WORLD TRADE CENTER PICTURE GALLERY
TERROR STRIKES – GOD MOVES

Just like everybody knows where they were when Kennedy was shot, everybody in New York know where they were when the planes hit. Tuesday September 11th 2001 will for always be a day of remembrance for us. We heard the news about the first plane, then the second hit – from that moment we were glued to the television. Our subways got shut down, the bridges and tunnels to Manhattan got closed off, the phone lines shut down. We witnessed people jumping off the twin towers and then the collapse. We heard about eight planes being high jacked and we only knew the whereabouts of four that landed. Many people in New York were afraid every time they heard a plane because of the four missing planes. People in the streets were talking to each other, telling of their fears and shock.

One of the strongest feelings we felt as a Ministry was the feeling of inadequacy. We needed to do something. We needed to bring love and hope to all the suffering people. We wanted to represent the heart of God in this time of despair. As we woke up Wednesday morning, we were all watching the news to see when they would open up a bridge or tunnel so we could get in. At 11.30 a.m. we headed for Manhattan in the Step Van. There was an opening. We were stopped by the police twice before we even reached Manhattan. The first hours, we were situated at the volunteer center. We handed out food and drinks to all the volunteers, but we all had a desire to go further in to the disaster perimeter. At 7 p.m. that night we drove up to the police check point. We told them that we had hot soup and coffee for the workers in there. They opened up the gate and we drove to within four blocks from Ground Zero near City Hall. There were a lot of police officers standing guard in front of the different buildings in the area. They were hungry and hurting. We had some wonderful hours of feeding them and ministering to them.

Thursday and Friday we placed the van in the same area. A lot of the rescue-workers came by the van as they were changing shifts. We were so close to everything that even the media was not allowed to come as close as we were. WE REALLY BELIEVE GOD SHOWED US FAVOR. The barricades should have been closed, also for us, but God wanted us there so we could minister to all the hurting rescue-workers. A smile was often enough to make a difference in their day. We have had so many people tell us that the smile we gave them, was the first they had seen all day.

Saturday morning they had opened up the area for pedestrians, and we wanted to minister to the rescue-workers. Again, God got us in. A policeman jumped in our van and guided us through some of the barricades and we were placed at Ground Zero. With the van parked in front of World Trade Center building 5, we have been able to bring the love and life of God to hundreds of rescue-workers – firefighters, policemen, construction workers, national guards, Con Edison people, Metro-people, Verizon workers. We could witness with our own eyes the destruction and pain. At this time, we decided to keep the van there and instead rotate our volunteers night and day – bringing in fresh soup, coffee, and bread. We also got more volunteers come in to help us. Several teams from all over America connected to International Health Services Foundation came with their trauma-counselors.

It is really hard to explain what we have experienced. Pictures can only say so much. We have seen the mountains of debris – twisted metal, cement, dust – lots of dust from the debris, glass, papers, etc. We see and smell the smoke that is still coming up from the mountains because of the fires still burning. We see the groups of firefighters marching in to look for survivors and bodies – they are so determined and focused as they are on their way in. When they come back out, they are dirty, tired, hungry and depressed. They are loosing hope. Most of them are traumatized from what they experience. They have lost their friends, and they want to find them.

That is when we see God move. We experience the presence of the Lord at Ground Zero. God is crying for all the lost souls – the dead ones and the ones still alive. We now have a prayer-station placed next to the van, and we see so many of the workers receiving prayers and gaining back some hope. We have seen a lot of people give their lives to the Lord. And a lot of people are comforted because they see us and they know we are praying.

There are so many stories to tell, so many lives touched by God. We have heard so many stories of how God saved people from the falling towers, by sending angels or by telling people to get out. God was there when it all happened and he is still there – caring or the people and wanting them to turn their lives to Him. A lot of them are so open about their pain and sorrow and then some are just trying to keep their tough mask on. We experience that some of the workers rather want to talk with us – as we pour their coffee than talk with the professional counselors – because we are the ones with the Light.

Let me tell you about Sam. He is a police officer in charge of a group of rescue-workers. They are digging in the dirt, trying to find bodies so that maybe one more families can get some sort of closure. Sam is a very nice guy and he became good friends with one of our team members – Kerry. Kerry did everything he could to make sure Sam’s group of workers had what they needed – whether it be drinks, food or eye drops. This really touched Sam. Then Sam’s close friend died in an unrelated incident and as he was on the phone with his wife, they both decided it was time to change their lives and give it to Jesus. Sam came and told Kerry what he and his wife had done.

One of the maintenance persons in one of the buildings across the street of the Twin Towers was working Tuesday the 11th. He was thrown down in the basement of his building by the blow. When he crawled out, he was in shock and he just started to walk home – three and a half hours. Friday 21st was his first day back at work. He was still in shock, but he came to see our van. Someone got to minister to him and also he gave his life to the Lord. Now he will be able to heal from his traumatic experience.

The last couple of days we have been handing out medals to the heroes at Ground Zero – and that means everybody working there. The medal has a symbol of a torch, an olive branch and a hand holding the torch. The band holding the medal, is like the flag – it has a blue part with white stars and then red and white stripes. We tell everybody that we give them to that the torch symbolizes the Light of the world – which is Jesus, and it symbolizes freedom (statue of Liberty). The olive branch symbolizes peace and the peace that God can only bring in a time like this. The hand is the hand of God, holding the world and being in the midst of the this tragedy. The band symbolizes the flag of America. We tell them that the red color is the firefighters that lost their lives, the blue is the police officers and the white is all the innocent people who have lost their lives. We are able to touch so many peoples lives this way. God is good and so definitely present.

Each day we were told we will have to leave and we were prepared at any time to be forced out. We look at it as a miracle each day that we were there. Wednesday 09.26.01 was our last day at Ground Zero. God had given us two weeks of ministering to the rescue-workers at Ground Zero. One firefighter told us that Ground Zero would have been a much more depressed place if it hadn’t been for us. He said that the Streetlife site with volunteers from the whole body of Christ and from all over America really meant a difference to Ground Zero and to the rescue-workers.

We all thank God for what we were able to be a part of. We will all remember how present God was in the time of terror and distress. We will all remember what a difference God made at Ground Zero.

 
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