I just got this from Prisca ...............
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This was sent to me from a friend in Texas................
Friends and Family...
I wanted to send SOMETHING out just to let you know how things are... You can get better updates of the whole situation through CNN or CBS (most complete network coverage, in my opinion), but here's the Brooklyn and Bethel and Ean slant on the whole thing.
First... Bethel. An announcement from the Branch Committee was read
yesterday at noon that was information regarding various measures taken by Bethel. Increased security (due to the thousands of people coming into Brooklyn from the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges), the potential power outages, and ongoing telephone disruptions. This announcement also stated that all members of the Bethel Family should remain on Bethel premises for Tuesday evening. Local shuttle service in Brooklyn and inter-complex shuttle service was suspended yesterday. (Many Brooklyn Bethelites had left for Patterson and Wallkill early in the morning, but were required to stay overnight. They've since come back this morning.)
Another announcement was read this morning expressing that efforts
regarding our brothers and sisters were being organized by the circuit overseers in NYC and as further information becomes available it will be passed on.
Morning Worship comments by Brother Losch this morning emphasized the text on taking the mind of Christ, and how that includes the pity we feel for all those that lost their lives, and not taking nationalistic feelings in the current situation.
Two more announcements were read at lunch today. The first stated,
generally, that as soon as the disaster started, the Governing Body
informed every branch office of the ongoing attack in NYC. The actions were indicative of the hatred in the world and Satan's grip. Many brothers and sisters that work in that area had not gone to work by the time of the attack. Others narrowly escaped before the collapse of the buildings.
Many of these were assisted by Bethel, fed, taken care of, and many spent the night here.
The second announcement was for the Brooklyn Bethel family that again
discouraged automobile transportation to congregation meetings.
My paraphasing of the above announcements is just that, paraphrasing.
360 Furman was closed yesterday afternoon. The smoke and debris dust went directly over 360 Furman and apparently clogged up the ventilation systems.Everyone was back to work this morning, however.
Everybody's asking whether any brothers or sisters were killed or injured.
Personally, I know of none. Everyone I know, that I'm aware works downtown is safe. There have been no official numbers or names released by the authorities in NYC.
It was a very traumatic experience for many. My workmates father worked on the 86th floor of the North Tower when the first plane crashed. He was on the street by the time the second plane crashed into the South Tower. Another brother that stayed at Bethel overnight was on the 81st floor of the North Tower. The 80th Floor was the topmost floor damaged by the crash. He also safely made it out without injury. There were other brothers at Bethel that were working in upper floor in the WTC that safely evacuated. This is
encouraging, because it appears that many were able to flee the building before the collapse.
A friend of mine came works five blocks from the WTC and came to Bethel as soon as he could via the Brooklyn Bridge. He was pretty shaken. Power went out to his building, they eventually headed to the street via the stairwell. There was panic on the streets. They evacuated all the buildings downtown at once, so the streets were just packed with people. As the buildings collapsed, there were multiple explosions that sent everybody off in different directions. Everytime they heard a plane overhead (by this time there were military patrols) they thought it was going to be another attack.
He compared it to schools of fish that constantly change directions. Most of the people on the street thought the white dust from the falling debris was a biochemical agent. Many were trying to get shelter in other buildings instead of heading uptown. Dozens were being crushed by the mass of people.
Many ran east to the water, but running out of places to run just jumped into the East River. He saw people being crushed by falling debris but more disturbing was the partial body parts (hands, feet) that were all over the streets.
My perspective... I was on a conference call when someone yelled that the WTC was smoking. I crossed the hallway to watch what was going on. Most people felt the explosion, but I didn't notice the first one. Because I work in the Electronics Shop, we had access to CNN and the networks... We alternated between the view out the window and the news. I definitely felt the second explosion, which shook the whole building. From the window I was looking out of you could see the people jumping from the top floors of the towers.
It kept getting worse and worse... when the second tower collapsed, the dust that was coming toward Brooklyn was so thick you couldn't see the river from the 30 Columbia Heights. Once it cleared a little bit, you could see thousands of people walking along the FDR drive and Fulton Street to the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. There was a constant stream of people coming across the bridges for another four or five hours.
I spent most of the late morning and the afternoon calling and making sure everyone in my congregation and other friends were ok. Cell phones were totally out of commission in the morning, but it started getting better by about 11:30am. Most networked television transmitted over the air went out with the collapse of the North Tower too. Thankfully, we have satellite television at Bethel, so our feeds were uninterrupted. Most of the problems were in getting out of the city. For you not in the city, anybody in Manhattan had to basically walk out, which took hours. Once they walked across a bridge, there was usually public transportation available.
By the end of the day I was surprised to find myself totally exhausted, drained. I wasn't even in the thick of it, but couldn't believe the emotional and mental impact. I went home, a few friends came over, we had some martinis (and KFC! thanks Remy and Nat!), watched the news together, continued to call friends making sure everyone was ok, and crashed early.
This morning was eerie. As I left home and opened the door to the street, there was the charred remains of a manila envelope that had drifted over from WTC. There was blood-stained office paper scattered on the sidewalk of Hicks St. There was silence. No sirens. No vehicles. There were occasional clumps of people talking in hushed tones. Most people were quiet. Just walking.
Manhattan is still shut down. Most businesses are closed. All businesses below 14th Street are still evacuated. Most businesses all over Manhattan are closed. Airports are still closed. Etc. Etc. Everyone is scared to even estimate the death toll. It may be weeks before even estimates are released.
Work at Bethel goes on... The Kingdom Hope is kept forward in our minds. Its clear that this is a major worldwide situation and it's not even close to being completed. It only takes a few minutes for the world scene to change irrevocably.
And thank you for your messages and emails of concern... I've attached a couple pictures that were taken by myself or others here. Other photos on the ground are at cnn.com or msnbc.com .
Names removed
JanG
CAIC Website: http://caic.org.au/zjws.htm
Personal Webpage: http://uq.net.au/~zzjgroen/
