Joshua and I figured that if it was blown over by the wind it should fall downhill, which would be away from us. We hoped! Sunday afternoon people started emerging from their apartments since the wind had died down and there was no electricity. Joshua made an interesting point that electricity keeps us inside and we don't get out and spend time with people, especially our neighbors, as much when we have electricity, because we have so many reasons to be inside. Thankfully the storm brought with it cool air, so we were not roasting in our apartments.
The question now became, how long will be be without power. And what will we do to "make it" without power. The seminary was great and at 8pm Sunday night they threw together a quick dinner for anyone that needed it. (Joshua and I had eaten peanut butter and honey sandwiches but were thankful for some more food!) We took a walk and saw tons of branches and entire trees down.
Remember the tree right out side our apartment? This big branch snapped off quite easily. When we had been driving home from church that morning we saw a tree that had blocked an entire road and another that had fallen right across the train tracks. Little did we know Sunday morning, that the few trees and branches we saw would actually represnet what was to be a citywide problem. On Monday we took a bike ride and in one neighborhood there we at least 4 roads blocked and just as many, it not more power lines down. On Monday we woke up to still no power and learned that the seminary was providing breakfast! Joshua and I enjoyed a nice walk before breakfast and then a yummy meal al fresco!
There was enough hot water stored in the tank to take at least 1 hot shower! Thanks Joshua for letting me take it! We did a lot of reading together while it was light out, and Monday afternoon we found out that classes for Joshua were going to be canceled for the whole week. I know Joshua was disappointed about this, but it does give him a chance to work hard on homework! I decided to get into the camping spirit and break out the gas camp stove! We had some leftovers in the fridge that I was determined we were not going to throw away.
So here I am heating up our leftovers that we were getting tired of eating by the end of Monday! But we did not throw any away! Our friends Brian and Kami let us put some food in their fridge too, so we saved the dairy and meat that I had just gotten grocery shopping. We ended up getting power back on Tuesday afternoon. Many of our friends though are still without power. I think it was estimated that 3000 power lines were damaged during this storm. And for some people that means that power will be restored maybe within 10 days! I started out this post by saying that we have been learning about being thankful to God for electricity. It is very easy to become accustomed to the convenience of having electricity and not think about what a blessing it it from God. But having it taken away for a brief time wakes you up to the fact that it is a mercy of God. We are thankful to have learned this lesson and are thankful that God has provided such a helpful things as electricity. We pray that our friends who are still waiting for power to come back on, would endure and persevere. Thank God today for all His blessings and His kindnesses, one of which is electricity!
