A story about Linda
From Joy, San Antonio
Abby and I went to the Windsor Park shelter on Friday. Every time I go I am amazed at the army cots stretching across these huge spaces. I couldn’t help but wonder how people could handle living altogether with hundreds of strangers. Meeting Linda gave us insight into why so many are still in the shelters while others have moved on to begin their lives again.
We saw Linda sitting on her bed with her leg up. When we looked across the room, she called us over to sit down with her. She
explained that she had been bitten by spiders and her leg had swollen so much she had to keep it elevated. She said she had been sick most of the time since her evacuation. Her resistance was so low that she needed strong antibiotics or she would have had to have her foot amputated.
Linda had stayed in New Orleans to work in a home for the elderly during the storm. Her boss had told her that if she stayed she would be evacuated with everyone there, but when they were evacuated she was told she was on her own because they were only taking the aged and infirm. After the storm she decided to go to her apartment to get her puppy, a big mistake. Beginning in knee deep water, she managed to get her dog and proceed to higher ground. By the time she was back in the street with her puppy, the water was neck deep. She was picked up by rescue teams and promised a “comfortable place” to wait for her evacuation. She ended up under a bridge by the Convention Center , watching in shock as the worst elements of the city terrorized the innocents around them, with no one to protect them as they languished for days from a lack of food and clean
water.
Linda said that if it wasn’t for her faith in the Lord she would not have survived. But since her ordeal she could not even read her Bible as she used to. Her faith was shaken and she was still in shock from all she had gone through. We recommended reading the Psalms, David’s songs of praise and love to the Lord in spite of the many difficulties and obstacles he faced.
We were able to pray with her and reassure her of the Lord’s love for her. Our words were not revelations to her. She already knew the Lord but she needed our presence and our prayers to help her begin the deep healing of her spirit. We also prayed for the healing of her body which had been ravaged by the bacteria in the filthy water she had almost drown in.
Linda explained that she and some other evacuees had tried to get out and see San Antonio, going for a walk along the Riverwalk. As they enjoyed the sights and sounds of this new city, they heard a sound coming from the river. Terrified that they were going to be caught in another flood, they scattered in all directions trying to run to higher ground. By the time they realized that it was just the normal sounds of the river, they just wanted to run back to the shelter where they at least felt safe.
Linda says that she enjoys sleeping in front of the policemen stationed by the escalator. People ask her why she doesn’t move on
with her life and she tries to explain that she is just not ready yet. The emotional scars are too new, the pain is too real and fear
has taken over her mind. Remembering a time in my own life when I had faced death and the fear that I had had to overcome to be able to just walk down the street, I had something to give her to help her overcome, the Word which had healed me. “God has not give you the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
We spent hours with Linda and were able to give her some clothes to share with others in the shelter. We came away with a friend whom we can continue to see regularly, share the power or prayer and the healing of God’s Word. There are thousands of others like Linda who have needed more than shelter and food, but have needed the Lord’s complete healing in their lives before they can even make plans for the future.