I don't like IKE part 2

So, that Saturday after IKE hit after we had feasted upon the delectable hot dogs and sloppy joes Scott and his two sidekicks whipped up in the parking lot, we were told that the church in College Station had power and best of all........................................SHOWERS! It was getting a little too late to pack up and come home since it would be dark soon and our house had no electricity and most cities had curfew from about dusk to dawn. So, we packed up our belongings and headed on down the road to College Station, Texas. At this point we were feeling much like refugees---dirty, tired, SMELLY, and just wanting to be home and know how things were. We had heard from friends that had not evacuated that the outside of our house looked fine, but we weren't sure of the inside. After having a nice hot shower we felt much better and went to bed with wet heads in the too well air conditioned church. But, we tried not to complain since we had just spent the whole day in a very hot and humid one. The next day was Sunday. We woke up and got ready for Sacrament Meeting which is all that was held because all of the class rooms were full of evacuee families. I had taken the kids into the chapel to sit down and hadn't been sitting there for 2 minutes when Jennifer D---think back a few years those of you from the Greenfield ward----came up to me. She lives there with her cute family!!! The church makes the world so much smaller. It was really nice to see a familiar face. We also saw a few other people from our home ward which was nice too. The people in College Station were so awesome. They would come and talk to the ladies who were kind of in charge of the kitchen and say "What do you want to eat tomorrow" and then they would call around and either get it donated or go buy it. One woman brought in a big pot of soup for our Sunday lunch. So many others, just wanting to help but not knowing what to do, brought in cookies, brownie, rolls, etc. I think I put on a few pounds while we were there. There was a lot of hispanic members there who I came to really admire. They took care of that church better than I take care of my own house! After every meal every single dish was clean and the floor mopped--yep, after every meal. I feel pretty good if I mop once a week! The bathrooms were scrubbed every day and everyone just pitched in wherever the work needed to be done. Most of them couldn't speak very much English so it was hard to communicate verbally but their hearts were pure. While I don't know these individuals situations let me tell you what they taught me. I know there is a lot of negativity, especially in our area, associated with those who come here and then don't learn the language. While I still believe they need to learn the language, I did learn a greater respect and love for these people. They work super hard and are happy to do it. And they truly taught the Lord's house as such.

On Sunday night a big truck brought relief items to the church. Scott and I helped unload 2 pallets of water bottles and 1 pallet of food boxes. We all worked together as a human chain and quickly had it all unloaded. The next day I thought I was going to die I was so sore. Too much physical labor all at once for a new mom. But it was nice to help in a small way after being on the receiving end.

On Monday morning we packed up our things to go home. Even though we knew there was no electricity yet we just wanted to be home and check on it to make sure we didn't have any water damage. Thanks to Laurie and Bruce for being so kind to tell us which route to take home to avoid the most traffic. All along the way we saw people lined up at the few gas stations that were open. With nearly 3 million homes and businesses without power there were not a lot of options. Gas stations looked more like parking lots with lines a quarter of a mile long with people waiting to get in as well. We were very grateful that we had a full tank of gas and a full gas can. The picture below doesn't show it very well but the black car is just driving the other direction but the cars behind that are in line to get gas and behind them is the gas station jam packed. Before we went home we stopped in a friend subdivision to check on them. This is what almost every house in her neighborhood looked like. When the shingles and tar paper are blown off then the rain soaks through the wood and leaks down into your attic, ruins the insulation and then soaks the sheetrock in your ceiling which then collapses and everything falls down into the room below. Talk about a mess. All along the sides of the street people had piled up all of the aforementioned materials.
So, on that note we went home to check on our home and neighbors who had requested that we bring them bread from College Station. But, alas, I must leave you on the edge of your seat once more because the young master of the house is calling!