Cedar Rapids Flooding- Updated at 8 AM

Slept late this morning.....up at 4 AM yesterday and didn't go to bed until after 11PM...

Brian got home after 11. He was tired- such a long day him.....

The film footage is unbelievable. It is so sad. Watching people being rescued from their attic windows. KCRG reporter went out on boat tour with fire department. It is unbelievable. It really looks like Katrina footage. Stop signs are flooded. The boat ran into a flooded car.

The water has flooded 100 city blocks. Mercy Hospital is flooded. They had to evacuate some patients. They went to a generator for power. St. Luke's (also downtown, but on higher ground) still taking patients.

We still have water usage, but under restriction. No mail service, no bus service. They are asking people to stay off roads.

Praises- thank You, God for Angel Flight flying flood victims for free to other cities/states; thank You for all of the volunteers helping; thank You for the rescues..... thank You, Lord, for the clear skies- dry skies. No rain predicted until Sunday. I am believing that You will dry those clouds and the storm will "fizzle out" before it gets here.

Cedar Rapids Flooding-updated at 9:45 PMAs I sit and write, the thunder rolls. It reminds me of a book I love, "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry." When I wrote earlier, my mind was all over the place. I completely forgot to pray for Brian. Right now he is stranded. He was traveling yesterday (was in Southern Illinois). He and a co-worker thought it would be faster to drive than to wait for the company plane to come back for them from New Orleans, so they made it as far as the airport, which is right outside of Cedar Rapids. Right now, because you have to cross the river to get into town, the only place to cross is I-380- all other bridges are out. So, the traffic was at a stand-still- no movement. He has not moved since 5:30 PM. All hotels were full. Nowhere to go. He is waiting it out, hoping that the traffic will start moving by 10 PM. There is a mandatory curfew which started at 9 PM. So, hopefully traffic will lighten up so that these stranded motorists can get through....

I went to the neighborhood drugstore earlier this afternoon to stock up on bottled water. Right now we are on a mandatory water restriction which means they are asking people not to use dishwasher, washing machine, showers, NO baths, don't flush toilets, etc. Only use water for drinking water. We are hoping that we do not lose water or power, but are preparing in case. Anyway, they were completely out of water. Found gallons at the gas station. Tonight I went to Target to stock up

Please, please, please continue to pray for us. Thank you for all of your encouragement and prayers, dear sisters. I will not email or comment back, but will continue to update as long as I can. We are preparing for loss of power in the next day or two. Right now we are under an mandatory water restriction. This is horrible. All day I have been watching and praying. It reminds me of Katrina when I watched the coverage. But, now it is my town and it is unbelievable. It is so much worse then what they expected. Neighborhoods under water. Water to the rooftops. The downtown is devastated (the river runs through downtown). My husband's office is there and watching the news, the water is at least 4 feet deep. Motor boats rescuing people that did not evacuate quickly enough. The science station is gone. The downtown public library gone. A furniture store that is downtown has furniture floating around inside. There is an old theater, a landmark, in town that was beautiful- the basement with props and vintage costumes are gone. The waters are still rising and not expected to crest until tomorrow morning. There are storms off and on. They are breaking records by 10 feet! And, more rain tonight.

It is not just the river water, but it is the flash flooding flooding the creeks.

9000 people have been evacuated and the shelters are filling quickly. Where do the people go? They have no homes to back to.

As the broadcaster has just said, "the water has taken over."

Lord, as I sit here in tears, I am just devastated. This is so terrible. Lord, I trust in You. I know Lord, You are Sovereign. Lord, I pray that as we walk through this trial, Your glory will reign. Lord, may those who don't know You come to You in this time for comfort. Help this community, gracious Lord.

I will update through my blog as long as we have power. I do receive your emails and am so thankful for them- they are a great encouragement. Thank you, my sisters.