Displaced, yet Blessed

What day is this?  I feel like I have been here months.  I’ll get to that.  But first!  What an adventure.  Barrett told me late Friday afternoon that we would be evacuated.  He didn’t think there would be a plane till Sunday so I wasn’t in a hurry to get all our lives in order.  But after waking up at 2am sweating that night, I couldn’t go back to sleep…so I wrote my previous update and prayed that a plane would come on Saturday because I didn’t want to face another day and night of sweating with little shower and nowhere to go.  That day I attempted to locate non-potable water to replace toilets and showers once again, checked in with women who still remained, and then Barrett told me at noon we would be leaving in a few hours!  OK!  So I packed for fall thinking I would be somewhere north.  I packed Annabelle’s school books, my French press (yes.  I did.), and clothes for about 4 days thinking we’d have laundry facilities nearby.  I had 1 backpack, 2 suitcases, 3 car seats, and 3 kids to finagle.

We headed to our meeting spot where we awaited our names to be called to climb into the Humvee caravan.  Barrett was doing accountability so we actually drove with him to the airport.  Roads were still flooded.  Gas stations, cars, and homes were underwater.  We had to maneuver around a wind-tossed refrigerator that was smashed in the middle of the road.  Trees down everywhere, people wandering, and the gas truck ahead of us had a security detail following it.  We drove through 2 ½ feet of water that was on the highway to make it to the airport.  The caravan made it and our world in a suitcase were placed into a C130’s open hatch.  Uniformed men and women were all around with smiles helping us glass eyed people as we were inaugurating an unknown.  Annabelle began to cry inconsolably while saying goodbye to Barrett and one kind Coastie slung back his gun so he could lean down and give her a patch.  We covered our ears as we walked past the booming engine and boarded the plane.  One last kiss goodbye was had before we belted ourselves into the strap and metal bar seats.

One of the crew came around and handed out hard LifeSaver candy to all the kids as we awaited take off.  I fed my kids a bit before handing it to them and as Ronnie, Annabelle, and I tried to take a selfie, I hear Lydia cry and try to hand me her half sucked on candy.  “Ew, Lydia, no!”  Then I looked at her.  Apparently, the candy had lodged itself into her throat and in order to expel it, she vomited all over herself. Praise the Lord she did!  I couldn’t hear anything due to the roaring engine of the plane so I missed all the signs.  We hadn’t even started and I’m cleaning up vomit.  Thankfully, I had a change of clothes for her and another mom helped me mop up the mess.  Yes, mom of the year.  I know.  No more candy for my kids!

At housing we were told that we were headed to North Carolina, but the crew told us there was a change of plans and we were now headed to Florida.  Ok.  It was 8pm when we left so most of us tried the best we could to sleep with dogs barking and the loud hum of the plane deafening our ears.

When we landed some 4 hours later, the XO briefed us graciously and told us we were getting on a bus for another 4-hour drive to a new location.  But there were snacks and bathrooms nearby.  This same man took time to talk to all my kids, give high fives, and exude a kindness that spread to all of us.  I was so thankful!  So, after a bathroom run where we washed our hands longer than we had too and flushed the toilets with glee, we loaded a bus while belting out “Wheels on the Bus” as load as we could.  We attempted to sleep again.  The kids did great, I was the one who had problems sleeping.  I managed about 2 hours of sleep during the journey.  We reached our final location around 6am and followed the leader into a room to sign a paper for a record of who and where we were.  Snacks, wipes, diapers, and water were graciously waiting for us there too.  I was given the keys to a 2 room suit which will be our home for who knows how long!  I admit I took a very long hot shower and let the kids bath for about an hour.  It was glorious!  I pray I will never take water and electricity for granted again!

Since then, I have been making phone calls, texting, emailing, talking, briefing, being briefed, hugging, and supporting all I can.  A few of us are trying to coordinate help and donations as well as figuring out what people need or want.  Most of us have children under 4 who have no place to run but the hotel…yeah…you can imagine how much they enjoy this!  There are no laundry facilities on site or playgrounds nearby.  There also are no restaurants or stores in walking distance so all of us are trying to figure out how to get our daily needs of clean clothes and food that is not over $15 a plate with little transportation.  Many wives are near tears at all times because we have all left our homes and spouses behind not knowing when we will see them again, or even when we will be able to communicate with them next.  Those wives whose husbands fly haven’t heard from them since the storm due to their flight schedule and comms down.  They were given 2 hours’ notice before abandoning their homes with a backpack.  Many who will be leaving this summer are being told they may not go back to Puerto Rico.

Let me encourage all of you with the kindness of people.  I have had people come and take my vomit laded laundry and bring it back clean, loan me cars, bring me hot dinners, drive me to Walmart, and now a group of women are watching our kids for two hours so we can all get a break.  We’ve had pots and pans donated, a group of men take our shopping lists of clothes, school supplies, and toiletries only to return us our items physically in a box with our name on it.  The Coast Guard is keeping us informed, providing us medical care and info, and bending over backward to help us.  I am humbled by all the support.

Barrett is still in Puerto Rico dealing with no power and heat (the water returned) but getting his picture taken with Marco Rubio.  Ha!  He has driven out to families who are getting low on drinking water and food and delivered them rations.  Cell service is still poor so most of our communication is via text.  The admiral said it best…Puerto Rico is an island days of nautical miles away.  Power trucks cannot be driven there, outside help has to be flown on random flights, and communication is very rudimentary.  What took Texas and Florida days, will take us weeks.  What took them weeks, will take us months.  So we will hunker down here for now where we have a support system and where I can support our displaced families as best I can.

The character of God that me and the kids studied today was from Psalm 3, that He is the lifter of our head.  He is a good dad that longs for us to tell us our problems and delights in solving them.  He has blessed us beyond measure.  I’m grateful for the help that we are getting and I pray that this same aid will quickly help Puerto Rico as well.  We serve a God that has suffered like we have which allows him to understand what we need.  He is a God that gives us hope in the darkest times…and sometimes clean laundry!