Where Were You On September 11, 2001?

I can remember exactly where I was when the Twin Towers in New York went down on 9/11/2001, and I bet you can remember where you were too. 

I was walking down the street in St. Petersburg, Russia at the time it happened.  Unknown to me and my two companions, the news of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon had been broadcast by radio and television as we were sightseeing around the area of our hotel.  As we were returning to our hotel, a car with four men slowed down near us and said something like “God Bless America!” (in English).  I have never figured out how people there knew that we were Americans by just looking at us for just a moment. 

Our lives were changed because of 9/11, in ways that our friends and loved one’s at home were not.  My traveling companions were Kep & Carolyn Stone, Jenni Bales, Don Clendenin, and Jim and Priscilla Kankel.  Initially, it was terrifying to be away from home in a foreign country (especially Russia!) when we heard about the terrorist attack upon our country.  When we all gathered in Kep and Carolyn’s hotel room and watched in disbelief as the Towers crumbled on the TV screen (even though we didn’t  understand the Russian commentator) we cried and prayed for our families at home and for our country, and as we did a peace that passes understanding came. 

The life changing impact for us came as a result of the compassion and sorrow that was displayed by the people we met in Russia, not only for us as Americans who had experienced a horrible attack upon our country (which they had endured for years), but for our country.  A number of times men and women personally spoke to me, with tears in their eyes, about how sorry they were for the loss of life and property in our country.

One man particularly stands out in my memory.  I don’t remember his name, but I remember the Soviet uniform that he wore, his chest adorned with medals awarded in another era, and I remember that he told me (through a translator) that he was in the army that had fought Hitler and held his army back from invading Moscow…and he told me that he was praying for my country, that God would grant us peace, and protection….and I remember the tears in both our eyes as we looked into each other’s souls.

The change that occurred in me because of 9/11 might not be the same that occurred in you, because of where I was, and the people who surrounded me.  I had grown up being taught to fear the Soviets, now called Russians.  But I saw that not only are they people with passions much like ours, but those I met (and I met many) were very kind and very gentle, and very giving to the point of hurt.  We had been there to minister to them on a missions trip, but we were the ones ministered to.

Ground Zero