Earlier this month, Hurricane Matthew barreled through much of the Caribbean and the eastern seaboard of the United States, leaving billions of dollars worth of destruction. At its strongest, the storm reached a category 5 with winds reaching 160 mph, and the death toll exceeding 1,000 people.

Here in the United States, Florida was the first to be declared a state of emergency and first in this country to take the destructive force of Matthew, with over a million people losing power in the state. You can imagine the feeling of those in the path of the oncoming hurricane - fear of the unknown for their family, lack of supplies for who knows how long, and in today’s world, the thought of total chaos isn’t too far from reality with this sort of destruction on its way.

But for a believer, the process to cope with this sort of threat is a little different. Prayer with brothers and sisters, exchanging comforting Scripture verses, and texting uplifting quotes from the Message, are just a few of the things God's people can draw faith from in time of crisis. This mother and daughter found themselves right in the cross hairs of what was supposed to be hurricane Matthew's destructive path, that was until God's people began to call on Him for help.

I felt to share this with others as to what God did for my daughter, Faith, and myself, during the hours waiting for the monster Hurricane Matthew to make landfall.

I'll admit I was anxious and I made all the preparations I could for this big event. Faith and I live in Longwood, Florida, Seminole county and the projected path of destruction of hurricane Matthew was less than 50 miles from our home. We live in a heavily wooded area and we don't have covered parking. Our condo, where we live, is on the first floor. After the news of the massive size of the storm and where it would come in, I began to worry. I called the prayer line and left a message about my concerns. I knew my prayer had reached the throne of mercy, but still the storm continued to rage on, and I quoted Scripture and Message quotes in my heart over and over. I knew whatever God chose to allow, He would protect us from all harm.

I didn't have a flashlight, and I had waited too long to get the items I needed, because at this point, the stores and shelves were empty of supplies. I came home and found Faith’s blue LED VGR flashlight, and I put different batteries in and it still would not work. I was in my kitchen praying when a text came through from my friend in Jeffersonville, Sister Angela Brown. She prayed with me and said go try the flashlight again, “It's going to work.” It did. The light was weak but it came on. We texted and prayed through the evening, and I told her my plans and my friend Elisabeth Konzelman sent the same scriptures of encouragement. I held onto each of these as I continued to prepare for the oncoming storm. In my mind I kept saying how do you prepare for winds 145 MPH or even 100 MPH? Still pressing on, crying and believing, I had already downloaded messages on my computer. The one I chose first was the, “The Oncoming Storm,” preached in Jeffersonville. Brother Branham told story after story and my faith began to build as he mentions Florida in this message.

Well we all know God turned the hurricane. He did it by forming an additional eye, which pushed the center of the storm farther east. Thus, winds were kept at the coastline. Here at my home we barely got anything even remotely like a hurricane; it was more like a thunder storm. The winds did rage, but God stilled the trees and my condo was like a sound proof booth. Unless I looked, I would never know what was going on. This was a huge deal to me because Faith has special needs and has anxiety issues. All around us, even in same area, thousands are without power. We never lost power and we never lost Internet. When I saw the photos of the monster face of this storm, I know beyond doubt my God changed the storm. He turned it and weakened this storm to protect His little Bride here in Florida. I know God's not happy with this place. Orlando isn't a beautiful city anymore; it's another city of sin. Even though we are only two small insignificant souls, we are His sheep and He loved us enough to change His wrath to protect us; I really believe that.

Thank you so much for the prayer line. God bless each of you.

Sister Debra Reeder

Florida