In hiding pt. 12

         It was getting tough. We were able to get some food from Eric's friend but that is almost gone. The bombing has gotten worse and worst of all they found our bunker. I was on night watch and say a light, we got every one out but had to leave. We ran for about 2 miles before we made a very hard decision to split up. Trace took Riley, Nels and Thea and Eric and I took Kori and Juli. Trace took his group toward the city but we took our group up a steep mountain going towards a thick forest. 

          It is hard knowing that Trace, Riley, Nels, and Thea are out there and we don't know if they are captured or not. After we made it up the mountain, I looked for a few minutes to see of they saw us go up the hill and they did. So we started running again in a slightly different course and changed directions many times. Any time we say a cave of some kind we threw a jacket or a sweater in to try and through them of the trail. 

         Finally after about 2 hours of running and walking, we found a place deep in the woods on a hill where we could see if they came after us. It was summer so we didn't have to worry about betting cold, Eric and I took turns keeping watch that night. During the next day we were getting fire wood when we heard beautiful trumpet music and saw a bright light spreading across the whole sky. Then we saw a cloud in the shape of an aplithiater with angels all around the cloud playing trumpets or singing. The four of us were speechless at the beautiful music and then we saw Jesus in the middle of all the angels sitting on His magnificent thrown. And now that I have reflected my past struggles for you it is time for me to leave my mansion in heaven and go enjoy being in God's presence.

In hiding pt. 11

        It has been several days and we are getting some adjustments with the extra people but we are getting along. Our food is almost gone, with the extra people it has been going fast. We aren't sure what we will do next. Eric knows some of the people in the city who own a small garden and we aren't sure if they will help us. It is a big risk to contact people outside our family and close friends. Eric and I volunteered to go and see if they will help us tomorrow.
      We finally finished the second entrance and got the supports up. Eric's dad worked a lot with building things and Eric learned from him so Eric was able to make both doors harder to see which will hopefully keep us more secure. It is hard to be inside all day so we are letting people go out in pairs of two and get some fresh air and use up some energy. I am on night watch tonight and it looks like everyone is here so I am going to have to stop writing, I will write as soon as I get the chance.

In Hiding pt. 10

We had just gotten word that some of my old class mates are in the city. I had volunteered to go and get them out of the city. So I wet at about 1am and got to the block were they had all be located and say that the police were about to break into the first house. This scared me at first but then realized that they didm;t know exactly what house they were in. I ran to the first one where Nels and Zach were hiding (two of my class mates). I told them about the police and offered to take them to the hide out. Nels said he could not leave his sister in the jail, so I told him if he came with me we would try and get her out. Zach had many friends at a different block so he said he would go and hide with them. So Nels and I ran to the next house which is where two of my other class mass were hiding Julianne & Nathan. Juli agreed to come but Nathan had a brother in a different house and was very ill. So nathan went to his brothers house and Juli, Nels and I went outside the city limits, I told Juli to wait for us while Nels and I went to the jail and were able to get Thea out (If you remember, all of the guards had abandoned the prison after the bombing started). We met back up with Juli and I led them to the bunker. Non of the cusins got much sleep that night waiting for us to arrive. When we got there and after everyone was aquatinted with our limitations and guidelines we all sat in a circle and asked Nels, Thea, and Juli many question about the city and how bad things had gotten. They told us about all of the matial laws that had but such restrictions on anyone who did not get a chip in their arm (the chip is the governments way of allowing people to buy food, travel, and do pretty much anything). They told us about the risk that the people took when they hid them. Of course we already knew about the Sunday law and the ban on Bibles. We were all filled with great joy when we say that both Nels and Juli were able to grab a Bible they had hidden away. We had had to leave our bibles in the cave when most of our family was captured. Now that we have more people, we had to do some rearranging. The girls Kori, Juli, and Thea got the loft and we had found some pads in a closet so the guys slept on those. So here we are, the eight of us hiding in a abandoned bomb shelter waiting for our Lord and savior to rescue us from this nightmare. We pray every night that God will protect us and those who are less fortunate and we know He will if we follow Him.

In hiding pt. 9

Today was a very frustrating day in our bunker. A huge thunder storm came through last night and through the morning. Our bunker stayed pretty dry but we hadn't put up the support for the second entrance and it caved in. So now we will have to redo all of the digging we had done. A few tree's have been knocked down but the tree that the secret door is by is still fine. WE are going to be able to use some of the branches that were broken off as brush to cover our second entrance, after we finally get it dugout. The roof of our bunker is cement so the water didm;t drip down but part of our fire wood stack got wet and so we had to burn a smaller fire which meant only a little light. We did find a closet that had tools like shovels, rakes, & multiple brooms. So today since we had nothing els to do we got the brooms and swept every inch of the bunker at least 3 times. There is an emergency radio in here to but many of the channels are not working. There is only one channel we can receive that has news on it and only at 9am and 8pm. So now we are getting ready for bed and the storm seems to be dying down.

In Hiding pt. 8

It is about 10:30 and Trace still hasn't left. I am still sure that he is going to go but it is a wait that seems to take forever. We are just out side the city and an air raid is starting, but Trace is determined. We are going to make a bolt for the jail and try and find a way to get Riley out. It took us a few minutes to find the keys for his cell but we finally got him out. As we were running through the woods back toward our camp we heard quiet voices outside of the cave. We dropped down and looked, there were soldiers getting ready to through tear bass into the cave. Riley shouted a warning to the family and Trace and I ran out to try and distract the guards. The gas was thrown but 2 of my cousins made it out and we ran but the rest of the group was taken. Luckily Eric (on of the cousins who made it out) had grabbed our hatchet so that we could get some fire wood to stay warm. Our new place is smaller but that is ok since there are only 5 of us now. It is a small hole dug in the ground with rugs as the floor and wood planks for walls. There is a loft in the corner for sleeping and there is ever a small kitchen with a wood stove, and a lot of canned food. We think it is an abandoned bomb shelter. So our new spot has quite a few advantages to our old one but the first thing we are going to do is to dig a second door way and try and camouflage the door better just incase we have  any more unwanted visitors.

In HIding pt. 7

There was a 'intense discussion' today between the adults and Trace and I. We want to go and get Riley out of the jail. The militaries are bombing the city so all of the police have left but the prisoners are still there. The adults don't want us to go because it is dangerous but we didn't change our opinions. We said "ok" and left, but as dark is approaching I fell that Trace is going to go anyways and I plan to accompany him.

In Hiding pt. 6

Megan, one of my cousins hiding with us is very sick. There was a piece of metal that cut her foot and it is getting bad. We need to get her a shot but we don't have any. We have four doctors in our family and three of the mare with us and they are doing everything they can to help her. Tomorrow Trace (another cousin in hiding with us) and I are going to go into town and try and get the shot she needs. We are on a clock so we will need to hurry. If we don't get the shot soon the infection will spread to an uncontrollable point. everyone is praying and trace and I are too. I just heard the adults saying that Trace and I could leave tonight and sleep somewhere along the way if we felt up to it. So it looks like I need to go. I will try and write later, if I don't get caught.