A Lion in Church and Other Wild Stories from Survivors of Hurricane Ike
"Everyone was praying. It was so terrible. All I could say was, 'Lord, please don't kill me. Forgive me for what I done.'"
EDITOR'S NOTE: As power is slowly restored to Hurricane Ike-ravaged areas of east Texas, and parts of Louisiana, the cleanup effort and need for humanitarian aid is still enormous. As we pray for those victims, there are many different organizations that have stepped in to help. Some of those include the Red Cross, Samaritan's Purse, Somebody Cares, Operation Blessing and others—click on the links for information on how you can partner with them. –Aimee Herd, BCN.
(Bolivar Peninsula, Texas)—As clean up continues in Texas following Hurricane Ike, stories are emerging that paint harrowing pictures of the incredible power of nature and the tendency of man to call out to God in their hour of need.
One incredible story involves lion-owner Michael Ray Kujawa who was fleeing the storm with his full-grown lion from a local zoo and was forced to take shelter in a Baptist church on Bolivar Island. According to an AP report, residents helped the lion wade inside where they locked in the sanctuary as the storm raged. The lion, they say, remained as "calm as a kitten" throughout the ordeal. (Photo: Tony Gutierrez, AP)
Many survivors describe the storm as sounding like an atomic bomb going off and swear they will never try to ride out another hurricane again.
Charlene Warner of Galveston reportedly weathered the storm with her landlord and a neighbor in the apartment above her own. "It felt like an earthquake — the rumbling and the rocking of the building," she said, crying. "Everyone was praying. It was so terrible. All I could say was, 'Lord, please don't kill me. Forgive me for what I done.'"
Follow the link to read other hurricane survivor stories.
