Gilmer, TX

**For those unfamiliar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, let me explain. Each local unit is called a ward (keeping it simple here) and several wards make up a Stake. Stakes are overseen by Area Leaders and all pertinent information is reported to the Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City. This network of the church allows us to be very efficient. Last Sunday, an announcement was made in our ward that should we need to evacuate and didn't have a place, we should go to the Longview, Texas, Stake Center. Also in our church, we believe that we are all Brothers and Sisters in the Gospel, and that the church works much like a family.**

We left for evacuation at 5:30 AM on Friday. We drove to Longview, and there was steady traffic the entire way. We arrived at the Longview Stake Center to see that there were lots of cars in the parking lot. We went in the front door, and neither Clint or I had a relieved feeling. We both felt anxious and a little bit uncomfortable. We checked in at the table, and were told that all classrooms were full (each family is assigned one room), but that we could have a space in the gym or travel on to Gilmer (20 miles away). We chose to go to Gilmer and when we arrived at the Gilmer Stake Center, we both immediately felt at peace. Sister Hall, found us a room and settled us in, she was so sweet. Not long after that, the Stake President, President Austin, stopped in to check on us. Dinner was provided for us, and throughout the evening we were able to visit with various members of the wards in Gilmer. The people were kind and generous. Several people stopped by with food, games, toys, and other items for us to use. One sweet sister even brought me her pack-n-play, which made the nights better. We had taken an air mattress, but every night Emery thought he should be sleeping on it, and more than once Clint or I went to the floor. We spent the time we were evacuated with 23 other people. Several of the families were Hispanic, and on Saturday, we heard that there was a birthday for Omar, a ten year old. He had also been evacuated on his birthday the year before. A sweet sister named Kym helped me plan a birthday party for Omar, with presents, games, and a pinata. He was pretty impressed and all of the kids enjoyed the games and pinata. Saturday evening, the eye of Hurricane Ike passed over Gilmer, with lots of wind and rain. The storm brought down several trees and the power was put out in several places. While we were walking our dog at about 9:30 PM, the sky lit up with a brilliant blue, it lasted about 20 seconds and while it was bright, the power was out. It did this four times before taking the power out for the night. We were without power for about 12 hours. Sunday church services were cancelled, and several members stopped by with additional food. We took our dog to run in a fenced yard, and Emery had a fantastic time wandering around the beautifully landscaped yard and pool. On Monday, we got word that our home was still standing, not covered with water, and that we had electricity. We were able to go out to President and Sister Austin's home to help them clean up from the storm on Saturday evening. It was so fun to visit and we had the yummiest hamburgers with avocado. Tuesday morning we got up and headed for home. Upon arriving home, we found our house just as we had left it. There was no damage from the storm, and only some leaves to rake.

We were very blessed during our time away. The people we were able to meet treated us like family. We cannot express enough gratitude for the sacrifices they made in our behalf. And, these sacrifices are not over, these same members will be traveling down to Beaumont this weekend to work on clean-up crews. They will sleep outside on the ground, eat little, and work hard to help people they've never met. That's the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Love everyone as your brother, and serve them as such. I only hope that when I have the chance I can serve the way we were served this last week.