A friend I have known for several years but only met for the first time last week, wrote to a group of us who are members of an email discussion group about her husband who is a chaplain with the National Guard. He received call up orders over the weekend to report to duty in New Orleans. She wrote:
My dh leaves tomorrow for New Orleans. It has been confirmed he will be working (ministering) with the soldiers recovering the bodies. Those poor men are really struggling with their task and anxious for a chaplain to arrive.
There is no electricity, thus no cell phones or email, thus - in all likelihood - I will not hear from him once we say our good-byes until he returns. They communicate through satellite means, but the few resources they have are jammed with official business.
Paul, one of Wizbang's writers, is from New Orleans and forced out of his home. He writes about what is going on from a very personal point of view, including this piece about the personal sorrow affecting the police.
Surely we must find the time to get down on our knees and pray, not only for those who lost everything in the hurricane, but also for those who go to do the recovery work. Nothing will have prepared them for the job they have ahead. We sit home cool and dry and fed while looking at friendly surroundings and complaining about politicians and long lines at baseball games and cable outages.
Lord have mercy on those who grieve and those who seek to comfort them.
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