It is after 11:00 tonight (Tuesday, 10/1), and I am sitting in a recliner drinking iced tea and watching a little bit of TV while being very comfortable with an air conditioner blowing and the roof over my head and a plate of good food I had ate earlier. I have just returned from a deployment with Childersburg Rescue Squad into Erwin, Tennessee and this same scene I am fixing to talk about is playing out in many small towns as well as large ones at this moment.
When the hurricane hit it dumped enormous amounts of rain and brought about a lot of destruction with mudslides swollen creeks dàm breakage and a host of other things. Erwin was basically wiped out by flash flooding along with a few other natural disasters.
Their whole infrastructure is completely gone. There is no water to drink, no sewer system to be able to flush a toilet, no electricity, no cell phones, etc. Yet, here I am sitting here in a chair with all of these things. Just a few short nights ago the citizens in that area had the same thing, but tonight everything they do water-related from having water to drink to cooking, brushing their teeth, to even taking a bath for the next several months will be done with bottled water.
TV is not existent as they’re all in the ditches or in the river. Many are looking for loved ones that they have been disconnected from and not knowing where they are. Food is at a premium and gas is almost non-existent. Shelter is practically nonexistent, and they are living at this point in the most primitive of scenarios. Yet through all this tragedy, they are still reaching out to each other with neighbors helping each other.
I’ve witnessed very horrible things, but I saw the good things in a lot of people. With all the different drives going on for supplies please pick carefully who you donate to. Many agencies only get a portion of what is donated to those that are needing it or some send everything you donate.
If you have not considered donating, please do because a simple thing such as a bottle of water or a pack of crackers might be the difference between somebody living or dying. There is still hope for many people there, but they need our help desperately.
When I got back home the clothes I left in days ago are the clothes I came back home in. When I stepped into the shower, and I had plenty of water and hot water at that, it was a gentle reminder of how blessed I am. I have the love of my life beside me, and I have a TV that I’m looking at, and my home is comfortable and all of those people had that same thing just a few short nights ago, but not any more.
If you cannot give anything, take the moment to pray, because prayer will change many things. We serve a mighty God. He never promised us an easy road, but He did say we would never be alone. Keep the prayers coming for them because they are desperately needed.
Jim Dennis, Childersburg Rescue Squad
