Nashville

This weekend Hillary had a preview day at the school, IADT, that we will be attending. Any chance to go to Nashville we go, so this was a great opportunity.

It started as just anther great trip to Nashville...
Friday:
We got so much accomplished! We went and saw our rep at the school, Bertha, and gave her a "Bertha Day" gift (just a little thank you). Then went apartment hunting and settled on the one we wanted!! Finally we ended our day with meeting our friend, Brett, and eating some good food and watching a movie with him and his roommate, Vince. Ashley, my cousin, meet us that night too! Great day.

Saturday:
When we got up that morning it was raining but that did not put a damper on our day. We went to IADT that morning and made plans to eat lunch at the Pancake Pantry! At the Pancake Pantry there is always a line - usually stretching around the corner of the building. So we stood outside in the rain! Out of the 6 of us, we had 2 rain jackets, 2 hoodies, 1 sweatshirt and no umbrellas. We made it through the line, though we were quite wet, sat down, ate a great meal, and let's be honest lingered a while, talking and such because of the rain....which let me add, while raining hard, it "appeared" to be an average hard rain...normal weekend right!

Here's where things got interesting:
On our way home from eating we hit a river crossing over the road (that normally goes under the road) less then a mile away from out hotel. We thought it best to not go through it so we trusted our GPS and went around it. This however was not the thought of many people, which sad to say made great entertainment for us. Josh was among those who thought his car could make it, he was also one of the two (while we were watching) to get stuck. After he was pushed out of the river (by the other guy that got stuck), Meghan, Hillary, a random nice man, and I pushed his car up a hill to park it out of the road. Josh had no way to get to his apartment 30 minutes away - he could not locate any of his friends on his cell. So what were we to do but offer to take him home. Turns out that it took 5-6 hours to get there and back because so many roads were flooded. We made it back and stayed safely in our hotel.
Turns out there was a K-mart less than a mile away (thank you to Ashley's friend, Amy, who used to work near where we were and provided us with that much needed information)! So Ashley and my mom went to get food, drinks and a little entertainment. We were trapped - not in Nashville, but in our hotel - not able to go a mile either way. We had to stay an extra day, which turned out to be a fun time because we went down to the lobby and played games with other guests we just meet.
On Monday we finally made it out, though the Cumberland River still had not crested and the devastation was not over. The roads we needed to travel on had been cleared and one of the ones Ashley needed to drive on cleared near noon (it wasn't supposed to be clear until 5pm Monday). Though travel was slow for Ashley - we all made it out.

Nashville is a place that I love. Meghan, Hillary and I already think of it as "our town". It has always been hard to leave the town we think of as our home but this time was the hardest for all of us. We can't wait to be up there to help however we can. To see the town that we love so much, in so much need, breaks my heart. There is such a need for clothing, and water... everyone there has to cut there water use by half, as one of the water treatment plants was under water. They cannot even start repairs until the water recedes, so they are down to 1 treatment plant!

If you want to help there are ways to get involved. Hillary has organized a facebook group with more information called "Hand in Hand with Nashville". This is a great way to get involved and also just to be able to find out what is going on - not many people here seem to know how severe the problems are in Nashville (as well as Mississippi, Kentucky and the rest of Tennessee). Our news is focusing on the oil spill, the bombing in NYC that wasn't successful, and the killing of the lacross player. While these are all very important and tragic issues they have certainly overshadowed "the flood". So we are doing what we can to inform people here what they can do.

WHAT YOU CAN GIVE:

CLOTHES:
We are asking for you to go through your closets and pull out clothes that you no longer, or never wear. We all buy clothes that we toss in the back of the closet and never look at again! Why keep it to clutter up your closet? Donate and go buy something else to take its place. They need clothes for everyone - every size - every sex! Some people lost ALL they have!

FOOD:
Another thing they have asked for is nonperishable food items. That's right, go into the pantry and pull out those green beans you bought two months ago and forgot you had. Or if you're feeling extra generous go to the store and play a little Super Market Sweep...Super Market Sweep is always fun.

WATER:
The final thing they're asking for is water. Bottled water or gallons of water. They need water! When my mom and Ashley went to K-Mart on Sunday, they already had cases of water at the front of the store, and people were filling their carts with it! It will not last.

I'VE COLLECTED ITEMS WHAT NOW?
If you are in the Sylacauga area you can take them to Kenny Norris at First Baptist of Sylacauga, or call or email one of us and we will get it and store it at our house.
Tori email - victoriaglynne@live.com
Tori cell - 256-861-0108
Hillary email - solascriptura3@gmail.com
Hillary cell - 256-872-5196

If you are in the Tuscaloosa area, we are hoping to set up several boxes at different churches through out T-town. As of Wednesday there will be a box for sure at Open Door Baptist Church.

If you are elsewhere contact Hillary at solascriptura3@gmail.com and we will work out how to get it there.

HOW WILL THEY GET TO NASHVILLE?
If you give, we'll carry. We will personally collect things from Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Sylacauga in two weeks - that's May 19th - and will take them to Nashville.

Please remember to pray for Nashville. For the people who lost everything and for the ministers and believers in Nashville - that they will be used by God to spread the gospel - what an awesome opportunity they have!

For pictures and videos go to Hillary's blog at
http://solascriptura3.blogspot.com
or to the facebook page she made
"Hand in Hand with Nashville"