Today, our final day in this part of Ontario was spent cleaning, organizing and packing the motorhome in preparation for being on the move again. Rick had a few final installations of some electrical components to make towing the trailer behind the motorhome safe and I did laundry. Bill and Laura came by for a visit and Jamie called to find out what time we expected to roll into Thunderbay on Monday. We had a busy day but bit-by-bit we have completed all the preparations and hopefully, we will pull out of here tomorrow around 9:00 AM.

The whole time we worked in and around the motorhome, we caught the latest updates on the rescue operation that has finally started in the southern states. Ever since the status of the damage was first reported, we have both felt such sorrow and compassion for the survivors of what has been identified as "the worst natural disaster in the United States". We keep thinking of the many people we met when we visited Biloxi, Gulfport and parts of Louisiana last year and we wonder how they are. We found the folks from that area to be so friendly and cheerful and I cannot imagine the horror they have been going through for the past five days. We find it appalling that it took so long for them to receive help but we are thankful that it has arrived at last and we hope that those folks will finally have a decent night's sleep tonight.

We can't help but feel some guilt because here we are, living very comfortably, getting ready to go on a cross Canada trip while there is so much loss and suffering in a part of the world we have enjoyed so much. This is the only time I wished we owned a house and it was somewhere in the US so we could open our home to some of the displaced people we have seen on the TV. Please, everyone who reads this, say a prayer for all the folks in the south who have been devastated by Katrina, and if possible donate some money to the Red Cross to help them monetarily. As I have said before, "There, but for the grace of God, go I and right now, I am very grateful for His grace!