Eyewitness on Sept.11, 2001

[The following is an email boysen received from a friend of his who lives and works in Manhattan. It hits close to home.]

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and thoughts.

For those of you who don't know, I do work down in the Wall St. area at Goldman Sachs. I was emerging out of the subway station around 8:50am when the first plane hit the tower. The air was filled with confetti-like financial documents and charred pieces of paper. Once i got to my office, which is about 6 blocks from the World Trade Center, a large jarring noise was heard as several co-workers were crying, screaming and swearing.

I was on the phone with my sister, when the first tower collapsed. The lights flickered, and more screams were heard. As I ran to the window, all I could see was a huge cloud of grey and black smoke flood between the buildings. We were evacuated to the lower floors. As I looked out of the window, the clear blue sky was filled with a thick dust that turned everything dark. People filled the streets as they attempted to get home. Everyone had some sort of protection over their mouths. People were covered with what looked like volcanic ash.

As soon as the air began to dissapate, another rumbling was heard, and we were informed that the second tower had collapsed. Shock and disbelief hung in the air.

As people eventually filed out of the buildings, we were all in a daze, as we trudged through thick smokey dust that irritated the eyes, and forced us to breathe through napkins and masks. Our shoes and clothes were covered with the greyish white soot that covered everything.

There was no transportation running. No buses, no subways, no taxis, no cars. Even Wall Streets millionaires were forced to set out on foot through war like conditions. People were walking around in a ghost like trance. Sirens were blaring from everywhere.

I did manage to get home some 4 hours after I left the office. Having seen the horrific pictures on the news, it left most of us in a numb like state. Most of us didn't know what to think. It didn't seem real.

One of the Vice Presidents I work with was scheduled to have a meeting in the World Trade Center at 10:00am that morning. Another co-worker of mine whom I am closest with, used to work in the Trade Center some 8 months earlier. Many of her friends were still employed there. Several companies affiliated with my department whom I speak to on a daily basis, were located in the World Trade Center, and we have yet to hear about who survived this tragedy.

Needless to say, this is a day, to coin a phrase, Nine One One (Sept. 11th), that will be unforgettable.

This is but a glimpse of what my day was like, and is nothing compared to the tragedies that are still unfolding. Please pray for this city as we process this devastation. None of our lives will ever be the same.

Thank you for your concern and your prayers.

We mourn with those who mourn, we seek for justice to prevail against those who are responsible, we humbly seek forgiveness for even the most wretched of these terrorists (for in truth, we are no different) and most importantly as Christians, we have a deep peace, that through life's good times, as well as the horrific tragedies that come our way, our stability is this: God is committed to our "absolute loving development" and renewal with "every single breath" we take. In that alone do we find rest.

love,

Eric