Tim and Kristen Laird told me about the devastation their family saw on a recent vacation. They felt compelled to serve there and were encouraged to pray and not forget about the people they encountered. This is an effort to do that and share the burden of these people who are still hurting. Perhaps the Lord will prompt you to help as well? -tm
Our family planned a trip to Cape Coral, Florida for over
Christmas. After hurricane Ian hit
Florida in October, we were not sure if our Air B&B was okay to stay
in. We got word there was minimal damage
and that we were still able to go. So
December 23, our family left for our relaxing get away.
We were surprised to see the amount of houses with blue tarps
on them the closer we got. Christmas day
we drove around Cape Coral and up to Sanibel Island. We were amazed at the destruction (3 months
later). The bridge to Sanibel Island was
still closed with police blockades. A
few days later, we ventured out to eat and then traveled around Fort Myers
Beach.
Our hearts sank at the sights in front of us. The piles of debris that looked like piles at a landfill, smashed cars still sitting where the water left them and piles of large fishing boats stacked like toys. There were pillars/stilts where there were once houses, and empty trailer parks. Some of the trailers looked liked an opened can of sardines. We even found several churches that you could see straight through the buildings.
Questions started filling our heads, like why is the media not showing us how bad it is here? We went back to our house and Sarah did some research and found a place that we could volunteer. We decided as a family that the beach was going to have to wait. We needed to help.
So the next day we arrived at a make shift distribution center
(a warehouse that was still standing).
Our job was to box up some supplies to send to another center that
needed them. Organize shelves to make
room for the shipment that would be arriving and moving pallets of water and
cans of food outside that people could pick up while the center was closed for
the New Year’s weekend.
We met distraught
people as they came in to get basic supplies, cans of food or bottles of
water. One couple we found out was
living out of their pickup, another is living in his home but has to go to a
neighbor’s to use the restroom and take a shower. We were told about a tent city that many
people have gone to, and we also saw camper trailers sitting in driveways where
people were calling home for now.
When we were finished working, we had the opportunity to talk
and pray with the workers. They also had
sad stories of either losing their homes or having water in a 9th
floor condo. The one thing these ladies
asked us to do was to go home and tell our church, friends, and family about
the needs in their area.
They feel like everyone has forgotten about them since the
media is no longer showing people across the US what it is still like there.
We have put pictures taken of our trip in a Google Photos folder
that you can view at https://photos.app.goo.gl/MknyhNR9nQJWsj459.
If you would like to
know more about what is happening in Fort Myers Beach, what help is needed, you
can check out their website, http://www.fmbstrong.org/. They also have a Facebook page #FMBSTRONG.
Sarah and Justin have posted some pictures on their blog,
gerber1040.blog.
Also, if you can take time to pray for them as they rebuild,
which will take possibly years. We were
reminded that there are so many other places that have been hit by tornadoes,
flooding, and war that need help also.
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