Our Lives & Hurricane Katrina

Here is an account of how Hurricane Katrina affected our lives.

On Friday, August 26 I received a phone call from my friend Diana in Pensacola. She said they were told to evacuate the Navy base there and they would come to the birthday party on Saturday and then head to Jackson, MS. I had told her she could always come and stay with us. Then I called my friend in Panama City and told her if she evacuated that she could come here also. I went to my first Stampin' Up party that night. Not many people showed up due to the storm that kept moving nearer to us.

Saturday, August 27 was somewhat of a normal day for us. It was the day I was having a birthday party for G, to celebrate his first year with us. Our friends were coming from Pensacola, plus we had a few families from our area coming to celebrate. It was a busy morning as I was trying to prepare for the party and prepare for school, which was to start on Monday. So, life seemed normal on this day. We kept checking the internet for the latest stats on the storm. Zach had a busy day as he had to call students and tell them when to check into the shelter. Being on the shelter management team, he had much work cut out for him and didn't get to partake in much of the birthday party. Only our friends from Pensacola and a family from our area showed up as everybody else was hunkering down for this storm and trying to figure out what they needed to do. At this point I think it was still a Category 3. My friend from Panama City called and told me if I needed to evacuate that I could go and stay with her, as it had moved more east and didn't look good for my area. I was uncertain what to do, but I finally decided I would weather (no pun intended) it out in the shelter with Zach and see how that went. I couldn't imagine life in a shelter with 3 children under the age of 5, but I didn't want to leave Zach either. So, I packed up some food Saturday night and tried to sleep, wondering what the next day held in store for us.

Sunday morning Zach had to leave early to prepare the shelter. I decided I would go there after dinner, about 5 pm. I woke up real early, not able to sleep well anyway. Who can sleep when they say the eye of the storm is coming straight for you? I quickly checked the computer and saw the number 5. My phone was ringing off the hook and it wasn't even 7 am! Friends and family were calling and telling me how bad it looked and that I needed to leave. I was frantic. I just remember seeing that 5 and feeling doomed. I tried to call Zach but the lady wasn't sure where he was. I wanted to ask him if I could just leave. I did not want to stay where a storm that bad would hit. The building I was going to be sheltering in with him was built to maintain a direct hit from a Category 4 storm, but a 5? That spelled one thing for me. Make that two. D-E-V-A-S-T-I-O-N and E-V-A-C-U-A-T-E. As I waited for Zach to call me back I answered the many phone calls and was throwing things in laundry baskets. I was gathering pictures, important papers, things I didn't want lost or forever gone. Finally, he called. I told him I wanted to leave, to go to Panama City. He got a bit upset that I was changing the plan and told me to just go to the shelter, that we would be fine. I was upset and didn't know what to do. I certainly wasn't going to drive 5 hours away without his consent not knowing if I'd even see him again. About a half an hour later he called back and said he'd be home in about a half an hour. I didn't know what that meant. He wasn't very happy with me for 'freaking out'. Maybe it was his way of dealing with the situation. He didn't seem worried in the least bit though, and it irritated me. I just kept seeing that 5 and hearing that we were doomed and I just knew I needed to protect my children and get out of town. Finally he arrived home and asked me when I was leaving. He packed up the van and we said a not-so-good good-bye. I don't think he really wanted me to drive that far by myself, and then with traffic on top of it. I don't think he wanted us to be separated or me to have to leave alone. It was not easy to leave him behind and wonder if I would even see him again. I kept thinking 30 ft. storm surge and how his building would be wiped out. I cried and prayed as I drove. I was tempted to turn around and go back to him, especially with all of the traffic. But I kept on driving east. I kept on talking to God. At one point I saw this clear picture in my mind. It was my house and it was surrounded by a huge wall on all sides and above. It was the type of wall that they built in Bible times to protect the cities. Around the outer parts of the wall were huge angels, they looked like giants, protecting the wall. It was amazing how God gave me that vision.

I arrived in Panama City and called Zach to let him know I was there. We only got to talk for a minute. It was so hard being so far from him and knowing this huge storm is headed for him. I barely slept that night and kept checking the TV. My friend didn't have cable, but that's probably a good thing. All day Monday I kept checking the internet and TV. I was a wreck. I couldn't think of anything else besides this storm taking place right where Zach was. Right where our home is. It looked awful. Being on the eastern side, I knew it couldn't be good for us at all. I was devastated. All day I wondered if Zach was ok. He was right off of the coast on the base. Did the water rise so high from the storm surge that his building was wiped out? I can't even imagine storm surge or 100+ winds. What was he doing? When would I hear from him? Surely there was no power. Had we said our last good-bye the day before? That was probably the longest day of my life. Finally, FINALLY in the evening he called. He could only talk real quick. He was ok. Their building was fine. I didn't know whether he was just saying that so I didn't worry or if it was true, but at least I got to hear his voice, even if it was for a minute or two. I had no idea when I would hear from him again.

Tuesday I woke up. It was my birthday. Some birthday. I knew my husband was ok, but what of our house? I was seeing devastation in Biloxi and Gulfport but nothing of Ocean Springs. What did that mean? Was it so bad that they couldn't' get in there? I even saw Pascagoula. We are sandwiched between Pascagoula and Biloxi. The bridge from Ocean Springs to Biloxi was gone. What of my house? I decided to try to make the best of my day. I took the kids to IHOP. I normally don't go to a sit-down restaraunt like that alone with 3 children, but they love IHOP. They did great! As I got them buckled in the vehicle to leave this elderly black lady tapped on the passenger window. I had seen her in the restaurant at a table near us. I didn't think she paid us any attention. I rolled the window down a bit and this is what she said: "I just want to tell you how well-behaved your children are and how blessed you are". I was floored. I knew that that was only from God. I mean, it was my birthday and here I'm going through the biggest storm to hit the U.S. That was not a coincidence. I don't believe in luck. Zach thinks maybe it was an angel. It just made me break into tears and thank God for my children. I thanked Him that my family was ok. I knew that no matter what else I had left, I had my family and that is more precious than anything else. That afternoon I visited with a different friend that happens to live in P.C. Her dh and Zach graduated from high school together and I met them in N.C. The downer was that I had missed a phone call from Zach. I was devastated. I at least wanted to hear his voice. Meanwhile, I'm getting all these emails from friends stationed in Mississippi with us. Rumors are flying every which way about the base and what will happen. I just know that I want to get out of Mississippi. I will go back to North Dakota at this point.

Wednesday Zach is able to drive to check on the house. He calls me. The house is okay. Our privacy fence is down (we knew that would happen as it happened last year with Ivan), our back porch is no longer screened in, we're missing 2 or 3 rows of vinyl siding on the garage and we're missing a bit of shingles. That is it! How is that possible? You all must have seen the footage on TV just like I did. I cried and thanked God. I just couldn't believe it. I couldn't even put into words the miracle God had given us. All I knew was that just like that vision, He protected us. Why me? Sure, I love Him. I try to be faithful to Him. But, I feel I fail miserably day in and day out. And yet He is SOOOOO faithful to me! What a loving Father! I just couldn't believe that our home was okay. And yet, I felt horrible for all those people who lost so much. People I know. People I probably see in the stores. People that may wait on us at a restaraunt. One of the first things I said was, "That is not my house. It is God's house and it will be open to those who have nowhere to go." He was able to protect it and I needed to give it to Him. To let Him use it as He desired.

Stay tuned to Part II of my account of Hurricane Katrina...Coming soon...