Message from Texas

From a good friend who lives in a Houston Suburb:

Just to let all of you know, Hurricane IKE came and went and left major destruction in it's path. Luckily, we were spared any major destruction. However, we do have some major clean up ahead of us. We have no electricity (it's been off since 1:30am on Saturday. Hopefully we will get it back on today since many areas near us have had their power restored.

Believe me when I say that all of us in this area appreciate your prayers and concerns. We will make it through this as we always have in Houston. Based on the latest information, only 3 confirmed deaths has been attributed to IKE. When people were told to evacuate, most heeded the request.

One interesting side light was that the people who went around Galveston Island, where there was a mandatory evacuation, told those residents who didn't want to leave to please write their Social Security Numbers on their arms with a magic marker so they would be able to identify their bodies. Not surprisingly, many of them decided to leave. Unfortunately many did not. Galveston was virtually leveled.

Ways you can HELP!