Article April 3, 2006 Issue

RESCUED, RETURNED, REBUILDING, REASSURED

BY JOHN HOSE

I HAVE BEEN A LIFELONG RESIDENT of New Orleans, and my wife and I have lived in our home in the Lakeview neighborhood for 25 years. We have always stayed in our home when hurricanes have threatened the city, and we did the same for Hurricane Katrina. Our staying was not an act of stubbornness, but based on past experiences of being cared for and protected by God.

The night before and the morning of the hurricane, I spent a lot of time praying and reading from the Bible and Science and Health. From childhood, my mother taught me the importance of prayer, of trusting in God to meet our needs. Throughout my life—as a child, in school, and in business—God has been there as an ever-present help in all areas of my life.

The hurricane had just about passed the city on August 29 when my wife noticed that water was flowing into the house from under the kitchen cabinets. We both immediately began collecting those items we were most concerned about saving and carried them upstairs. We saved family photos, important papers, artwork, some family furniture, and other miscellaneous items, and worked in the water until it got chest high. We retreated upstairs and watched over the next 24 hours as the water rose to within two inches of the second floor.