September 11th

I told Joe that I was going to post something uplifting after the last entry, but.....Oh well. hehe. :p

Last night I was up way too late (as usual), and when I crawled into bed (with the tv on) there was this program about the collapse of the world trade center. Actually, two programs back to back....I'm not telling what time they went over. ;)
One of the things that was lost when Diary-X when down (because like most of my friends I never backed up those entries) were my entries from that week in September 2001.
I was in Montana actually, and it was my staff orientation week. Erin and I had just gone down to the dining hall for staff meeting, and we were some of the first people there. One of the other people told us that a plane had flown into one of the towers. Of course, we just kind of stared at them in shock. The rest of the staff showed up, and by the time the last straggler had come in, the second plane had flown into the south tower.
Instead of having our usual meeting, we prayed collectively for about ten minutes, and then everyone went home...or wherever there was a tv.
Because Erin and I had orientation, we were actually with a group of people that included three Canadians, a south african, and three americans. We went back to the apartment of the Canadian couple, and all of us watched the towers fall on live t.v.
I just remember it being so surreal, and that there was no sound coming from my fellow americans, just complete shock and disbelief. Somebody, I think the south african fellow, just kept saying "Oh my god, Oh my god..." and shaking his head. The Canadian folks were the most animated, and freaking out.
I'm actually glad I was where I was, with people I came to love so much. It was a shared experience for us.

After the fact of course, things got really crazy around the base. The following tuesday was the start date of our School of Biblical Studies, School of Worship, Discipleship Training School.... all of these averaging 35-50 students. The students were coming from all over the country, and world, and we had not only students, but also returning staff delayed all over the place. It was crazy on the phones, talking to people stranded in bus stations, because their flights were canceled, or holed up in some arena in Nova Scotia where people were being housed until they could get them home.

Of course, none of our difficulties were anything like those faced in Manhattan. Which for me, frankly, is impossible to imagine.
Over the course of the last five years I have seen a lot of programs on 9/11, and have heard people tell their stories, but for whatever reason, the program I watched last night impacted me the most that I have been since that day. I have even been to Manhattan island, and whether you are from there or not, there is this impossible gaping hole in the skyline, that you can't help but be aware of. I heard a couple of personal stories when I was in New York, and they were astounding. Even so, for some reason, last night I couldn't tear my eyes away from the tv.
There has been an anniversary every year, so I don't know why this one should bother me so much. It was just as real last year as this. Maybe it is just the constant reminder that someone IS still out to get us.