So.....
On Wed. Erin and I got the word that Baylor was shutting down for the rest of the week along with most local businesses.... so we headed home, packed up some things, unplugged everything we could, and hit the road.....
It took an hour or so to get to the HOV ramp for I-45 heading north out of the city..... and we flew in the HOV lane.... then once the lane ended and merged back with the freeway- we received one large shaft....
The freeway was creeping along, but the feeder road was moving really well, so we got on the feeder, and right after we got on, we noticed all sorts of state troopers.... they were blocking all the onramps to the freeway..... over the next 3 hours, Erin and I traveled 5 miles.... which caused me severe frustration.... several colorful metaphors later we were back on the freeway....
Timeline:
12:30 - I decided to come home from work
2:45 - we left our house
3:45 - we got on the HOV lane
4:15 - merged back onto the freeway
8:00 - yeah.... we'd traveled 45 miles in 5 hours...
Midnight: We arrived at Brandy Patrick's!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hooray for Brandy!
Marylin and Doug brought over a bed to Brandy's house for Erin and I, and that was incredibly nice!
So that's the update.... not sure what's going to happen to our new home..... our street is probably 2 or 3 ft higher than the main street on our block, and it's physically impossible for any flooding to take place a la Katrina - our street is shaped like an upside-down bowl..... the real fear for us is the wind damage.... Our house is surrounded by a gate and other homes... so hopefully we'll be OK....
Not sure when we'll be able to go back home though....
Anyway - thanks for the calls/e-mails/blog comments....
This is Jake Umbriaco from the Ft. Worth public library..... signing out.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Monday, September 19, 2005
Here I go here I go Here I go again......
Well....
On Friday Erin and I went to Ft. Worth to stay with Brandy Patrick! Brandy cooks amazing food....we had amazing treats.....mmmmm....... We got there Friday night after two hours in Houston traffic...... grrrrr...... two hours to the east or north or west of SLC and you can be in a different state.... two hours in Houston and you're still in Houston. The good news is that our AC is going out in Erin's car so we had the whole road trip to roast......
Travel woes aside, the trip was a lot of fun..... we have a habit of staying up quite late with Brandy! We were up 'till 2ish watching a movie on Friday night..... and had planned on leaving Sat. night so we could have Sunday for recovery..... well on Saturday we went boating with Brandy, Marylin, and Doug... and we were met for boating by my roomie from Seattle, Jason Brewer! So that was a lot of fun.... we also visited a fast food joint which came highly recommended by Clint Roberts..... Taco Bueno.... and their tacos were indeed bueno.
So we got done with boating around 7:30 and decided to stay one more night..... Marylin and Doug made a feast for Brandy, Erin and I (readers will note that Marylin is Brandy's mom - who lives in Grapevine) which included steaks, grilled veggies... salad... potatoes etc. it was excellent!
On Sunday we returned home, two happy campers.... of course when we walked in the door the Broncos had fumbled on the 2 yrd. line and proceeded to suck until we left for church which really had me steamed (especially after the Utes inept offensive performance on national TV.... weak Utes..... weak). But the Broncos did win despite their best efforts.....
On Thursday I am going to play some keeper for a local side! Houston has a really well developed league w/ 7 divisions that function similar to English football with the opportunity to move to a higher division if you win your league. This side - Atlas Lions I think... is composed primarily of Moroccan players... so I think that will be a lot of fun - not just because it's football, but the cultural experience should be a lot of fun!
Anyway - Erin started a new block of classes - so the stress begins anew.
peace.
-jake
On Friday Erin and I went to Ft. Worth to stay with Brandy Patrick! Brandy cooks amazing food....we had amazing treats.....mmmmm....... We got there Friday night after two hours in Houston traffic...... grrrrr...... two hours to the east or north or west of SLC and you can be in a different state.... two hours in Houston and you're still in Houston. The good news is that our AC is going out in Erin's car so we had the whole road trip to roast......
Travel woes aside, the trip was a lot of fun..... we have a habit of staying up quite late with Brandy! We were up 'till 2ish watching a movie on Friday night..... and had planned on leaving Sat. night so we could have Sunday for recovery..... well on Saturday we went boating with Brandy, Marylin, and Doug... and we were met for boating by my roomie from Seattle, Jason Brewer! So that was a lot of fun.... we also visited a fast food joint which came highly recommended by Clint Roberts..... Taco Bueno.... and their tacos were indeed bueno.
So we got done with boating around 7:30 and decided to stay one more night..... Marylin and Doug made a feast for Brandy, Erin and I (readers will note that Marylin is Brandy's mom - who lives in Grapevine) which included steaks, grilled veggies... salad... potatoes etc. it was excellent!
On Sunday we returned home, two happy campers.... of course when we walked in the door the Broncos had fumbled on the 2 yrd. line and proceeded to suck until we left for church which really had me steamed (especially after the Utes inept offensive performance on national TV.... weak Utes..... weak). But the Broncos did win despite their best efforts.....
On Thursday I am going to play some keeper for a local side! Houston has a really well developed league w/ 7 divisions that function similar to English football with the opportunity to move to a higher division if you win your league. This side - Atlas Lions I think... is composed primarily of Moroccan players... so I think that will be a lot of fun - not just because it's football, but the cultural experience should be a lot of fun!
Anyway - Erin started a new block of classes - so the stress begins anew.
peace.
-jake
Friday, September 09, 2005
I met a guy on the train......
When Corey D and I were in Italy together - we met a man who I will never forget.....
