Thursday, September 18, 2008

Lessons Learned in the Dark

So Hurricane Ike sent some of his winds up to us last Sunday -- no rain, just wind -- and wiped out the power in our lovely city. A couple pockets were not affected, but hundreds of thousands of people lost their electricity for a few days -- many have still not been restored! We were out for 3 days, and I tried to take a few pictures here and there to document the lessons I learned in the dark. Some are practical, some more thoughtful -- but here they are:

Lesson 1: You can do a lot of cleaning without electricity. For instance, look at how great my freezer looks!
Lesson 2: Unbelievers can be enormously generous (often putting Christians to shame). Josh and I were fed like kings at the Louisville Slugger Factory where Josh works as a tour guide. They gave us tons of ice as well. Lesson 3: You don't need electricity to enjoy the warmth of friendship -- in fact, you bond quite closely without it. We had a lovely campfire with several friends, singing and telling ghost stories around the fire. No outlets needed!
Here is a picture of me with my sister Emily and her roommate Faith. We had some nice bonding time charging our electronics at the local coffee shop. I appreciated their positive attitudes. Emily didn't complain once even when we had to hike to Java carrying all our earthly goods in backpacks.
Lesson 4: Our school has excellent leadership. Now I knew this before, but it was really good to see firsthand. After the first 24 hours passed without the lights, Dr. Mohler called a meeting on the lawn (where it was light) and updated everyone on how the place would run without power. Free food, canceled classes -- what did I say about generosity?! I really appreciate how everything was quickly addressed and organized. We are so blessed to have this kind of humble leadership on our campus!

6 comments:

GloryandGrace said...

Blessed indeed!! I've been waiting for a post from you as I knew you guys were without power on campus. I've posted my own reflections, including the one Dr. Mohler wrote.

Glad to know you guys are doing well, and yes, the Lord can teach amazing things while we're in the dark~

Sizzledowski said...

"Lesson 2: Unbelievers can be enormously generous (often putting Christians to shame)."

So true.

I love this post. :) It's encouraging to see the good in situations that could be quite dismal. Like, I'm reading this thinking how much fun you had instead of feeling sorry for you!

jillybean said...

Those are great lessons! Felt a little of that here with everyone in the 'ville bonding together to help each other out. We were only without power for about 36 hours, but there are a lot of people here in town and around the area still without it. Amazing!

Anonymous said...

I hate being without power, but it's fun sometimes at night. Lighting candles and reading--I kind of always think about the olden days...:) We didn't lose power at our house at all..we just had lots of rain

Anna

Anonymous said...

Everything was fine in Danville. Sorry you were hit so hard. I saw Emily on Wednesday eve. She looks so grown up. I started a new Bible Study in west Champaign with my friend Linda. Every Tuesday. Subject Moses life. Think I'm really gonna like it. Lots of history of Egyptian culture that I was unaware of. Miss you two. Come home soon. Love and Prayers. F.

jen said...

I realize this was not your point, but we toured the Louisville SLugger museum on our return trip to ILlinois in May. It was very impressive- the boys are still talking about it. How cool to work there!