Rexburg Flood

This afternoon a thunderstorm started in Rexburg. Back home, in Texas, this would not call for any special occasion. There we have seen hurricanes and all sort of disaster. With that being said, this was kind of a big deal for the local Rexburg area. The rain was pouring down, and a blanket of gray covered the sky. Excited, Dan and I watched from our living room window. We are the type of people to appreciate a good storm!

Then it started to hail. Within a matter of minutes, we realized that the windows to the car were rolled down. Great. I sacrificed myself, volunteering to run outside and roll up the windows. If I must be honest, I was just excited to go out and play in the rain! However, I immediately regretted this decision when I felt the sting of the hail! Huge pieces of ice were attacking my head, and one even clubbed me in the throat. I may be exaggerating a tad bit, but it was pretty violent.

Times passed by and the rain kept coming. Huge puddles of water gathered on the streets, making it obvious that the this soon would turn into a problem. Looking online, we found that campus was flooding and that students were being evacuated from all facilities. Other pictures showed that homes were flooding. Water was up to doorknobs. Furniture and homes were devastated. Thankfully, our apartment was missing all of the action.

Dan, of course, wanted to drive around Rexburg and see the damage that was done. What we found is something that I did not expect. To start, there were people out in kayaks paddling around the streets. There were many out in their bathing suits. Some were even tubing in the flood water. They would later regret this, after finding out that it was mostly sewage water. Gross! But aside from that, I found that there were many students out helping with the flood damage. Students were coming together to help one another. It was a beautiful thing to see. During this clean-up, hymns were sang and peace fell over Rexburg.

I love this place. I love the environment here. I love the Spirit that is felt here. I love the people. I just love Rexburg.