Preview to a Different Life

Wednesday 24 Feb. 2011


We headed out to the airport to drop Sarah off. Then we went to another Salvation Army Church. Anne and Alister had a meeting with other officers. So, Alison and I walked around the city to catch up on what has been happening. We were out for several hours, and we finally got a text saying to come back.

From there, we went home. It took a LONG time to get home. Traffic was absolutely horrible. Many roads were blocked, so it wasn't easy getting around. We were at a stand still. At on point, a guy got out of the car and took his dog out for a walk. There was no leash (lead) on the dog, so the dog just started running. He went across the road, so the people wen back in the car, went over the median and chased he dog who went in the bushes. After that, several cars went over the median to the other side of the road. Traffic was so bad, people were giving up. At the house, there were several big cracks. The cabinets shifted, the floor is uneven. No water, no power. It seems like we will be staying at Anne's sister's house for a while.

Anne and Alister's car are both under a parking structure, so they had no cars to drive. Sarah had a small car, so we were driving her car. It was a bit interesting driving her car when it is low to the ground, there are 4 of us in the car, and the roads are terrible.

We then went to a couple's home to have a Church staff meeting. Alison, I, and another girl not part of the staff swapped stories.

When we got to the house, I was able to take my very first shower since being back. It was quite nice, but it had to be quick. It was almost 11pm and Alison and I were ready to go to bed. We heard a knock on the door and Anne asked if we would be okay with going out again. Red Cliffs were being evacuated and were being sent to a welfare centre. 200 were expected. We were being summoned to the welfare centre to help serve food. We arrived and tidied up a bit. We waited and waited. We served one person while we waited. We were told the buses were arriving. Then...we were told 3 people were coming. We stayed a bit longer. The three people didn't want food, so we left around 1 am. It had been a very long day.