story949.xml

story949.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-07-30

The time was approximately 8:30 A.M.I was on my way to my church (I am an associate pastor) and had just turned my radio on to a news station. At first I thought they were reenacting an attack from a previous war thinking that a date in history was being remembered. As I continued to listen, I realized that this was no re-enactment. Anger, fear, frustration, sadness, all filled me at once along with
so many questions that could not and would not be answered. I located my pastor at the local McDonald's with the group of men he meets with each day and informed them of what was going on. I went to my church and called my wife at the nursing home she worked at. I also serve as a chapter manager for the American Red Cross and knew that the rest of my day would be spent working with the Emergency Management Agency and at my local Red Cross chapter preparing others to leave on assignment to help in this disaster. I also prepared my family and church in case I was called on to serve, which I was. I worked in the O'Hare Airport for three days following 9/11 with those affected by the disaster. It was an experience I will never forget. I saw not only a nation come together, but nations as I worked in the International Terminal. The support from the outside world was tremendous and the work of every single person who responded to this crisis around the world will never be forgotten. We truly came together and functioned as a team! Triumph came out of tragedy on 09/11/01.