Good news! Pastor Steve Shipley, from the Fort Myers, Florida, Grace Brethren Church, sends this post-Charley report:
Thanks for your concern. While everyone here had much debris from fallen limbs and were inconvenienced with power outages ranging from day one until the present (four days; my home was off two and 1/2; the church three days), there was minimal damage and no injuries to anyone from our church as presently reported.
Had Charley not turned sharply north upon hitting Sanibel Island, things may have been much worse. As it is, Punta Gorda took the brunt of its force.
We praise the Lord for sparing us, but hurt for those to the north. There has been a spirit of neighborhood cooperation and we hope opportunity for our people to make additional contacts for the Lord.
Again, thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.