“Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Psalm 46:8-11
Where were you twenty years ago today? When did you learn about the planes flying into the World Trade Center in NYC? What was going through your mind at the time? Back in the day, on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, I was living in the headquarters building of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti (ELCH) at Delmas 83, Rue Ludovic No. 5, in Petionville, Haiti. At that point in time, in our office building which was a two-story 3 bedroom house, there was no Internet service, no full-time electricity and no smart phone. On that day at 8 AM, I drove to a Cyber Café on Delmas 75 where for $5, I was given an hour of Internet access on their PC. This private business was owned by a Haitian family and was located in the front two rooms of their home. The building was concrete block construction with open windows that had no glass but had reinforced metal bars in them and I recall that the weather that morning was probably 85 with matching humidity, both indoors and outside. When I went inside the front waiting room and there were a few Haitians sitting on folding chairs watching ‘Three’s Company’ on a French-Canadian station and they were enjoying the program. The second room had three folding tables and each had two P.C.’s, two plastic chairs and an electric fan that stirred up the humidity and recirculated it more evenly in the room. Room three and four were their living quarters and they also had a few baby goats that attracted a cloud of gnats into the blended mixture of hot and humid air.
At probably 8:45, while I was just about finished and was sending a report that detailed my visit to the Jeremie District out to members of the Haiti Lutheran Mission Coordinating Committee (HLMCC) who I was working with at the time, it got quiet in the front room. It struck me, that the snickering and laughter had ceased from the Sitcom and the mood had grown somber with muffled gasps and when my hour was up I went to the front room and watched the United Airlines flight 175 fly into the Second Tower of the World Trade Center in NYC.
I was speechless and tried to comprehend what was happening before my eyes. I left and drove back to the office and went to my bedroom on the second floor at the ELCH headquarters. The only way that I could get any news was with my solar radio and the station didn’t really have many details the first few days. My LCMS supervisor was Rev. Jim Tino, who at the time was the Area Director for the Caribbean and he called me around noon on 9/11 via my Satellite phone to check on my safety. The LCMS had begun pulling in some other missionaries who were located in other parts of the world and asked if I wanted to come back home as well. I felt safe and told him I was going to stay in Haiti.
Due to the 60-day VISA requirements placed on me at that time, I was scheduled to leave Haiti in mid-October to speak at a few locations in South Florida and after arriving at the Miami airport and leaving the customs area with my bag, the changes in my homeland became very different and dramatic. Pairs of U.S. soldiers wearing camo with weapons patrolling the airport and cars driving in with small USA flags fluttering from their windows; much had changed.
Since leaving Haiti in December 2003, I have tried to fill in the gaps in my memory of what took place on 9/11 and a few weeks ago, Rev. Dr. Luke Schnake mentioned a book that the Reader’s Group at Christ Lincoln were reading before today, September 11. The title is “The Only Plane in the Sky; an oral history of 9/11” by Garrett M Graff. It was written with the actual words of people from that day; fireman, police, pilots, workers in the Towers, Pentagon, family members of those who perished and some politicians. It was a fascinating book that grabbed my attention while reading the challenges they faced along their journey.
There was one story that I want to share with you today as it’s a good direction for all of us, and it is about Chaplain Mychal (Mike) Judge, who was a chaplain with the FDNY and the exchange he had with Mayor Rudy Giuliani on that day. Mayor Rudy Giuliani tells the story of his brief passing with Father Mike on 9/11; “I said to Father Judge, “please pray for us.” He put a smile on his face and said, “I always do.” I said, “Thanks.” We didn’t quite have a chance to do the whole joke; I used to say to him, “Pray for me.” He would say, “I will.” I’d say, “It’s more effective if you pray ‘cause you’re in a lot better shape than I am with God.” He (Father Judge) would say, “Yeah, but it’s better if you do it ‘cause it’s more unusual, and it will be more of a surprise to God.” Father Judge completed his work on earth a few minutes later that morning. There was a photo of five fireman carrying a chair holding the body of Father Judge outside the North Tower. So many lives were taken so suddenly on that day…in a flash and their journey was over. I pray that you are in good shape with God today and that He has heard your voice and read your thoughts today and that you are ready when His hand reaches out to yours.
Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
May God be with you…Jay