Dear TCA Family,
I have so many thoughts and yet somehow the words will not come together for this email. We never thought we would find ourselves here, with three major storms in just two months. Several of our families have lost everything. Some of you stopped repairs from the last storms to wait out this one. Some of you have been fortunate enough to not experience any damage to your home or business. No matter what these storms held for you and your family, they have had a huge impact on our beautiful city and the state of Florida. This is one of those times when we feel grief and gratitude at the same moment. We grieve with those who have lost so much and are committed to helping them rebuild. And at the same time we are also filled with gratitude that last night wasn't the "worse case scenario" we anticipated. Although our cell service has been spotty, when texts and calls do come through they have been about little miracles you all witnessed in this storm.
Last night our family sat on the front porch and watched the wind whip our old oaks around like play things. We watched as these ancient trees bent, some bowing almost to the ground under the high winds. Yet they did not snap. This morning when we awoke, they were still standing. They went through the eye of the hurricane and back and refused to fall. Their roots were deep. Some of them lost major branches but still the trees stand.
Our TCA families are like those trees. The wind has bent us, it has battered and raged. But you have deep roots. Your roots are here to ground you, support you, and help you. There will be work ahead of us. Some of you may bear the scars of these storms forever. But we are here to come alongside you. As we prepared for the worst this week, I knew no matter what happened we would come together and walk it out! That brought such peace!
Whether you experienced no damage or lost everything, remember, we are your community and we are strong and resilient. Please reach out if you need help, and reach out too if you know you can help! We will put together teams to help with clean up when we know the need. Please email us at hurricane@tcasarasota.com, and let us know what you need so we can organize help for you.
The Fruitville and Bee Ridge campuses weathered the storm well. We were there first thing this morning and as long as the power is back on we will resume school Monday morning.
We love doing life with you, even the hard parts. Hold on to your deep roots,
Josh and Harmony
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