Our friends on the lake

One week ago, I was recovering from the busy weekend wedding coupled with a nasty stomach bug.  I received a phone call from Mark's parents about 6pm and the first thing Mr. Ernie asked was, "Are you feeling any better today?"  The second thing out of his mouth was that they had just had a tornado come through their neighborhood.  Um...I am sorry, did you say tornado?

Mark and I both got on the phone and learned of damages to their home and to the neighbors' home.  A couple of windows had actually blown in (one shattering, one not) while they were there in the midst of what we later learned was an F2 tornado that basically passed over the island part of Lake Bruin where they live.

As the news stories circulated it became hard to watch since Mark knows most of those providing interviews to the media.  If you click the link you'll see a white house belonging to the Simpson family whose children were friends of Mark's growing up - the house used to have two stories and we believe will now be a total loss.  Another friend of the family, Mr. Arceneaux, has provided a few interviews for local news channels - his home was completely destroyed.

Granny and Grandpa had no power until Thursday and their water source was severly compromised so no water until then either.  They did manage to send us some pictures, which really hammered home with us how blessed they really were during this storm.  The picture below is Mark's parents house - I'll admit when Mr. Ernie said they had a tree leaning on the house I had pictured a small tree actually leaning propped up on the roof...didn't exactly picture the scene below.

And the picture series below is the one that makes me sick to my stomach.  The Hazlips are dear friends and neighbors of Mark's parents, and have painstakingly moved and restored this old depot into a beautifully charming lake retreat.  They preserved so much of the spirit and character of the depot, but modernized it in small ways for style and ease of living.  The picture first pic here is one of my favorites - preservation of the realities of pre-integration Southern life.  The second picture that I've always loved of Mark was taken two summers ago (with his then baby girl) relaxing on the back steps of the depot. 

And here's the depot after the storm...it just makes me sick.  (Those two doors shown above are on the left end of the house in the first pic below.)  The depot was literally knocked off it's blocks...you'll notice the back deck is now about 6 feet away from those windows pictured above.

 This picture shows damage between the two houses.

Would you join me in remembering the good people of St. Joseph/Lake Bruin, Louisiana in prayer?  This wonderful small town has many people - most of whom would be considered friends to the Armstrong family - who are facing heartache and hardship as they rebuild and restore what was lost in this storm.  We are incredibly thankful that God's hand was upon the people of this area and that no lives were lost as a result of this storm.  Thank you for your prayers!