Just to let you know what we experienced, we were "flying blind" which may have been the best thing for us. We lost power around 2:30pm. It really wasn't raining then, but we had a bad storm pass thru earlier that morning. That storm weakened a tree, so when the wind picked up, the tree went down.....on a power line. We were without power until 9:30pm, so we missed any and all tv/radio coverage thru the worst of the storm.
When the tornado hit Tuscaloosa, Davis and I were in the bathroom (our safe place) because another tornado was heading towards Oneonta. At that point, the only form of communication we had was cell phone. My mom was texting James Spann updates, and we could follow Facebook updates. As soon as we heard that a terrible storm hit Tuscaloosa, we lost cell service. We knew nothing except that 1) it was BAD and 2) we have students that we love as if they were our own living there. Terrified could not even describe the feeling that we had.
So there we sat. The longer we had no communication, the more panic began to set in. Where did these kids go? Are they ok? What is happening next? Are there more storms coming? Are they coming here?
Around 9:00, we decided there was nothing else to do, except go to bed and continue to pray. We laid down, and around 9:15, our sweet friend Linda was here checking on us. She had been calling and texting since earlier in the afternoon, and when she had waited as long as she could, she came over to check on us. As soon as Matt opened the door, the power came back on (I didn't realize she was such good luck) We still had no cell service, but we could communicate via Facebook.
We were able to check on those students in Tuscaloosa. I saw post after post "We are safe! No power - but safe" But then I saw the post that shook me to my core.
CJ Hubauer
House is gone but im ok
It was at this point, I lost it!
CJ is Terri's son. Remember Terri - my best friend in the entire world?
My friend that:
I spend my holidays with
I run races with
That loves my child as if he were her own
Shoot - she even paints my toenails!
That friend!
Her child lost EVERYTHING and I had no way to contact her! My stomach was in knots!
When daylight came, I had cell service. I am sure you know the first phone call I made. I will not go into CJ's story - but it is remarkable! Maybe one day I will share - maybe one day I will let CJ share. But - Matt, Terri, Jonathan, Mark and Jill are on there way to Tuscaloosa to help CJ put some pieces together and bring not only CJ home, but lots of other students that have no power or no home or no way to get their car out. Please pray for this family and everyone involved. Today is going to be a sad, sad day for lots of people, but especially for those that I love!
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10
Matt and CJ in Seattle, WA
Just in shock. So glad that CJ is safe. So many are not. Days like this I just have to trust God is God and I'm not.
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