houston family finds blessings as they clean up after harvey

HOUSTON —
After sleeping for a while, 78-year-old Helen Benjamin got up from her bed at 7: 00. m.
Wearing pink pajamas and a wrinkled purple sleeping cap, start preparing for the church as on other Sundays.
But it\'s different today.
Benjamin didn\'t wake up in a house that had owned the city\'s Kashmiri gardens for more than 50 years.
She woke up in a narrow hotel room with two double beds --
Her youngest daughter, 46-year-old Kim malblue and 10-year-old daughteryear-
The old Sun Imana in the bed next to her.
Benjamin and her family are among the thousands of Houston people who were driven out of their homes by Hurricane Harvey. A week ago, Hurricane Harvey swept southeast Texas, killing at least 24 people. Fill more than 50,000 families with water and test the endurance of the country\'s fourth familylargest city.
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To get more apps for Harvey rescue: Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey prepared a \"hand in hand\" TV show for Hurricane Harvey rescue, she said: \"I didn\'t sleep at all now, she wore a blue skirt and a suit coat, a silver brooch on her lapels, and a navy blue hat on her neat top --
Keep silver hair
\"We were taking the wet out of the house all night.
My daughter cried because of a back injury.
But we are blessed.
The situation is worse for many people.
\"The other five members of her displaced family are walking around in two rooms near the Hilton hotel in the west of the city center, preparing for a busy and exciting day they know about the future.
Another daughter of Benjamin, Ann Neil, 59, said: \"From the rise of the Sun to the setting of the sun, we are working and throwing things away . \".
Neil\'s home was flooded and he stayed in the hotel room with Benjamin\'s niece Karen Lacey and her husband Jerry Lacey, who also lived near the garden of Kashmiri.
\"There is little time to sleep.
Several floors of Benjamin 88year-old brother-in-
Thomas Benjamin and his 87-year-
Wife, Doris Benjamin, take a break.
The couple also lives in the Kashmiri gardens, and the family says she has been trying the couple in particular for the last seven days when she is in a wheelchair for dialysis.
\"There\'s a lot to do today,\" Benjamin said as he approached the big glass front door of the hotel . \".
\"But in all things, the first stop belongs to God. ”Benjamin —
Female parents of the family (her husband J.
Edward Benjamin died in his early 90 s, leaving her two daughters, one son.
Greg Benjamin, 52, and the late Larry Benjamin, 50—
There is a warm, impressive energy.
Members of the fifth session
Ward Christian Church is her first stop, she has been a member for nearly 60 years, she is not only a respected member of the community, but also a selfless and caring person.
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Membership Meeting.
\"She and her family, like many others here, have experienced so much.
Benjamin and her eldest daughter went to church a little later.
Said Benjamin, but it\'s okay.
They missed last week\'s service as they were stuck at home waiting for rescue
Some are dump trucks and some are boats.
Eight family members stayed at George R before staying at the hotel.
The Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston has more than 9,000 other displaced residents.
When she went to church, Benjamin thought about how long they could stay at the hotel.
She has a fixed income.
Neil is disabled.
Malbroue was fired last month as a financial advisor at Chase.
Her son, because of the flood, has been unable to contact her and his sisters for several days --
Outside the highway and interstate, a \"big house\" was recently sold and moved into an apartment that was not suitable for her children.
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What\'s more: The flood flooded her wedding dress but could not restrain her spirit. The credit card almost blew up.
Everyone else lost the car except one.
No flood insurance.
They want approval from FEMA assistance to pay for their hotel rooms, but the process is time --
Consumption and boredom, she says.
As she sat in the third row behind the sanctuary, Benjamin closed her eyes for a while, played down the damage to her and her family and family, and looked forward to a brighter future.
Gary Smith, the pastor of the church, said, \"you have water in your house now, smiling, you know, and say, \'I am grateful that I am alive,\'\" from behind the pulpit, got marks for Seth and applause.
Benjamin and Neil left after dinner at the church.
\"From here on, it\'s back in the grind,\" Neil said . \" He looked up at the sun above his head. It’s 2 p. m.
Benjamin opens her single front door
The story brick came home, opened the latch and sighed.
\"The storm ripped the door off,\" she said, pointing to the white screen door leaning against her wood front door.
Then she pointed to a water line on the brick near the front door.
She opened the door, a rotten dirty one.
The smell of water fills the air.
\"Oh, it smells bad,\" said Benjamin, covering her nose while she and Neil entered the house.
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\"She used to be unable to walk without a walker,\" said Neil . \" Her mother walked from room to room in three rooms --bedroom, one-and-a-half bath home.
\"But she had two knee surgeries and there\'s nothing stopping her now.
\"Every elevated piece of furniture for the entire family is covered with household items.
Benjamin was in bed when the water rushed into her home.
She remembers getting up at 5. m.
In the cold water on her bedroom tile floor.
She stayed at home with her daughter Imana for a few days.
She finally found her cousin, a local fireman who helped her.
\"They put a dump truck in, put down the ladder, and I climbed in.
\"It\'s hard for my knees to get in,\" she said . \" She added that it was more like a difficult journey to stick to in the dazzling rain.
\"We took off and it fell into the ditch.
Then another truck had to send us to the conference center.
It is now 3: 30. m.
It\'s time for Neil to return to her home opposite the town near the Park Forest to continue cleaning up.
Neil returned home and found his son and husband cleaning.
\"I collapsed in the House last night and cried,\" she said, with her eyes now staring at the lawn in front of her, with a pile of broken and soaked furniture shipped from her home. “It’s so much.
\"We have been cleaning for five days.
Her 34-year-old son, William Neal, said.
After returning to the hotel, Benjamin was alone in the room, wearing pink pajamas and a crumpled sleeping cap.
Just before 10: 45. m.
She had a set of colored pencils in her hand.
Her granddaughter\'s coloring book is on her stomach.
\"This was given to me by my granddaughter,\" she said as her granddaughter ran barefoot into the room behind her mother.
Soon after, another daughter of Benjamin entered the room.
She had almost no food before the restaurant closed.
There\'s a curfew because of the flood.
Malbroue reminded her mother that her former company had given her grants for hotels and that the funds had dried up.
They need to check out the next day or two.
\"We will live in southeast Houston with my husband,\" she said, sitting by the bed while her mother was resting.
\"We are all crowded.
Not sure how long it will take for the insurance company to evaluate and fix everything.
And a lot of work to do.
Imana has not even been able to take advantage of the hotel\'s swimming pool.
Little girl, a lovely child with few words, quickly raised her head from the iPad she was holding.
Her grandmother then pulled a colored pencil from the stack, still clasped in her left hand, and lifted the colored book from her stomach.
Its title is now visible: \"Stay calm and color.
\"I like coloring,\" Benjamin said softly . \".
\"It\'s too relaxing.
Her granddaughter, now lying under the cover of another bed, turned her head to her grandmother and said with a smile, \"me too.