Monday, November 13th around 1:30am Alissa and I were jolted from our sleep with the sound of the fire alarm beginning to erupt with warnings. Alissa bolted for the kids' room and I quickly made my way through the house looking for the fire. Smoke was hovering around the ceilings yet there was no sign of a fire. Alissa and the kids made it outside in about 60 seconds. I ran outside in our back yard and went to the East side of the house. To my horror, the eves were completely engulfed in flames for approximately 20+ feet.
After Alissa got the kids out of the house she raced in and grabbed our family's photo books and Bibles and Journals. After calling 911 I raced in and grabbed some legal documents, my Bible, and the seven copies of the missionary auto-biography that I had collected from my great-grandpa's missionary work... and rushed them out to the van. And a second trip grabbed my laptop. Within 5 minutes of us waking up the house was completely full of smoke. It happened so incredibly fast we didn't have time to grab anything else. All of us were in our pajamas, no socks or shoes, no jackets... but we were all safe outside, which we were so thankful for.
Alissa took off for her sister's house with the kids and I moved vehicles to prepare for the fire department. As I finished moving the truck to around the corner, the fire engines began rolling up. They quickly rolled out hoses and went to work.
Our neighbors were so kind. Even though it was 1:45am they came out to check on us, one went back and got me a pair of socks. It means so much when people pull together and show support.
We were so touched by the care and concern of the fire fighters. They threw tarps over dressers, grabbed Katherine's cell phone and dropped it in a drawer of a dresser and focused their water spray to minimize water damage. One even came over and told me he found one of our rabbits in the cage next to the one that was burning. I told him there was probably one more in the cage that was on fire... he rushed back and was able to save her. We were so touched.
I will write more later on all the ways we have seen the Lords grace and kindness poured out on us and our family. We are so deeply thankful for His protection and provision and each of you for your love, prayers, and help.
Many have asked "how can we help?" Please know, this means so much, because we know you deeply care and are not just saying this out of being polite. We will be using this site as a way to keep you updated on what our current needs are, so that you can be involved as you feel lead.
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