All Eyes On Gustav

Here we go again. As I write this we're only two days away from the third anniversary of Katrina and Gustav lingers on the edge of the gulf - waiting. I'm beginning to see the anxiety in the eyes of my neighbors and hear the tension in people's voices as they talk about this new hurricane. Gustav is the first real potential threat to New Orleans since Katrina and given what we went through with her you can imagine the concern over this. No one is taking it lightly. No bold statements about riding it out. No plans for hurricane parties. A gentleman on the news last night was asked by a reporter what his evacuation plans where. "If its coming our way, we're getting outta here" was his response. Nothing fancy or complicated, that's my kind of plan.
One of the worst things about having a potential threat like Gustav is the sensory overload you get from the media, and disaster preparedness agencies. Once someone realizes this thing might come your way, its in your face 24/7. This morning I received an email from Gibbie McMillan, our state convention's disaster relief director, with a tracking map and lots of bleak information to cheer me up. I think Gibbie is a great guy and its always a treat to visit with him but in times like these, honestly, he's the last person I want to hear from. However, I'm glad he's on top of his job.
I've moved my schedule around today so I can have time to make sure Jaime and I have what we need. Fill up my truck, make sure we have batteries, try to find a store that still has water for sell, and so forth. I'm even going to divert from our normal Royal Ambassador lesson tonight at church to talk the boys through hurricane preparedness. We have some boys from the low income neighborhood around our church that have started coming to RAs and I want to make sure their families are prepared.
Pray for us. Pray for grace and wisdom in dealing with the necessary preparations. I'm not one for praying that God sends a storm elsewhere. That just seems cruel. Rather pray that the storm will not intensify or will be pulled out into the Atlantic. Pray also for our people. Many are on the verge of panic attacks (I'm not joking) and are having a hard time dealing with the possibility of Gustav coming our way. Keep your prayers coming and I'll do my best to keep you up to speed.