Wednesday,  April 28, 2010, Nashville, Tennessee, 10:10 a.m., D.S.T.~

Dear Journal~

Louisiana Sandusky here.  I am doing okay; however, my heart is pregnant with grief:  I am thinking, of course, about the recent tornado outbreak of a few days ago that hit parts of the American South.  Mississippi and Arkansas were hit especially hard, particularly Yazoo City, Mississippi, which experienced a (possible) EF-5 tornado.  As many as a dozen people were killed, including several children and an infant; there's no telling how many people were injured.

My heart breaks for them:  I know how it is to experience wild weather:  I have been in several major hurricanes (Andrew and Camille come to mind, plus I have seen firsthand, the devastation left behind Hurricane Ike and Katrina, plus I have seen the damage left behind the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka); it is not pleasant to see your lives ripped right from underneath your nose.

I feel sorry for those families who lost loved ones; I can't imagine what they must be facing, knowing that their loved ones have been killed or gravely injured, and there's no guarantees as to whether they will make it or not.  As for those who have loved ones missing, my heart aches for them as well:  there is nothing more terrifying to a person than knowing their loved one is missing, and there's no guarantees that they might be found again -- alive.

I have been on my face in prayer for these dear people; our family has already gotten a care package to send to the American Red Cross, which will, in kind, go to the storm victims.  We gathered some of the children's "gently used" clothes and toys, and we have also donated diapers, baby formula, baby food, and other necessities, to help these people, until their lives can return to normal (if they ever will).

We are doing well:  we are getting ready to leave for Louisiana tomorrow:  we are getting ready for the annual Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge, which is this weekend.  It seems hard to believe that "crawfish time" is upon us once again; it seems like only yesterday when it was the new year.  Yet I cannot celebrate too much because there are people who are in pain or are hurting, and they are never far from the back of my mind. 

Our church has sent members to the tornado-ravaged area, and the hospitals in our area have assembled "medical teams", who will minister and treat the sick/injured.  At the hospital where I work, Drs. Venkatesh Arjuwahl, Jack Emmons, Frank Punjab, Winnie Wright, and otehrs, as well as nurses Trainor, Tate, Escherriva, Edwards, and Ross have gone to this area to help out in any way they possibly can.  Meanwhile, we have stand-bys who will conver the shifts of those who have gone to help down in that area.

I would have gone myself, but the plans we had for the Crawfish Festival came first; we planned for this thing last year, right after the one last year ended.

I need a break from work, and so this is why we go to the Crawfish Festival every year.  It's sort of an "annual tradition" in our family.

Well, Isaiah and Ian are waking up from their nap, so I must tend to them.  I also have to get Todd and Jodie's "food" ready and also get the kids' second round of meds ready.  I will write in here when we get to Louisiana; pray we have a safe trip to Breaux Bridge, and pray that the weather holds out!  And pray that all goes well when we are at the Crawfish Festival; I'd greatly appreciate it!  But most of all, lift the tornado victims in your praeyrs; they need more prayers than anybody!

Take care and God bless!

~Love, your friend in Tennessee, Louisiana May.  :(