Friday, September 11, 2009
There's No Place Like Home.
Praise God! We were able to go back to our house last Wednesday, Sept. 2. Our house is safe and the firefighters put out the fires near my house. I am so thankful for the firefighters, risking their lives to save our homes. I have alot to be thankful for - for everyone who showed their care and concern during this time, and for those who helped me and my family in tangible ways - housing us and feeding us. We are truly blessed, and there truly is no place like home. I'm glad to be back.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
The Fiery Flames Keep on Blazing.
It's strange and surreal watching the news. I hear them talking about the fire, seeing over 100,000 acres being burned to ashes, less than 1/2 a mile from my house, hearing the street names that are so familiar. This is not something far away, something that's across the world from me. It's happening on my street, in my neighborhood. Strange.
I'm sitting in the Talbot lounge, and I should be studying for both Greek and Hebrew -my semester's quite full and I need to get on top of things. And yet, I hardly feel motivated, so I'll blog to remember this craziness.
Saturday was a weird day:
At 7 am, my dad woke me up, telling me, "Grace, we have to start packing in case we have to evacuate." I groggily ask, "Do we really have to leave?" thinking it's just my dad's paranoia that motivates him to start packing. A neighbor asks him, "Are you going to evacuate?" My dad says, "No, just packing just in case." I go back to sleep. Around 9 am, my dad wakes me up and says, "Grace, wake up, Yo-yo Ma is playing on television at Ted Kennedy's funeral." By this time, my parents are done packing, so they are just sitting and watching the funeral, so I decide to join them, and watch the funeral. Around noon, I decide to get dressed because my parents tell me we're going to the beach at Oxnard to get some fresh air to get away from the raining ashes and smoke. I dress in my beach attire, ask if I should start packing, and my dad tells me to at least pack for a few days in case we have to stay somewhere else because of the smoke. I pack my pink Little Twin Stars suitcase, which holds 3 outfits. I don't really think we have to leave. I start checking my email and facebook, then I try studying for Hebrew, but then I get light-headed. Kuya Joseph and Ate Bon come home after going somewhere in the morning, and Bon tells Joseph he should probably start packing stuff just in case. I hear the helicopters hover around, taking water from the reservoir nearby to extinguish the flames. The sky has an orange, foreboding glow. This is when I finally start walking around the house, trying to figure out what to take.
I really don't have very many valuables. I'm not too attached to many material things. My dad tells me to at least pack my trunk full of stuff, so we each pack our own cars full of stuff. I gather my pictures, my diplomas, my awards, a week's worth of clothing, books I need for the semester, and this is what I put in the trunk of my car. I guess that's what's good about being a poor grad student - I've never really had the money to buy expensive things. I really only have lots of books, but those are replaceable.
After I'm done packing, I take my dog, Chuckie, to my aunt's house, because this smoky air can't possibly be good for him. He's covered in ash. On my way to my aunt's house, I pass many fire trucks, observing neighbors, and police cars. I see the fire. It's on the next hillside, probably less than 1/2 a mile away. Crazy. At my aunt's house, while getting Chuckie settled, my mom calls my aunt and tells her that she just heard on the radio that our neighborhood has been issued mandatory evacuations. I go to my church to park three of our cars, and then from there we go to Oxnard. On the way to Oxnard, my mom gets a call from someone to make sure that we've left our house. It's real. It's our house that's in danger.
I sit on the beach, watching the huge body of water in front of me, and it's surreal that a fire is threatening my house. I try to study Hebrew, but I still can't concentrate, so I write, and then I fall asleep as my parents walk along the beach together. Surprisingly, I'm not as stressed as I should think I should be, and my dad's not as frantic as usual. It's good we left early. God is gracious even in the craziness.
I stayed at my pastor's house on Sunday night and have been staying at my friend, Melissa's house the past few days. My parents have been back and forth from my aunt's house, checking in to a hotel, then going back home, and then going to my pastor's house, then going back home. Our neighbhors have stayed in their homes, so my parents figure it's o.k. for them to be at the house.
