleeping bag. We took our bed apart, set the box spring in front of the bedroom window and the bookshelf in front of the sliding glass door.
We watched TV for hours just to see what was going on. It was the LONGEST wait I’ve ever experienced. We could feel the wind picking up and I kept thinking “this isn’t too bad...” Around 8pm, Josh started getting a really bad headache and chills. I knew it was probably sinus with all the changes in the air pressure, etc. He sat in the chair with a hooded sweatshirt, pants, wrapped in a blanket. He went to bed soon after and I stayed up to wait for the madness to begin.
At this point, it was too late to retreat to the safety of the school’s shelter so I knew we were in for it. Josh and I had peace about staying here. I honestly never feared dying, I was more worried about windows blowing in and losing all of our possessions.
The power went out about 10:30pm and the last weather report I heard was that the eye was going to hit Mobile Bay. I decided just to go to bed. At this point, Josh was running a very high fever and I couldn’t even lay next to him in our stuffy apartment. I retreated to the hallway to do ‘seek and find’ puzzles. I fell asleep around midnight to the wind howling outside.
Many have asked what it sounded like. It was a very high pitched squeal and occasionally we would hear things blowing across the parking lot and hitting cars. We didn’t realize that there were countless tornadoes going overhead. Fortunately, our windows face the west which wasn’t in the direct line of wind.
I woke up during the eye of the storm which is very calm. I prayed that God would let me fall back asleep before the rest of the storm came. I kept singing songs in my head “Till the Storm Passes By”, “Master of the Wind”, “Sheltered in the Arms of God” and “Peace in the Valley”. Thank God for music.
Day 2 - Thursday, September 16
I woke up around 7am and couldn’t wait to look outside. I ran to the living room and pulled back the sleeping bag we had hung over the window. Everything was covered in leaves. Branches were scattered throughout the parking lot. The privacy fence that lines the complex was pulled out of the ground - cement and all. I stepped outside and the winds were still a little strong. I grabbed our cell phone and walked to the car to listen to the radio. Amazingly, after trying for 20 minutes, a call went through. When Mom (Connie) picked up at the other end, I just blurted “Hey, We’re fine!!!” then I had to stop - fighting back tears that I was able to even utter those words. I got two more phone calls out and headed back inside. All around our complex trees were down. Not just down but completely uprooted. Some had pulled pieces of the sidewalk up as well!
Josh was still in bed, where he remained all day, still running a high fever. We didn’t tell our parents or anyone because we didn’t want them to worry more. I drove to the school to survey damage there and try to get some Motrin or something for his fever.
We live about three miles from the school and it was the most horrific drive I’ve ever experienced. Trees and power lines were everywhere. Homes were split in half, roadways were impassable. I knew this was bad. Listening to the radio, it was just madness. The reports were pouring in about the beach and all the homes destroyed. Shelters were also damaged, one that housed 2,500 people had most of the roof blow off. Many were dead and even more were unaccounted for. Bridges had collapsed. Stories began pouring in about people refusing to evacuate and now their homes were gone. Then I heard the news that Pensacola was the recipient of the “Eye” of the hurricane.
Later that afternoon, I left again to check on our friends house - the Graingers. I work with them at the school and they’ve taken us under their wing. They are amazing. John and Kimberly have four children and live in a subdivision behind the college where most faculty live. Once I found a road in, I realized that I was driving over branches and power lines. I got to their house to see three large trees across the roof. They were still at the school shelter.
The campus had lots of trees down, some windows blown out of the dorms, but the 4000+ students were unharmed.
That night was the worst. I was scared because I had already heard of looting. It was pitch black outside and with no air, we were sleeping with the windows open - in a new city.
We had NO water, NO power and NO air conditioning... That meant we hadn’t flushed the toilet in a day. We filled our tubs with water, but the drain didn’t hold. I was getting frustrated. I woke up about 2am to use the restroom. I reached over to turn on the tub water, just to check and it was on!!! Very light pressure, but enough that I could fill pitchers and at least flush the toilet. I filled up every container in our house! I had told Josh earlier that if we could just have one or the other, water or power, I would be content. Thank you Lord for providing!
Day 3 - Friday, September 17
Our ice had melted and most everything we were trying to keep cold - such as jelly for our sandwiches - was getting warm.
Josh was up for the first time and we went out to look for some ice. We drove around and NOTHING was open. It was so bizarre to see the city so deserted. We drove passed this little gas station and saw a lady getting into the ice chest outside. We pulled in and she said that she would just give us ice but she needed to keep the bags because she would get reimbursed. I looked at Josh, knowing there was nothing in the car. I said “Just look in the trunk real quick”. He came out with a large plastic bag that I had wrapped around my old Cabbage Patch Doll that still hadn’t been unpacked from the move 3 weeks earlier - Thank you Lord!!! We got Ice!!!
Our gas supply was getting low and we knew we had to conserve it. We attempted to go to Walmart where we heard they were selling it. BIG mistake. When we finally got there, there were about 500 cars jammed into the parking lot.
Back at home Josh laid down the law that we couldn’t leave the house anymore. That went over really well because I wanted to be out looking at everything. Haha He suggested we play Monopoly - thank God for that wedding present. I won - things were looking up!
