Galveston, and Ike, and that bear

Lemme throw this disclaimer out there to ease my soul: we are in Texas for 9 days, and are playing 8 times and practicing as much as possible. We also took 24 hours to go to the beach and rest.
If you add it up, it's kinda nuts.
We are trying to squeeze in some family visits on Thursday and lunch.... so please, ease my pain and don't be hurt if we don't see you at all. Whoever you are, we probably love you and wish we could hang out.
There's just very little time. Hopefully we can come back in a few months for a vacation and see people and eat with people. I didn't even realize the schedule, but it's great to do ministry in Texas with the people we love. < end of disclaimer> (late breaking note: i sincerely apologize for the violent overuse of the word "people" in that paragraph)

Now, back to our vacation. We missed Hurricane Ike, you know. We were in Missouri watching live webstreams of Geraldo falling down and guys in bear suits frolicking (btw, just watched these clips again and laughed until i was a little nauseous). Anyways, we were super curious about what Galveston would look like 6 months later. It's amazing. I mean, the island is open for business, all the restaurants and most of the hotels are busy, but there is still major damage to a lot of buildings. If you are familiar with Galveston, you know the Flagship Hotel. The bridge leading to it is destroyed, and there are giant holes knocked in the front of the building, and most of the windows are broken out. What's weird to me is the white curtains blowing in the breeze. It's like noone has stepped foot in there since the hurricane. Creepy. The Strand is super quiet, too, although that could be normal on a Monday night. Some of the restaurants and hotels on that side are still really boarded up and closed. It's defintely a little spooky. We took a nice long stroll to survey the damage.

We got a great deal on our hotel, which is on the more damaged side of the island, and construction trucks are out on the beach working 24/7.

It's overcast and a little rainy, and there is hardly anyone here at all. For us, it's perfect. We are having a blast owning an island. :) Currently, the MOG is out on the jetties somewhere, convening with God and praying his iPhone doesn't get wet, and I am chilling in my hotel room with the door propped open so I can hear the waves. Good stuff.



In about an hour, we're packing up and driving back to Conroe, where will we set up and get ready to play at Christ the King tonight. Ministry on this trip has been so, so rich. I am so glad I got to come.