Our Louisiana Visitors

For the last several days all eyes have been focused on Hurricane Gustav as it barreled its way across Haiti, the Caymans, and the western edge of Cuba on its way towards the northern gulf coast. When we heard about the oncoming hurricane and the resulting evacuation order, we thought about our friends Brian and Tracie Howes and their son Brennan who live in Ponchatoula, a few miles north of New Orleans.

We met them when Brian was a student at Moody Bible Institute and Tracie taught at Oak Park Christian Academy. They moved back home to Louisiana so Tracie could be near her parents who live about a mile from their house. As the hurricane gained strength and people were ordered to leave the area, we called Tracie and invited them to come to Tupelo to ride out the storm. They left yesterday in a two-car caravan, bringing Tracie’s parents with them and two dogs. Because of the evacuation traffic, a trip that should have taken five hours took eleven hours. They were tired but in good spirits when they arrived, and we have had a fine time together. I’m glad to report that hurricane passed far enough to the west that there was no damage to their property.

Picture (L-R): Ray, Marlene, Brennan Howes, Tracie’s mom Grace, Tracie, Brian, Tracie’s dad (the “Preacher"), Nick.