His name was Kazeem (now Timothy - assuming he's alive still). Kazeem was a refugee from Nigeria - he was a professional footballer (that means 'soccer player) and had to flee to avoid serious government persecution. While in Italy, Kazeem came to know the Lord Jesus and seeing how it impacted his life changed me in ways I'm only starting to realize. When we first got to Italy we collected an offering to raise some money so that Kazeem could pay his rent for the next five months...... In Italy you had to be unemployed (as a refugee) for 6 months before they'd allow you to immigrate. Kazeem had already been taken on by a Serie C club (third division professional calcio (soccer) team) but had to deal with the red tape...... so being broke already and forced to live with no income for 6 months tends to make people either desparate or profoundly grateful/gracious. Of all the things I remember about Kazeem (when he juggled the ball 300 times consecutively w/o letting it touch the ground) the thing I remember the most is his baptism in the Mediterranean Sea. One of the long-term missionaries, Troy was going to baptize Kazeem, and Troy's daughter. We took a train to the beach and the group of missionaries, and Kazeem and one of his friends (and Amanda Lindholm coincidentally) all walked along to a quiet spot. Along the way we passed a very elderly woman who was begging clearly in need....everyone passed her by.... except Kazeem. He stopped..... and he gave her what he had on him.... which couldn't have been much since he had no income. It was such a beautiful expression of mercy - and it really hits me hard now. I met a guy on the train the other day named Allen..... Allen is staying at the Astrodome with 25,000 other evacuees.... he had just come back from a long day of trying to find his way around a new city and trying to find an apartment. Allen was an employee of the postal service in New Orleans.... he mentioned how he'd watched 4 people die due to lack of medical attention while they waited to be evacuated.... he expressed a desire to get out of the astrodome so he could get some real rest.... supposedly the USPS is going to hook him up with a job out here.... as he told me his story I wanted to reach out to him - to help him in some way...... I listened to his story all the way to his stop.... we shook hands, and I gave him my number... and he went away - through the gates to join all the others.
I see 25 Allens every day on the train and I wonder - what can I do in 10 min. on a train together to reach out to them?
I left a message today with one of the local hospitals.... they are seeking volunteer chaplains and I'm hopeful about that. I just want those people to know that I weep for their city....... and I think of Kazeem..... after he came to faith he asked if he could receive a Christian name, and Troy dubbed him Timothy. Last I heard, Timothy was having trouble with his paperwork and was in danger of being deported back to Nigeria where people like Timothy are killed for forsaking their 'Kazeem' heritage. I don't know if Timothy is alive today or not - but I am deeply grateful for his expression of real mercy to that women - it really guides me to the cross and I hope that I find myself compelled in a similiar fashion because these days of visiting with Allens on the train won't stop for a long time to come.
His name was Kazeem (now Timothy - assuming he's alive still). Kazeem was a refugee from Nigeria - he was a professional footballer (that means 'soccer player) and had to flee to avoid serious government persecution. While in Italy, Kazeem came to know the Lord Jesus and seeing how it impacted his life changed me in ways I'm only starting to realize. When we first got to Italy we collected an offering to raise some money so that Kazeem could pay his rent for the next five months...... In Italy you had to be unemployed (as a refugee) for 6 months before they'd allow you to immigrate. Kazeem had already been taken on by a Serie C club (third division professional calcio (soccer) team) but had to deal with the red tape...... so being broke already and forced to live with no income for 6 months tends to make people either desparate or profoundly grateful/gracious. Of all the things I remember about Kazeem (when he juggled the ball 300 times consecutively w/o letting it touch the ground) the thing I remember the most is his baptism in the Mediterranean Sea. One of the long-term missionaries, Troy was going to baptize Kazeem, and Troy's daughter. We took a train to the beach and the group of missionaries, and Kazeem and one of his friends (and Amanda Lindholm coincidentally) all walked along to a quiet spot. Along the way we passed a very elderly woman who was begging clearly in need....everyone passed her by.... except Kazeem. He stopped..... and he gave her what he had on him.... which couldn't have been much since he had no income. It was such a beautiful expression of mercy - and it really hits me hard now. I met a guy on the train the other day named Allen..... Allen is staying at the Astrodome with 25,000 other evacuees.... he had just come back from a long day of trying to find his way around a new city and trying to find an apartment. Allen was an employee of the postal service in New Orleans.... he mentioned how he'd watched 4 people die due to lack of medical attention while they waited to be evacuated.... he expressed a desire to get out of the astrodome so he could get some real rest.... supposedly the USPS is going to hook him up with a job out here.... as he told me his story I wanted to reach out to him - to help him in some way...... I listened to his story all the way to his stop.... we shook hands, and I gave him my number... and he went away - through the gates to join all the others.
I see 25 Allens every day on the train and I wonder - what can I do in 10 min. on a train together to reach out to them?
I left a message today with one of the local hospitals.... they are seeking volunteer chaplains and I'm hopeful about that. I just want those people to know that I weep for their city....... and I think of Kazeem..... after he came to faith he asked if he could receive a Christian name, and Troy dubbed him Timothy. Last I heard, Timothy was having trouble with his paperwork and was in danger of being deported back to Nigeria where people like Timothy are killed for forsaking their 'Kazeem' heritage. I don't know if Timothy is alive today or not - but I am deeply grateful for his expression of real mercy to that women - it really guides me to the cross and I hope that I find myself compelled in a similiar fashion because these days of visiting with Allens on the train won't stop for a long time to come.
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