Crazy Weather...
The weather in China is getting better. The forecast for various regions in south central China is sunny with increasing temperatures over the next few days. That is great news. Half the Sky is still helping orphanages in need. They update their site regularly with the current needs. There are still orphanages that are in desperate need, but things are looking better.
On a local level, Tuesday night brought horrible storms through this area. Tornadoes brought much destruction and fatalities. Only about 10 miles from where we live, there was a path cut by a tornado that flattened homes and took the lives of 13 people. There were 4 people killed in our county. The winds, rain and lightening were pretty scary when we were watching reports of tornados touching down so close to our home. We were very blessed that we were not "physically" affected by these storms. It is heartbreaking to know that people so close have had their lives totally shaken. Losing a home would be so hard, but those that lost family members, I cannot imagine. Our prayers are with those that are suffering.
When our county came under a Tornado Warning, I woke Carter and Jacob up and told them to go downstairs. As we went into the living room, I could see out the front windows and the sky was orange. I knew that either half of the community down the road was on fire or something crazy was about to happen. I couldn't tell at my first glance if it was flickering or not, it was just an orange glow. I told Rodney, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law to come and look. Rodney said it was a fire, he could see the flickering. After about 30 minutes, we found out that about 25 miles away, a natural gas transmission station was on fire.
The blaze and/or glow from the fire could be seen in about 6 counties. Fortunately, no one was working Tuesday night at the station and no houses around the station were damaged due to the fire. There were houses destroyed around the station by the tornado that also damaged the station.
2008 has started a little odd. Hopefully, the bad things are over and good things are to come. Spring is just around the corner which will bring green grass, leaves on the trees, flowers and "outside" weather!!!
On a local level, Tuesday night brought horrible storms through this area. Tornadoes brought much destruction and fatalities. Only about 10 miles from where we live, there was a path cut by a tornado that flattened homes and took the lives of 13 people. There were 4 people killed in our county. The winds, rain and lightening were pretty scary when we were watching reports of tornados touching down so close to our home. We were very blessed that we were not "physically" affected by these storms. It is heartbreaking to know that people so close have had their lives totally shaken. Losing a home would be so hard, but those that lost family members, I cannot imagine. Our prayers are with those that are suffering.
When our county came under a Tornado Warning, I woke Carter and Jacob up and told them to go downstairs. As we went into the living room, I could see out the front windows and the sky was orange. I knew that either half of the community down the road was on fire or something crazy was about to happen. I couldn't tell at my first glance if it was flickering or not, it was just an orange glow. I told Rodney, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law to come and look. Rodney said it was a fire, he could see the flickering. After about 30 minutes, we found out that about 25 miles away, a natural gas transmission station was on fire.
The blaze and/or glow from the fire could be seen in about 6 counties. Fortunately, no one was working Tuesday night at the station and no houses around the station were damaged due to the fire. There were houses destroyed around the station by the tornado that also damaged the station.
2008 has started a little odd. Hopefully, the bad things are over and good things are to come. Spring is just around the corner which will bring green grass, leaves on the trees, flowers and "outside" weather!!!
Praying for those trying to piece their lives back together & all those in China,
Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker, and Anna Mei
