Fire!

How different our day turned out from what we had planned!

Our goal was to do some school in the morning, then sew in the afternoon.

Allison heard some sirens blaring so she went upstairs as we can see the road better from there. Then she hollered, "The neighbors' house is on FIRE!" We all went upstairs and this is what we saw.

Moments later, flames were raging out of the place!

The little ones were scared!

All of a sudden, what they had seen on 'Fireproof' was drama played out in real life like they had never seen before. They were frightened!

The thing that had them worried was whether anyone was in the house or not.

So we prayed, and their fears were erased. Praise God for peace in the midst of a storm!

We decided to go outside where we could get a better and closer view. The boys were now o.k. with that. It's amazing how that little prayer calmed their fears. It was total trust in God!

Sometimes the road was closed to all traffic. And other times, one lane was open.

Of all days, Zach went with his Daddy. But he got more school work done than the girls combined!

Smoke was billowing out of the house. We had no idea the other side was burning worse than this side. The wind was in our favor.

Firemen poked at the wood stacked on the porch to get it away from the house.

Ping! I heard the glass shatter.

The power company was there to do their job in turning off the electric.

In the midst of the chaos, these red leaves among all the dead grass seemed like a glimmer of hope.

Braden was cold as he didn't have a thick coat on. But he couldn't miss watching the fire. The sun and his big sister warmed him, while Mama continued to snap scores of photos.

The little dog was baffled. He didn't know what was going on. He ran back and forth and crossed the road and went to the neighbor's house. But he was soon back again roaming from place to place and who knows what his doggie thoughts were.

It was a cold day and this was our audience. The black thing on the left is the camera bag, not the dog.

We talked about 'Fireproof' - Never leave your partner behind. The firemen worked in pairs. Two came out of the house needing oxygen refueling while two took their place.

The next 3 photos emphasize the fact of working in pairs, never leaving your partner. We found it interesting.

The holding tank was placed on one side of the road. Trucks were in and out, back and forth, constantly getting water.

There were many laborors. And a row of oxygen tanks!

The firemen upstairs finally dropped the remains of this mattress outside - springs. Next, some foam, and then the remains of the bed frame.

Then they cut some of the wood siding to throw some more things out.

After standing outside for an hour, we went inside to eat and prepare some food.

We went to the neighbors. Everyone got out o.k.

The mama said she was laying down and the smoke woker her up. She took the 8 month old baby outside then went back inside for the 3 or 4 year old. She had smoke inhalation and they wanted to take her to the hospital, but she refused as she wanted to stay with her little ones. The 9 and 13 year old girls were in school.

I'm thankful that their lives were spared. It is a pitiful situation.

Here are the remains of the house.

I was reminded of this verse in 1 John 3:17 -

"But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?"

Indeed, we are blessed. We have a warm bed, clean house, and a God in heaven who gives us peace. Now it's our duty to show the love of Jesus to the least of these my brethren. Our prayer is that they would come to know the Jesus we serve!