These past few days have been strange - being at school, supposed to be keeping up with school work, also trying to keep updated with what's happening, really only knowing what's going on by watching the news. But I'm also very thankful and grateful that my family is safe, that we have amazing firefighters doing the best they can, and that I have so many caring friends and family who have taken such good care of me and have checked up on me during this crazy time. I'm thankful for all the prayers, concern, and being shown God's love in tangible ways. I'm thankful for community. I'm thankful for the body of Christ. I'm thankful that God is in control.
I'm sitting in the Talbot lounge, and I should be studying for both Greek and Hebrew -my semester's quite full and I need to get on top of things. And yet, I hardly feel motivated, so I'll blog to remember this craziness.
Saturday was a weird day:
At 7 am, my dad woke me up, telling me, "Grace, we have to start packing in case we have to evacuate." I groggily ask, "Do we really have to leave?" thinking it's just my dad's paranoia that motivates him to start packing. A neighbor asks him, "Are you going to evacuate?" My dad says, "No, just packing just in case." I go back to sleep. Around 9 am, my dad wakes me up and says, "Grace, wake up, Yo-yo Ma is playing on television at Ted Kennedy's funeral." By this time, my parents are done packing, so they are just sitting and watching the funeral, so I decide to join them, and watch the funeral. Around noon, I decide to get dressed because my parents tell me we're going to the beach at Oxnard to get some fresh air to get away from the raining ashes and smoke. I dress in my beach attire, ask if I should start packing, and my dad tells me to at least pack for a few days in case we have to stay somewhere else because of the smoke. I pack my pink Little Twin Stars suitcase, which holds 3 outfits. I don't really think we have to leave. I start checking my email and facebook, then I try studying for Hebrew, but then I get light-headed. Kuya Joseph and Ate Bon come home after going somewhere in the morning, and Bon tells Joseph he should probably start packing stuff just in case. I hear the helicopters hover around, taking water from the reservoir nearby to extinguish the flames. The sky has an orange, foreboding glow. This is when I finally start walking around the house, trying to figure out what to take.
I really don't have very many valuables. I'm not too attached to many material things. My dad tells me to at least pack my trunk full of stuff, so we each pack our own cars full of stuff. I gather my pictures, my diplomas, my awards, a week's worth of clothing, books I need for the semester, and this is what I put in the trunk of my car. I guess that's what's good about being a poor grad student - I've never really had the money to buy expensive things. I really only have lots of books, but those are replaceable.
After I'm done packing, I take my dog, Chuckie, to my aunt's house, because this smoky air can't possibly be good for him. He's covered in ash. On my way to my aunt's house, I pass many fire trucks, observing neighbors, and police cars. I see the fire. It's on the next hillside, probably less than 1/2 a mile away. Crazy. At my aunt's house, while getting Chuckie settled, my mom calls my aunt and tells her that she just heard on the radio that our neighborhood has been issued mandatory evacuations. I go to my church to park three of our cars, and then from there we go to Oxnard. On the way to Oxnard, my mom gets a call from someone to make sure that we've left our house. It's real. It's our house that's in danger.
I sit on the beach, watching the huge body of water in front of me, and it's surreal that a fire is threatening my house. I try to study Hebrew, but I still can't concentrate, so I write, and then I fall asleep as my parents walk along the beach together. Surprisingly, I'm not as stressed as I should think I should be, and my dad's not as frantic as usual. It's good we left early. God is gracious even in the craziness.
I stayed at my pastor's house on Sunday night and have been staying at my friend, Melissa's house the past few days. My parents have been back and forth from my aunt's house, checking in to a hotel, then going back home, and then going to my pastor's house, then going back home. Our neighbhors have stayed in their homes, so my parents figure it's o.k. for them to be at the house.
These past few days have been strange - being at school, supposed to be keeping up with school work, also trying to keep updated with what's happening, really only knowing what's going on by watching the news. But I'm also very thankful and grateful that my family is safe, that we have amazing firefighters doing the best they can, and that I have so many caring friends and family who have taken such good care of me and have checked up on me during this crazy time. I'm thankful for all the prayers, concern, and being shown God's love in tangible ways. I'm thankful for community. I'm thankful for the body of Christ. I'm thankful that God is in control.
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