The past 3 days have been some of the most crazy and intense days I have ever experienced. And if I could, with one word, describe the impact these 3 days have had on me, the blatant answer would be gratitude.
As I struggled to sleep Thursday night, fluctuating between worry and prayer for this family I love (who at that point were told they wouldn't see or talk to each other for days), I welcomed a middle of the night thunderstorm. I LOVE rain, and thunderstorms, and I love to be in the rain. So when the storm began and I was still nowhere near sleep, I ran outside like usual and just stood in the parking lot letting myself be drenched, which has a magical refreshing and calming effect on me. Apparently that storm ended up being fairly severe, leaving many without power...
Friday afternoon Leigha called and said that she could pick up the kids and asked if I would come pick her up and get the kids. I have never been more excited to see those two mischievous little kids. We brought the kids home and just enjoyed a quiet evening out of the heat. We decided to do a movie night, complete with popcorn and homemade caramel to drizzle over it.
So, Leti and I set out to get the necessary ingredients to pull this movie night off.
First stop was my apartment to pick up popcorn. When we got to my apartment it was raining but not too much. By the time we left my apartment (less than 5 minutes later), it was really dark and I was 100% drenched within seconds of walking out the door. We have a lot of thunderstorms in here in Minnesota, and strong thunderstorms are not unusual. So I didn't think much of the strong wind that caused the heavy rain to travel horizontally- we just needed to drive carefully. [According to a local meteorologist- "Over 3" of rain for MSP International and much of the metro since Friday morning, and this was as of midnight Saturday night. To put that into perspective that's 3 week's worth of rain, in about 36 hours. The ground is (obviously) saturated, and that created less support for tree roots, increasing the potential for big trees to come down with Friday evening's sustained winds of 60-75 mph; close to hurricane force for a period of 10-15 minutes."] We set out towards our second stop, Leti praying for our safety and everyone else in the neighborhood's safety as we began. (It is so awesome when she prays.)
Second stop was the grocery store to get a movie from Redbox and get corn syrup for making the caramel. It probably took 30-45 minutes to get from my apartment to Cub, which is 1.5 miles away. So we picked our movie and found the corn syrup (after trying to remember whether it was corn oil or corn syrup that we were supposed to get), and since Leti (who I have been mentoring for the past 3 years) and I haven't been able to hang out much the last month or two, I decided that we should reward ourselves for accomplishing our mission by getting cookies and juice to enjoy in the car before heading back. We checked out and headed to the car, and there was a break in the storm. It had gone from the sky being super dark to seeing the end of the sunset. We enjoyed our snack and catching up while we sat in the parking lot, making sure that there would be no evidence left for anyone else to find out that we had this extra treat. By the time we start heading back, it was really dark, like pitch black. When we get back to their house, Leigha told us that the power was out. Movie night was cancelled.I don't know how Cub didn't lose power, but while we had been in there hundreds of thousands of people had lost electricity. The absolute only lights outside from that point on were car lights- otherwise it was pitch black. Driving around south Minneapolis that night was one of the most eerie things I have ever experienced. I don't know how to describe how dark it was other than to say it was simply completely black- in the middle of a city.
Only a couple minutes into praying, we heard 4 gunshots right outside. We run to the window and watch a car peel off. Rushing down to the street to see if anyone was shot, we are met by a couple of their neighbors who heard and/or saw the same thing. There is no evidence of the bullets having hit anything- no bodies, no broken glass, no nothing. We all compare stories as one person calls the police, and when an officer shows up we offer what little information we have. The soundtrack of the night was sounds of the storm, sirens and gunshots. The darkness had released chaos and the police couldn't keep up- since we didn't have a license plate number, and no one seemed to have been hurt, there really wasn't anything they could do that night, there was too much other stuff going on.
That night the neon cross shining relentlessly in a city otherwise completely void of light was a profound physical reality that symbolized the spiritual reality of this city as well. The ruler of darkness is alive and active here, and it is easy for things to seem completely black and like the darkness will never be conquered. But that neon cross reminded me that darkness CANNOT overcome light- it is not physically or spiritually possible. Therefore it is only a matter of time until the light chases away the darkness.
Late Friday night I came back to my apartment (which somehow didn't ever lose power) with more gratitude, for things such as...
- Air movement (provided by fans) in my apartment, since the temperature remained around 5,618 degrees with 99% humidity- despite the storm.
- D & V being home, and getting to spend some chill time with the fam, as well as some 1-on-1 time with Leti.
- Somehow staying safe as we drove around in one of the worst storms Minneapolis has seen in a really long time.
- Being able to just stop by my friends' place on my way home, just to pray.
- The gunshots were accompanied by any casualties.
- Getting really pissed off that someone fired a gun right outside the homes of 2 families that I care deeply about, especially since their are children in those homes. It's too easy to quit caring about the jacked up shit that goes on around here as long as it doesn't kill someone. But that gun was most likely illegally sold/purchased/carried. And that guy had a gun... which may eventually fire bullets that do hurt or kill one of these kids that I love, so it really pisses me off that he has the gun. And it pisses me off that people are selling guns on the streets, and not a whole lot of people are too worried about the fact that guns bought on the streets are bought within the context of violence, meaning that it is only a matter of time until someone is hurt and/or killed because of that gun. I'm thankful that it pissed me off because it also highlighted that I'm REALLY pissed that Satan is ruling this neighborhood, to the point that evil is accepted and even enjoyed here. I'm not okay with that, and now the fire is lit and it's war and I am in full attack mode. Satan will not continue to deceive and steal the lives of my neighbors while I watch quietly. I'm ready for service, whatever the King commands I will do.
- That freaking bright orangish-pinkish neon cross shining when there wasn't anything but darkness all around.
- Satan has been defeated, and "his doom is sure." I am here to fight for my Lord, without hesitation or reservation, being certain that the Light will chase away the darkness.
If you are curious about the storm, keep scrolling down. Another installment of "56 crazy hours" is coming soon... full of more craziness and more gratitude...
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My friend (who lives next door to the friends I was praying with) was shooting this video on his phone to capture the craziness of the storm and the power went out while he was shooting it- it's nuts. And the gun was fired behind those 2 white vans, in the bottom left corner of the frame.- Photos from a local paper.
- More pictures of the damage...
- Reader submitted photos from another local paper:
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