Survived the Fire!

I was awakened early Wed. morning with a notification that my Home school Art class that I teach was cancelled due to a fire in our church. They said the church sanctuary was burnt to ashes and the rest of the church suffered extreme smoke damage. Below is a picture of our church taken by WVEC (a local news station) showing the intensity of the flames. Though this looks depressing, we are rejoicing that the missionary family (man, woman, and two small children) were able to escape without harm. It will take a while for our building to be replaced, but our church body has come together to praise God in this journey.

Wednesday Morning approx. 2:30am

Once the shock wore off and I began to think about the details, I remembered that I had an original painting hanging in the "Prophet's Chamber" (an apartment area within our church where visiting missionaries stayed). I asked those capable of retrieving this for me if it would be possible to get the painting. I didn't want the painting considered damaged and thrown out...I wanted to be the one to make that decision.

Yesterday, after having our first Sunday morning service together in another local church building, I was given my painting. It was triple bagged, and I was warned to only open it outside due to the odor.

When I got home and opened the bags, I was amazed at the condition of my painting. Other than the smell of smoke, there wasn't a trace of smoke damage. To help you understand this better...the church office is at the opposite end of the sanctuary and everything was covered with soot and ash. The prophets chamber is the closest room to the sanctuary (if going down the hall toward the offices on the right). Below is a picture of the painting. I have not done any sort of cleaning or restoring.