Hey
everyone, just wanna let you guys know that I am fine! Everything down
here has been crazy and some people are starting to loose their minds
haha! Al least now I can say that I have been in a hurricane lol.
Well
to start things off on Saturday the 26th we had to stay inside all day
and I wanted to kill myself cause we where so bored! It was a good time
for us to study and what not and just talk about life I guess! I don't
remember a whole lot because it's really a day I don't want to remember!
Sunday
was the crazy day! First off they cancelled church and me and Elder
Romero where a little confused because from what we could see outside of
our apartment window, there was nothing going on. We then decided to go
outside and go look at our street, and we got out there and the water
was about 2-3 feet high and we where like OK ya we need to get out of
here, like now! So we ran inside and got some of our things ready, and we put
stuff up on high shelves and got ready to leave. That took us about 45
minutes and when we went back outside the water was a good 3 1/2 feet
pushing 4! So we start walking to this house and the water was getting
deep, to the point where we could barely see the top of cars! It was
quite the journey and definitely something I will never forget. We made
it to the members house in about 45 minutes and I was so tired after all
that and we were just sitting their soaking wet haha! Didn't sleep a
whole lot that night as we heard boats, helicopters, and crazy winds
going all night!
Monday
we stayed there and emailed for about 20 minutes then the power went out
and it was still raining cats and dogs outside! We sat their trapped in the members house but we went out for a little bit and helped some people! It
was crazy the street we walked on the day before, had 14 feet of water
on Monday...Pretty crazy stuff. Right down the street they where
picking people up in dump trucks and launching off their boats to go
save people! Monday night was crazy as the member came and woke us up in
the middle of the night and told us to come downstairs and help
translate as a coast guard officer who was there to start getting ready
to evacuate! We ran upstairs and got things ready, and I had about 45
seconds to myself and I said a quick prayer. After that I got this
overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be alright and we
where going to stay here. I
still got all my things ready and helped he members get things ready
for his kids but it was by far one of the most spiritual experiences of
my mission!
We
woke up the next morning with the water significantly down! It really
was a blessing that we where able to stay! The crazy thing is his house
is built to where it is not supposed to flood but it got dangerously
close in the middle of the night... Like 5 feet away! Anyways we sat
their and played with the kids and then it stopped raining at like 5:00 am. We decided to try and walk to our house as some of the
neighborhoods didn't flood except for the streets! That was a bad idea
as I almost got bit by 2 water snakes haha! That was pretty sketch!
Wednesday
the rain completely stopped, and we went outside to assess all the
damage. We went to a different members house to start some service and
out of the corner of my eye a saw something move, and I thought it was
just another snake, but this time it was a baby GATOR! I was like no
way at first so I ran to go get a shovel to start playing with it, but
the member did the right thing and killed it haha! That was pretty cool!
Thursday
through Monday of this week was straight service all day! All in all we
have probably destroyed 15 houses and we still have a lot more to go!
So much damage has been done to
some of these people's homes but most of them are so happy and grateful
for the things that they still have! It breaks my heart to see their
piles of debris just keep growing, but it makes me happy to see people
doing things that Christ would do and begin to help their faith grow!
The members here are super awesome! I have gotten so close to so many of
them and I can't wait to continue to work with them! And by the way we
got our power back Thursday night at 9:00!
I
have come so much closer to Christ in these last couple of weeks! I
have no doubt seen the hand of Christ and felt of his spirit so much
through this disaster! He is the light and he can lead us down the
darkest paths! I know this church is true and he really does love his
children! Love you guys and thanks for the prayers and whatever else you
guys did haha! Have a great week!
Love, Elder Stringfellow
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
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