The Incredable Journey

Yellow files were put on the back of all the semis that made the trip

(This is a follow up to my previous post called The True Heart Of America)
Last week I wrote about a group called "Southern Ohio To Louisiana". The trip was a huge success and I had a chance to chat with Eric and Melanie Osman about what it was like on their trip. Just by speaking with them its clear that the trip and the entire experience  has had a lasting effect on the couple that will stay with them their entire lives.

Profile photo for the Facebook page Louisiana Flooding 2016

All of this can be traced back the Facebook page Louisiana Flooding 2016. After coming up with the idea Brandon needed to get into contact with someone who could help them get the supplies where they needed to be. He turned to Facebook and started speaking with the admin of the page. The page was ran by a 14 year old boy who had lost everything. He had turned to Facebook to try and find help to rebuild not only his life but the lives of everyone around him that been affected by the flood. After speaking with the young boy the decision was made to take everything to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

A donation booth that was set up in front Status Tattoo

Collecting donations was the first steps and the first donations came from none other than the youngest children of the Osman household. Katie Osman, 10 and Karie Osman 8, were doing something that everything child enjoys doing. Listening in on their parents phone conversations. Both girls ran to their room and gave their Dad 25 dollars total, this alone brought both myself and our parents to tears. Later on in the campaign more donations came in from children. Four children on their way home from school stopped by to donate as well. All of them were heard saying that the can food they brought was from their cupboards because their family was not able to buy extra food for the donations. Another young boy brought in toys and food, all of these he bought with his own money. This alone is enough to bring emotions in anyone and it shows how strong these children are. All of them made the choice to donate without anyone telling them to or anyone leading them, they followed their hearts like many of us did when we donated.

Donations that are ready be sorted and loaded

It was a very hot Friday and Saturday while the group was loading their trucks. My husband and I stopped by the load dock and were blown away.  A flat bed trailer had been backed into the dock to help with sorting. It was covered in boxes, bags and tubs all filled with supplies. Pet food and horse food sat in the back already loaded onto skids that were donated by John Schrock, the owner of the dock. Both Melanie and Eric were covered in sweat from loading the truck in the 100 degree weather. Brandon had left to collect the last of the donations. Loading the truck took all day and some part of the night. By the end of it, the group shipped out with a flat bed full of lumber and a small barn, a full van trailer and a rental car.

Eric Osman and Roger Carter stop their trucks for the night

The journey was mostly uneventful. Most of the highlights being crossing over into the next state and getting closer to the final goal but the group did run into a problem. While driving on the highway a low hanging branch was clipped by one of the semis. Unfortunately it broke off and the branch was sent flying into the wind shield of the rental car being driven by Brandon and his girlfriend. Luckily, no one was hurt but the show must go one.  Melanie was picking broken glass out of the young girls' legs and reassured them both that everything would be okay, no one was hurt and that they still had a mission to complete. The group kept on trukin' and were very close to their stop.
                                             

The belongings of the flood victims

The closer they got the more the after math of the flood began to show. The roads were still wet and you could tell that they had been underwater. Probably the most upsetting sight and the one that really hit home for everyone was the one in the photo above.  "The photos do not do justice on how bad it looks. I could have taken a video but it felt wrong because it was their lives, everything they owned piled like trash. Baby walkers and baby cribs were garbage" Melanie told me. The flood had destroyed entire houses. Everything was at the end of the road, waiting to be picked by a garbage truck. Everything that these people had worked their whole lives for was gone in the blink of eye, taken from them by a rush of water and a down pour of rain. "The personal items,it really felt like it was their lives. I couldn't cry yet because I had a mission to complete" Just by hearing Melanie and Eric both talk about it you can tell that it is something that will stay with them forever.

Unloading the donations

When the group made it to their destination they were greeted by the Mayor of the Central Parish of Baton Rouge and his mother. There wasn't a dry eye to been seen. The Mayor explained that the city was in despite need for help. Due to the flood all of the water had been contaminated and there was very little food. His mother,  Juanita saw the group has an answer to her prayers. Unloading took hours and no one stopped, not even to eat. After the unloading was complete the issue of the broken wind shield of the rental car came back up. Melanie took the mayor aside and asked if he knew anyone who could help them.  With the help of the Mayor and a local policewoman a rental car was found in a airport at New Orleans. Brandon was escorted by the officer there and back. On their return Melanie tried to thank the officer for her service, for helping them and for putting her life on the line every day. She wouldn't have it and told Melanie that she does that everyday and that they are the ones that should be thanked. Before departing the group learned that all the supplies they brought would be gone in a weeks time, all them wishing that they could do it again.

The Ohio State line, the journey was over

The drive home was simple and other than a standard DOT inspection,  it was uneventful. It was when everyone reached our home state of Ohio that all of what they seen started to effect them. Looking around at all the things in our homes that we don't think about. Things like beds, water, food, shampoo. Those people don't have those things any more, everything was destroyed. Life quickly returned to normal for the group, there were bills to pay and mouths to feed but the one question that some people have is why? Why would these people sacrifice their time and money(with all of them being small business owners the two days that they took off work will impact their fiances for weeks to come) to help people that they don't even know?  "These people went through something way worse than me being strapped for cash." Eric Osman informed me "I felt like they needed the help more than I needed the work"

A group photo of Southern Ohio To Louisiana

By the end of it donations had been collected by at least 7 counties including an overwhelming support from the local Amish community.  All of us can take a lot away from their journey. When we see stories on the news about floods, hurricanes or fires. We always think "That's so terrible" and part of us thinks that something like that could never happen to us, we think that we are immune to such things. We aren't. Things like this can happened anywhere that's why its so important to help when they do. Even if all you can give is a penny. That penny could make the world of difference to someone who has been through a disaster like this. This group of people also prove that no matter how terrible things are, no matter what happens be it hell or high water , there is still good people in the world. All we have to do is make the choice to be one of them