In Shock

The clean beaches we saw in Gulfport, MS on Thursday’s leg of our prayer journey were not to be found on Friday. As we crossed the state line over into Gulf Shores, AL, we went from a fear of what could happen to a realized fear.

Upon arrival, we noticed that the yellow flag was flying on the shore. This indicated the danger but allowed people to go in the water. And go in the water they did. The beach was a contrast of beach umbrellas and cleanup tents, people wearing bathing suits and workers wearing special protective boots and gloves, people playing in the sand and workers digging up the oil in the sand, people swimming in the water and people taking pictures of the oil and tars balls in the water.

The reports we had heard of tar balls found on the beaches there were most definitely true. They was scattered across the shore. Solid to the touch, those found in the sand were not as sticky as I might have thought. Perhaps it result of having been in the sun and covered in sand. As I crumbled one in my hand, however, it quickly became much more sticky and stuck to my hand. In fact, after washing it off in the ocean water and scraping it through the sand, my hand remained covered with a layer of oil. It was only after wiping down with several baby wipes that I started to make some progress.

Ben, bravely trekked into the ocean to see what he could see. There he saw what looked liked little flakes. When he reached out to touch them, they dissolved immediately on his hand revealing droplets of oil. Even with these moist drops he was only successful in partially removing it from his skin. He, too, was left with an oily layer that was only removed later with a more intentional effort and help.

Imagine what it might be like for an animal that happened to come into contact with it.

Meanwhile contracted workers continued to work just a few yards off the water’s edge. Every couple hundred yards or so there was another group of workers. The scary thing was that the oil was not just found in chunks on the surface. They had to dig down into the sand where they continued to find the contaminated spots. They filled bag after bag after bag with oiled sand. Every short while an excavator/tractor would come by to be filled with the many bags. They were then transported to the nearest collection of dumpsters that had been brought in just for that purpose.

Whereas access to the contaminated areas was extremely restricted in Louisiana, here people were not separated from the workers, oil, or water. It was bizarre to watch as people would step across tar balls to go swimming in the water. Or as people set up their towels, chairs, and umbrellas right near the cleanup tents. Or as tourists snapped picture after picture of the work, sometimes posing right next to the workers.

After a while we headed a little further on down the beach to Gulf Shores State Park. There workers in hazmat suits collected countless oil-stained booms. As I walked out on the pier there, a look down into the water revealed massive tar balls on the ocean floor. Even worse, fish were swimming and jumping in the area, surely unable to avoid contamination.

Next, we continued on to Orange Beach which is the next city to the east of Gulf Shores. Though we only traveled a short distance the picture drastically worsened. The flags had gone from yellow to red meaning: “DO NOT GO IN THE WATER.”

This was with good reason. As I walked toward the shore, I couldn’t help but think to myself that this was one of the more beautiful beaches I had seen. This pristine beach contained beautiful white sand, clean of any debris. But as I approached the water the picture completely changed.  The last 10 or 15 feet to the water (at high tide) was completely stained with oil. It was from white to some sort of orange-brown. Walking barefoot, I immediately felt the grease of oil between my toes. An overpowering stench of oil filled my nostrils. I watched as each wave deposited a new line of oil on the sand. As the waves retreated back, they revealed the large amounts of oil in the water.  Furthermore, both large globs and tiny droplets of oil were visible on the surface of the water. In contrast to our experience in both Louisiana and Gulf Shores, there were no workers, no security; just a few others watching this disaster unfold before them.

I was profoundly impacted at this point. I sat overwhelmed at the tragedy before me. It was like watching the scene of a car accident. Horror stood before me, but I could not bring myself to leave. After a couple hours locked into the disaster, a heavy storm rolled in. Thunder rumbling in the background, raindrops falling on my head, I just stood there. I was in shock, unable to even think. The damage we had caused to God’s creation was more than I could handle.

What had we done? How awful that my own consumption had been a factor in causing this! Why weren’t we doing more to fix it? How tragic that I could do nothing more.

Overwhelmed and shocked, all I could do was call upon our Lord.

For more images and videos, please visit our Facebook page, our Flickr page, or our YouTube channel [video content coming soon].

[I apologize for the delay on these latest posts. As you can imagine, this trip has been filled with long, challenging days. Our schedule has had us up early and working very late every day. Now that we have returned, I will be back on track.]

More on our prayer journey:

“I’ve Got Tears In My Eyes”

Decontamination, Frustration, & Oration

Choppers, Marinas, & Shelters

Let the Prayers Flow

Praying Confidently in the Midst of Disaster

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