June 5, 2013, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 6:45 p.m., D.S.T.~
Dear Journal~
Howdy! Bill Sandusky writing; hope this finds y'all well. I am here in Oklahoma City, visiting our oldest son, Anh Kim, who has been in the hospital; he will be getting out probably in a few days. He is doing so much better; it's been a huge answer to prayer!
Louie is home, where she is holding down the fort at Casa Sandusky. She is also working; she wanted to take time off to come up and be with Anh and Thu (and also Bella), but we need the money (what with a family our size, it is not cheap at all!), and the children still left at home need their mama, so Louie opted to stay behind.
I came up by myself. I took the Greyhound bus. Worst decision ever; I was so stove up by the time I got to Oklahoma City I wanted to die! LOL
The weather is much better, but it stabs my heart to see all the devastation around me, especially around Moore and El Reno, where two huge EF-5 tornadoes tore through the towns, Moore over a week ago and El Reno nearly a week ago (it hit on the last day of May, on the 31st; it was the largest tornado on record; it was over 2 miles wide and had winds close to 300 miles an hour!).
I knew the damage was bad; I just didn't have any idea until I saw the destruction.
Our church back home has been collecting funds and boxes of supplies and clothing for the tornado victims. We've aso been offering prayers for the storm victims, in not only Oklahoma, but in Kansas, Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio, and other places. So many people have been affected; the storms this spring season started later than usual, but boy, when it did, it hit HARD!!
And now that our oldest son, Anh Kim, was injured, and our son and his wife had damage to their place, well, it has hit just a little bit TOO close to home! It suddenly puts a whole new perspective on the disaster.
I'm just glad and thankful that Anh or Johnny (or even Johnny's wife Rebekka, as well as Anh's wife Thu and their baby daughter, Bella Grace) weren't more seriously injured (Anh) or even killed. The fact that they weren't terribly hurt or killed has been a huge answer to prayer!
We may get some storms later tonight (severe thunderstorms with hail and damaging winds of 60 + miles an hour; in fact, where I am is currently under a severe thunderstorm watch until 12 A.M., a little over five hours from now; it is nearly 7:00 P.M. as I write this down on my computer). Just what the area does NOT need! I am praying with all my heart that the weather doesn't turn nasty!
I wish Louisiana were with me: I miss it when she isn't here! She knows how to keep things "all together"; she knows how to keep things under control, even when things are about ready to hit the fan! I'm glad the kids aren't here; the damage would probably haunt their little minds forever. I know it's changed me. It just makes me more determined than ever to reach out to these dear Oklahoma people, who, right now, could use a miracle or two!
Well, I'm going to go and visit Anh and give Thu a break. She needs her rest; she looks positively exhausted! I will be glad when Anh is released from the hospital (in a few days, according to his doctors), but he can't get going just yet: he still needs time to recover! I will be taking care of him while Thu is at work, and also babysit for our youngest grandchild, Bella Grace! Thu said she would pay me. I told her it wasn't necessary, but she insisted on doing so.
I will write again soon, probably when I get back to Tennessee. I'll probably bring Thu, Bella, and Anh with me so that he can have continuing nursing care at home. Then, when he is well (probably in a month or two), he'll return back to Oklahoma; hopefully by then his house will be fixed (it had some damage, but nothing to the extent of what I had seen in Moore or parts of Oklahoma City!). Until then, this is Bill Sandusky saying so long; may God bless you always! Please keep those prayers coming, especially on Anh's behalf! They would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
~Bill. :)
