Stories Matching 'Emergency/Disaster' Tag (43 matches)



Only The Clothes On Her Back

We were one of the last couples among our friends and family to begin having children and were inundated with free baby gear and hand me downs. We are truly fortunate. We were blessed with 2 beautiful babes and for a time, I thought that we might have a third but time and life have moved forward and it became clear that it was not going to be.  It took me awhile to be able to pass along our good fortune, partly because I was not ready to part with baby items and partly because we kept looking for someone who had a need. Finally, in the last week or so, I've managed to go through all of the kid's clothes and today, sent my husband to our local Crisis Nursery with SIX black garbage bags full of kid's clothes.When he arrived home, he told me that they were very happy for ... Read Full Story >>

4667 Reads

We Are Not Alone

In the days after 9/11, I was on the team of chaplains assigned to Ground Zero. I worked from T-Mort, the temporary morgue on- site. In addition to praying with first responders over remains, we also helped search, and held the place of spirit during the long hours of digging. One night, several bodies were discovered in a collapsed stairwell. Another chaplain and I were standing at the rim while the recovery team- firefighters, iron workers toiled to free the bodies. Someone shouted up "We need you down here!" It was a deep hole about 10 feet down: dark, narrow, smokey. We shouted OK, but I could feel myself panic. I know they didn't mean they needed ME. They needed the help or strength of God. It was my job to hold that space. They lifted us and passed us down into that shaft. My heart was racing and I felt faint, ... Read Full Story >>

1694 Reads
  • Posted by revmindy
  • Feb 18, 2015
  • 5 Comments
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Thai Community Kindness Saves the Day in a Remote Village!

My husband and I were serving in Peace Corps in a remote village in northern Thailand. There were many challenges and difficulties, particularly around our housing. We moved into our house this past June. Shortly thereafter, while we were away at a Peace Corps training, the owner ripped out all the surrounding banana groves and the lush undergrowth in order to raise the ground level--she had planned on tearing down our house and building a new one after we left.   She brought in literally tons of dirt. This left our house in a kind of moat, and when the heavy rains came, our house flooded. This, needless to say, was upsetting, but it turned into a blessing, because when he became aware of it, the principal at my school got my eighth-grade class to come help clean up. The boys dug into the moat to drain the water, and built a concrete path ... Read Full Story >>

3080 Reads
  • Posted by livingsimply
  • Dec 16, 2015
  • 7 Comments
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