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Karen Whiting Updates

Hurricane Irma
Wednesday, September 13, 2017 by Karen Whiting

Hurricane Irma brought back memories of rebuilding after Hurricane Andrew 25 years ago when we sustained 99k in damages. It seemed like we lost about a year of normal living but my children matured and faced it all with trust in God. Now they have been living in various parts of Florida and damage and uncertainty have touched their lives.

My own home near Melbourne sustained minor damage of lost roof shingles and flashing, but there’s power. My oldest son is staying there because his home a few miles away is still without power. He should have power within days to a few weeks and then will have some repairs, but his house is in good shape.

My younger daughter rents and her home has no power in the Miami area. She is staying with in-laws and assessing damages (not major). However, the house is set to foreclose in early October and finding a place to live is nearly impssible at the moment.

My youngest son lives in the Sarasota area and is in NC at the moment. He is still finding out the condition of his area and the home where he rents a room. The college where he teaches is closed for this week.

All that is small compared to what my oldest daughter faces. Her oldest daughter refused to leave the Keys and her status is unknow. Rebecca’s husband pastors a church in Marathon Key. He just found out the church suffered no damage and the parsonage on the outside looks good and they are waiting to find out if the house had any flooding. They are praising the Lord for the good news. They own a home in Labelle near Fort Meyers and don’t know the condition of that home either, but suspect there are not major damages since they have not heard from the renters. Both areas were hitn heavily and they may have severe losses.

But we trust in the Lord. After Andrew we studied Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. It gave us strength as we learned how they put their hearts into the task, trusted God, and overcame obstacles including taunting and emotional attacks from enemies meant to discourage them. Yes, we’ll have days that are tough, but we’ll continue to hope and trust. And we’ll pray for those who suffered loss from Harvey and Irma.

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