|
|
|
|
ONE DAY AT GROUND ZERO WITH DAVID AND KATHY WALKER We went over the George Washington Bridge without being stopped and this surprised us after what we had been hearing and reading in the newspapers about all the searching of all vehicles. Traffic flowed along until we were nearing 'ground zero' and then 'policeman were everywhere and constantly we were asked for ID. It was our minister’s cards that got us through. New York is not the New York we remember. Policemen were courteous..... Before you would simply be yelled at and told to keep moving. Not Now! Kathy even talked to a group of policemen sitting in a large vehicle having a break from their duties. I gave them a booklet and told them we had come all the way from rural Virginia to let them know how we were admiring their courage and to let them know we were praying for them as well as others. I shook hands with the one behind the wheel and started to go, but each one of them wanted to shake my hand. There was a black policewoman on duty and she wanted to talk. I gave her a hug and she responded. All of them expressed warmth and were grateful we had come. I stopped a lady to ask directions and we began to talk. I told her why we had come and as we walked down the street she reached out and put her arm around me. This is a different New York. Everyone we met received a booklet on comfort and the plan of salvation. The air is full of a smell that burns your eyes and as you see workers coming out of 'ground zero' the word exhaustion doesn't even begin to describe the look on their faces. We were able to get within one block of the massive destruction. The pictures we had been watching on TV do not begin to paint the picture of total destruction we saw at ‘ground zero’. Over a 5-block area have ash dust covering even the sides of buildings and all over the glass windows. Many businesses and department stores are closed. It is a burned smell not the smell of death, which leads us to believe that most bodies will not be found, as the extreme heat must have served as a cremation oven. We noticed cars still parked with heavy ash on them and papers of finance that had floated down are still visible clinging to the tires. One could not help but wonder on what floor the owner of the car was working on that day in September. It was a day we will always remember as 9-11-01. There is not just one spot with memorial candles, flowers and home made signs but many many areas have these places of remembrance. You would see signs like, "Bobby, I love you and will never forget you"! Candles still burning and many American flags in all sizes. Some made out of plastic flowers and others even painted on the sidewalks. Other signs would just cry out to you….MISSING….MISSING….MISSING! We
were able to go to a seminar at one of the Assemblies of God churches that
is a 10-minute walk from 'ground zero'. The pastor told us he stood in he
doorway of the church and watched the second plane hit the side of World Trade
south Tower. They had lost one young lady in the church that worked at
Canter Fitzgerald (the company that lost 700 of their workers). At this church
they were teaching ministers and workers how to deal with this terrible
tragedy and how to help others to realize their feelings were normal but this
terrible act was abnormal. A miracle had taken place and World Vision had set up
their offices to handle a fund to help the victims and we were able to give an
offering of $1000 that not one penny of it was to be used for administration. We
met a young lady there who had been born in NYC and lived there all her life.
She told us New York is not the same. Explaining that since the space is
limited here people had a way of shutting each other out so they could have some
personal space. NOT NOW. People look you in the eye and will go
out of their way to help you. Time was something no one would give you
until NOW! People
were open and one girl especially we were able to minister to right on the
street. She was a Cuban Chinese girl on her way to a college class.
We began to talk to her and she told us she had worked on the 92nd floor but a
few weeks ago took a leave of absence to go to school. Her dear friend still
worked there and had not been heard from since the tragedy. We were able
to give her some books and then asked her if we could pray. She bowed her
head and as we prayed the peace of our God would hold her and that our Lord
would put His loving, everlasting arms around her friend, big tears began to
fall down her face and there on the streets of New York, once a hard city, once
a city that this scene would never have been possible, the presence of Jesus was
felt. We went to a place called Union Square Park. The park was full of people standing and sitting and wanting to talk. Many of them were just sitting and staring out in space as if they were living in a void. We were able to give out all the booklets on grief and the Book of Hope and just simply let them know we cared. We
talked to an artist there who was trying to paint on canvas his grief. He
was open to spiritual things and was so happy to get our books and hear our
words of hope. I remember one man, a bus driver that I talked to. I asked him what kind of a spiritual anchor did he have. He said, "I have no faith." I tried to talk to him and he interrupted me with, "I am not comfortable talking about religion." I quickly responded, "Neither am I, but I am very comfortable talking about Jesus, my best friend, and He will be with you always." He took my booklet, "Rock Solid Believer" and put it in his pocket. We made our way to Pier 94 where crowds of relatives had gathered to receive death certificates. Our hearts wanted to go and hug each one of them and tell them we wanted to help bear their load of grief, but so many many policemen and of course the news media had already invaded and were filling the available parking spaces. We felt constrained……. so we moved on. As
we made our way back over the bridge we were heavy hearted, stunned,
speechless and yet so thankful that God had led us all day. He had
directed our steps to people that He wanted us to help. We drove pass the
skyline of New York from the New Jersey side and you could not help but look and
look and look, but the giant twin towers, known as the World Trade Center, was no
more. Two
stories we will never forget: A
young church girl working high in the second tower that disobeyed her boss that
said, “Our tower is fine, get back to your desks.”
She heard God’s voice saying, “run for your life”!
|