Prayers needed for those in Hugo...

Not many of you have heard of Hugo, MN and to be honest, neither had I until one of my best friends moved there a few years ago. Now, sadly, a lot of people have heard of it because of the tornadoes that ripped through there on Sunday night.

Pictures of Tornado Damage

My friend Gina and her boyfriend, Russ, are currently vacationing in Hawaii, so they weren't there for the storms on Sunday night. Fortunately, they have been told that their house still stands... they will need some new siding and a new roof due to hail and wind damage. Their dogs were staying with friends that weren't in Hugo for the holiday weekend either, so Gina and her crew are all safe. They can't say the same for many of their friends.

80 homes were destroyed in Hugo which is only a town of about 10 - 12,000 people. Amazingly, there was only one death and very few injuries. This whole situation hits very close to home to Russ and Gina because Russ is a Hugo Volunteer Fire Fighter and so are many of their friends. This means that they were all called in after the storm and have been working non-stop since then. Russ' best friend was the one that worked on the "one death"... a 2 year-old boy that had been sucked out of their home window, along with his 4 year-old sister.

Another friend of theirs was trying to make it home but due to the strength of the storm, she had to stop in a nearby parking lot. As she sat in her van, all of the windows were blown out... if that weren't scary enough, she was close enough to home that she sat there helplessly and watch her house be sucked up by the storm. There is nothing left.

Gina and Russ were fortunate... they live on 150th Street and the heart of the storm hit just nine blocks away on 159th. They are trying to enjoy the rest of their vacation in Hawaii knowing that they will be coming home to a different town than the one they left.

Please pray for those in Hugo that have lost everything. Also pray for the family of the 2 year-old boy that died. The other sibling as well as the rest of their family are all in critical condition. Especially pray for those Emergency Response workers... many of them Volunteers that answer calls every day but could never be prepared for something like this. Russ talked to one of them yesterday and all he could say was, "Its bad... really bad."

Many of you have met Gina, to help you remember who she is, here is a picture of us while on vacation in Chicago.