This was our first visit here and Pastor Joseph Snow and his wife treated us so well. Bro. and Sis. Snow both come from ministry families and it is very evident that they are totally dedicated to ministry as well. They are hungry to see a move of God in their church and in their community. I believe God will bless them at Hale Station.
We are off today so we are trying to rest some because once we head toward Wichita on Saturday it will pretty much be nonstop until the first week of August.
Please continue to pray for the tornado survivors.
Davy
The second was the fact that we travel enough that drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves didn't seem like such a great idea. Especially as reports began to surface that the TSA was singling out those that complain for their most invasive tactics.
I am still not going to throw stones but I did observe something today worth passing on.
Odie is flying home today in order to be home for my niece Deidre's high school graduation. She was going through TSA security before 5 AM in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They normally go over Odie, her wheelchair, canes or walker with a fine tooth comb and this morning was no exception.
We have no complaints about that really but it does seem a tad excessive since instances of 25 year old female, handicapped, American citizens hijacking airplanes are pretty rare.
I saw something else while watching them take Odie through that blew me away. (Bad pun obviously intended) A family was going through the scanners while Odie was taking off her boots and jacket and placing her things on the conveyor.
TSA chose one of the boys (maybe 10 years old) to go into the full body scanner. I didn't notice which line the rest of the family went through.
The young man stepped right into the machine and raised his hands and placed his feet in the proper position. It was then that the TSA agent noticed the boy had his ball cap on. She asked for the cap and he handed it to her. She was standing on the gate side of the scanner.
The scan was over in a couple of seconds. The boy stepped out, the TSA agent handed him his hat and off he went to join his family on a flight. The hat went on that flight without going through Xray at all!
I have seen agents hand an item back across and run it through Xray but this TSA agent had that boys hat in her hands for all of 3-4 seconds. No hat check at all. (I know, another bad pun)
Now I am sure that boy is as innocent as any 10 year old. I am also confident that his hat was not concealing a bomb, any explosive material or an Muslim jihadist.
But the point is, it could have been! They are so focused on shoes, liquids, box cutters, belts and explosives hidden in underwear that they are looking past the obvious. They rely on full body scans and aggressive pat downs to catch what a little common sense could plainly see. They allowed a potential terrorist to give his bomb to the TSA to hold while he was scanned for explosives hidden on his body.
Ridiculous? Maybe, but the moment a Muslim extremest (Let's be honest, they are the only ones trying to blow up our planes) is wrestled to the ground by passengers as he tries to light his hat, all hats will be banned within three miles of an airport. Turbans will be the only exception to the ban of course.
Just something to think about. Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Davy
Maybe it is because we are so familiar with the area. We have been in the Wal-Mart, Lowe's Home Depot and many other of the businesses that were destroyed and where real people lost their lives. We have slept many nights in the parking lot of the Flying J that was hit. We have eaten in many of the restaurants that now are only rubble.
Or maybe it is because we know so many people that live in Joplin and very many more that live close and work or do business in Joplin every day. Their lives will be shaped for months and years by the tornado that lasted only a few minutes Sunday night.
Maybe this one feels different because we have friends who are there assisting in the recovery and clean up and we are hearing first hand, real time reports of the destruction and suffering.
Or maybe this one feels so different because the death toll has risen so fast and so high. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said this morning that number had risen to 117. Others are reporting that is the highest death toll from a SINGLE tornado since 1953.
Very many moms, dads, spouses, brothers, sisters and little children will never forget May 22, 2011 because their loved ones were ripped away from them that day.
My guess is that all these things combine to make this tornado different in our hearts and minds. I know this much, I have been compelled to pray passionately, give liberally and do anything else I can to encourage those that can certainly use the boost right now.
Please join me in praying and giving. We never know when the tragedy may come to our door and then it is certain we will reap what we sow.
God Bless,
Davy
