Dear family and friends,

We are thankful that Hurricane Ian is now behind us. God was so gracious to us here at NTM Homes, the folks in the Latham Center, those in our independent duplexes, and to us personally.

PREPARATIONS

Our Homes staff did a super job with getting things ready before the storm arrived. Some of our Latham Center residents have a few things in the mulch beds just outside the windows in their rooms. This includes bird baths, hanging bird feeders, thermometers, potted plants, and lawn decorations. My cleaning staff took photos of these items before putting them inside the screened-in porch or the gazebo. We were instructed to move anything that was lighter than 50 pounds. We also removed the rocking chairs near the mailboxes, the door mats, and other small items. All garden hoses were tied in a knot to keep them from blowing around in the wind. Our staff guys went all over the property putting away things for our retired missionaries in the duplexes, (average age is 83 years). Everything was done, and we were all home safely around noon on Wednesday.

DURING THE STORM

We had 2 couples and a single lady who camped out in the Latham Center during the storm. This included a husband-and-wife cooking team, a nurse, and our administrator and wife. Also, one of the staff ladies who lives in the building was available to assist where needed. The idea was to keep things as “normal” as possible for the residents. There are currently just 19 retirees living in the Latham Center (the average age is 90 years). There was a problem with water seeping in along one of the walls in the dining room and 2 of the residents’ rooms. The staff was able to take care of cleaning up the water and helping to bring a sense of calm to all those who were inside the building. The staff was also monitoring the weather radio in case a tornado popped up during the storm. Thankfully this did not happen.

Brad took a photo of our backyard from our dining room window. Sandbags were soon put into place to help divert the water away from the sliding glass doors of our neighbor’s house.

AFTER THE STORM

On Thursday afternoon, we were given the “all clear” for staff members to go out and assess the damage and start the clean-up. Brad took his camera to document the damage. Some of the photos will be put onto the Homes of Ethnos360 web page in a few days. There were a few trees down, a whole lot of branches and leaves in the yards and roadways, and part of the brick wall at the entrance was blown over. Staff members continued with the clean-up all day on Friday while the rest of us went back to our normal work duties.

As we have watched the news, we saw pictures of the devastation all over the state of Florida. This storm affected many in our neighboring communities. We thank the LORD for His protection for us here, but also realize that many in Florida have lost so very much in the past few days. Some are still dealing with flooding, no electricity, loss of home and/or possessions, and loss of life in some cases.

Our local church has already been involved in reaching out to families around their neighborhoods. Please pray that Christians will have opportunities to share with folks through these difficult days. Please pray that our maintenance team will have wisdom as they work through the issues that came up because of the storm and make plans to fix the things that need improvements. Thank the LORD with us for His protection, grace, and peace through this challenging time. We still have 2 more months of hurricane season. Please pray that our weather will stay calm.

By His grace,

Brad & Wanda Hull