The hail smashed into the windshield and then splattered into a blob of slush that the windshield wipers quickly whisked away. They clattered against the Jeep as we drove to church. Zeke let me out at the door as I pulled my raincoat close and grabbed my hat to keep it on my head in the wind and rain. An icey marble hit me right on the knuckle and it hurt!

I praised God for the much, much needed rain after the dryest February in recorded history of this area. I also thanked him for slipping in that, much needed before the deluge, day of warmth and sunshine yesterday. By the time we left church the rain seemed to be winding down.

We headed out to lunch with the family and then split up to our varied destinations after. Beau and I were headed to the local retirement home with the church Youth Group to play Bingo. It was raining again and as we drove back on from the city we heard the first tornado warning. It was for the county which we had just departed but Angus and Zeke were still there shopping for shoes.

I met up with Sheila at the church where the Youth were to gather. It was still early. The rain was pouring down and there was more hail. Tornado warnings were sprouting up all around us but we didn't know it. We just stood staring out the big window at the storm. It eventually subsided and we headed over to Westbrook.

There were a couple of kids there already waiting for us and Beau and Sheila's daughter Courntey with us so we decided to go ahead with the fun. Two more kids showed up a few minutes later. Not a great turn out but under the circumstances; not too bad.

The old folks were gathered in a room just having been dismissed from "taking cover" during the last T. warning. They were not being allowed to leave this room because they were to keep gathered in case there was another warning...another storm was predicted to pop up right behind the first. We quickly set up some tables as the folks watched us half-interested. I wished I was somewhere else...like at home by the fire.

I was the caller as the kids sat at the tables with everyone else and played, too. It was quiet at first but after the first "Bingo" everyone began to loosen up. We had brought silly prizes and found that, just like with the kids, candy is the favorite!

I accidentally popped open the Bingo ball cage from which I was pulling out the numbers. The little numbered balls bounced all over the floor and that got a pretty good laugh as I scrambled around after them. We played about 45 minutes and by the end everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, including the teens that had shown up in spite of the storm! Most of the folks stopped to thank us as they headed off to their rooms and we cleaned up. The activities director thanked us as well, telling us how edgy the folks were about the storm and the possiblity of the tornado and how the Bingo had taken their mind off of their worries.

Sheila and I had almost canceled the trip when the storm was at its worst. It had seemed to be clearing off and we had been unaware of the Tornado Warning in our area, so, although delayed, we set out to see. God's timing is perfect and we got there just in time to do what was needed. We thought we were playing a silly game but in reality we were showing some worried people that there must be nothing to fear. God so often puts me in the right place at the right time!