I got a call at 6:30am this morning from my former boss, Ellen. My first thought was, "Oh, no... something has happened to one of the girls!" Thankfully, she reassured me that nothing was wrong on her end, but that she was calling to check on me. I had no idea what she was talking about.

She informed me of the tornadoes that came through New Orleans early this morning. And indeed, as many of you have seen on the news, the storms were severe last night with much damage as a result. I watched the news this morning to see footage of neighborhoods that are still recovering from Katrina, and now this. One woman who has damage on her home mentioned that she doesn't know if she has the strength this time to start over. And that is probably going to be the story of many here.

The seminary received no damage from the storm, but within one mile of here, one elderly lady was killed as a result of the destruction in this neighborhood. The hardest hit area was Westwego (~20 minutes from here). And jump over a few blocks across the Mississippi River to Uptown, an area where several of my friends live, I spend a lot of time, etc. I don't think they would have been directly affected by the damage, but maybe by power outages, traffic problems, etc. I'm sure I'll be hearing from them about it soon. In total, several were injured and the devastation is extensive. (So you know, the seminary is located in Gentilly, in case you're curious as you hear reports from New Orleans.)

Please join me in praying for the people affected by this storm, especially for the families who have suffered loss of life or injuries. Pray for us who are working here, that we may have wisdom on how to best serve this city in the name of Jesus.

Thanks for your prayers and support!