Facing the Storm Along the Oregon Trail Read Online Free PDF

usual.
    She hopped into the back of the wagon to check on Benjamin, but he was still asleep, so she went back up to the front. Finally reaching the river, the wagons pulled off to the side of the trail and people began climbing out of their wagons.
    Children were going one way and the adults another, ready to do their chores. Women carried laundry to the edges of the river and men tended to the stock, while the children played alongside of their mother’s as they skipped rocks into the river.
    As Emily was carrying her laundry to the bank, she felt a breeze kick up and it rushed through the trees by the banks, and as she looked out she could see trees bending nearly to the ground. There was a sudden rush of the wind and she quickly took her laundry back into her wagon.
    About the time she took off in the direction of the Captain who was riding along the edges of the bank, a mighty wind blew up and the skies above her turned dark. The Captain quickly hollered to the people to find shelter, that a storm was coming and he rode over to Emily and told her to get to her brother and he would send some men over to her to get him out of the wagon and to shelter.
    She ran to the wagon and met Carl as he was running out to get her. Together, they grabbed Benjamin from the back of the wagon and they pulled him out and carried him to a spot that was surrounded by some brush. In a matter of minutes a storm blew in on the train, giving no one much time to even prepare and as the wind picked up, the sky turned black over their heads.
    Emily felt like it must have been like this after the crucifixion of Jesus.
    Not being able to see, Emily was not sure how many had found safety in clefts of rocks and how many had not. As she curled up with Cal and Benjamin, her prayers went up for God’s protection and as she laid there listening to the horrific screams, it was hard to distinguish which screams were those of people and which were the screams of the funnel.
    What seemed like hours passed and only being able to see what was happening in tiny glimpses, she saw oxen as they were picked up and whirled through the air, wagons twisting and breaking into splinters, and she prayed to not see a soul being taken.
    But, when the storm was over the devastation was quite clear and they all knew that several wagons full of people had been swept up into the funnel and they were either nowhere to be seen, or the remnants were strewn all over the place.
    As people began to come out of their shelters they had buried themselves into, tears and screams filled the space as they began to realize the impact of the mighty storm. Remembering the wagon that had been behind them that was filled with all the children, Emily at once began running trying to find them and just as she was about to give up hope, out of the corner of her eye she saw a bundle of children hunkered down underneath what remained of their family wagon.
    Praising God and running to the children she began searching and counting heads and to her surprise, all the children were safely tucked under the pieces left behind of the wagon. She cried from joy but, as she continued on, she could not find their parents anywhere and her heart sunk into despair.
    Crying for mercy she fell to her knees thanking God for the lives of the children being spared. Cal ran over to her and helped her to stand up and as he took a look at her, he realized just how her faith worked. Seeing Emily filled with so much joy that these children were alive melted his heart and he hit his knees praising and thanking God, and asking God to forgive him for giving up on Him.
    It was a moment in time that would never be forgotten as they both looked up and down the banks of that river. You could see the hand of God as He had spread out His protection among their friends.
    As Cal stood up to his feet, he looked across and he saw the children’s two parents rise up from where they had been laying down during the storm. They had survived