We sat outside at the end of the night, looking at the beautiful stars. A Sheriff’s Deputy who lives in our building, pulled in. He came and talked to us and was telling us about his day. A riot had broken out at the ice and water distribution center, a fight at the grocery store, he busted some guy for looting at a rent-a-center, people were out of control. He then shifted his mood and began telling us about bodies he had found that day from people who didn’t evacuate. It was hard to sleep that night thinking of how some had died in a horrible way. It made me thank God even more that we were alive.
Day 4 - Saturday, September 18
We were up at 6am to be at the grocery store. We had heard it would open at 7am and we needed a few more things. Josh dropped me off there and he went down the road where the National Guard was giving out ice. I was first in line. He returned saying that the line for ice was already about 3 miles long. The store opened and I got out my flashlight - did I mention there was no power in the store??? 25 people at a time were allowed inside.
We searched for staple items - peanut butter, ravioli, chips, cookies and vienna sausages - something I never thought I’d eat - hahaha. We got our things and headed back home. Time for our 9:30am nap!
Like most days, between 2-5pm was the worst. It was the hottest time of the day and I was cranky. It’s hard to keep things in perspective when you are hot, tired and hungry. I needed substance. I couldn’t handle anymore peanut butter and jelly or summer sausage and crackers. Even the thought of cookies made me sick.
Josh and I began playing the “If you could have anything in the world to eat right now what would it be” game. I chose a cheeseburger, Chinese food and a pizza. Taking a nap wasn’t an option because of the heat. I had done so many seek and find puzzles that my eyes were starting to cross.
A few minutes later someone knocked at the door. It was Josh’s admission advisor who works at PCC. She said they were grilling everything in their freezer and had a bunch of leftovers and invited us over. Thank you God for providing substance.
We called in and learned the school had power now and we would have an informal outdoor service on Sunday morning at 9am. We called in a night!
Day 5 - Sunday, September 19
We got up early again for another grocery run. We learned that one store had electric. We arrived at 6:30am to a relatively short line. We got in at 7am and got water and some medicine for Josh who was now battling a sore throat. As we were standing in line I noticed a burger place across the street was opening at 7am. I asked Josh if we could go but we figured the lines would be so long. We pulled into the parking lot and I began to think of all the breakfast items I was going to order: pancakes, eggs, biscuits and gravy... When we stepped inside, they were only serving burgers, fries and chicken fingers - PERFECT. Again, God answered our prayer and we thanked him as we chowed down on our burgers at 7:30am.
There was a TV on in the restaurant. The first we had seen since 10:30 on Wednesday night. I had forgotten that the world continues...
We went to church that morning and sat on the terrace of the campus with about 2,000 other people. It was a BEAUTIFUL morning. We had our bellies fed that morning, but God knew that our spirits were so weak. It had been hard trying to keep things in perspective and our Pastor spoke right to my heart. The songs were acapella, and the 2,000 voices rang out to “It is Well”, “What a Mighty God We Serve”, “Great is thy Faithfulness”, “Thank you Lord”, and many others. Tears began to flow from my eyes.
Our Pastor reflected on the hurricane and his night of being on the campus during the storm. His illustration was “I V A N” I=impartial, God is no respecter of persons-we are not exempt from hurricanes in our lives. V=valuable, in times like these, you begin to focus on things of value. A=attitude, the key to attitude is gratitude. N=nothing or noone is as powerful as our God.
Then the part that really hit home was that even though we’ve suffered this tragedy in our city, God has still called us here. There will be many Ivan’s in our lives, but we can’t let that stand in the way of the calling.
It would have been so easy to pack up and come home last week and trust me, the thought crossed our minds. But we also know it would have been really hard to return to Pensacola knowing the destruction.
The rest of the story...
God continues to provide. Monday we started back to work and school, which meant air conditioning most of the day. We learned that the founders of the college, Dr. and Mrs. Horton, lost everything. Their home was on the beach. Our friends the Graingers have to move out of their home because it is unsafe. A majority of the faculty still doesn’t have power, but they showed up at work, wet hair, wrinkled clothes and all - because that’s where God has called them to be.
Tuesday after school, we pulled right into a gas station to fill up our car. We went to the laundromat to do some much needed laundry of bath towels - do you know what those things smell like when they’ve dried in a hot apartment??? While there, Josh called the house and the answering machine picked up. POWER WAS RESTORED. We couldn’t wait to get home and turn the air conditioner down to about 50 degrees.
We are so thankful for this time. It has put things into perspective for us. We knew that God didn’t bring us to Pensacola to be blown away by a hurricane.
Please continue to pray for residents here. We saw people in the laundromat whose roof had blown off of their house and just today, they were allowed in to retrieve clothing for their children - which had all soured. Some people have 3 feet of mud in their homes. Elderly people who have no form of transportation, mothers with small children battling the heat and running out of food. Residents of a beachfront property boarded a bus today to view what was left of their homes. They weren’t allowed off the bus to retrieve any items, because it isn’t safe. I’m sure you’ve seen pictures of the I-10 bridge where the truck driver lost his life and huge sections of the bridge are gone. This was a powerful storm.
We love you and thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers!!!! Hope to see you all soon!
Love,
Beth and Josh
