One of my sisters called me this morning to tell me that her house was on fire. The good news is that everybody got out. There was some damage though.

She told me that the fire was contained to the back upstairs laundry room, bathroom, and the kitchen. The upstairs needs to be gutted, and is currently being gutted by a few guys from her church, one of whom is a carpenter. The main bedroom downstairs, the computer room, dining room and living room are all fine with no damage. The roof is also fine. If they had fire insurance (which they don’t), the house would most likely be declared a total loss, but it is fixable, since there’s no insurance. It makes me think of that Carfax commercial where they change the car ad from “some water damage” to “new upholstery!”

Some people from their church gave them a $200 gift card to Hy Vee (an Iowan grocery store), and $50 in quarters so they could wash all their clothes. There are other donations coming in from the Red Cross and other places. The Red Cross is putting them up in two rooms (motel?) until Thursday, and they might be able to even move back in later on this week. Keep praying!