Texas family finds refuge from hurricane in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — Late in the summer of 2005, Hurricane Rita hit Texas like a punch in the mouth and thousands of people were forced to evacuate. Among those thousands were Dawn Rainwater and her family.

Dawn and her kin have found a refuge in Moses Lake, but their story goes much deeper. The journey they have been through has given them an appreciation for a stable living space.

When Hurricane Rita hit Dawn's residence in Orange, Texas. Dawn and her family were forced to evacuate their home and leave behind almost everything they owned in less than a day. The Rainwater family didn't own a car so they were forced to evacuate with another family and leave within one day of their warning to get out of town.

From Orange, the family made their way to Monroe, La. to a shelter where Dawn says "things happened that you wouldn't want your children around for." After their brief stint at the shelter, the family moved to Grapevine, Texas and stayed in hotels for a while until a couple from the town took them in.

While in Grapevine, Dawn's fiance, Ron Cantrell, contacted his parents in Moses Lake and they offered to let the family come up and stay with them. This was the beginning of their way out of the hurricane-riddled South.

Dawn, Ron and two of Dawn's children, 15-year-old Terra and 16-year-old Micah came to Moses Lake. Her other two children, 13-year-old Andrew and 11-year-old Jeramie, went to stay with their stepfather in Minnesota.

Once in Moses Lake, the family slowly began to get back on their feet, staying with Ron's parents and attending the Peninsula Methodist Church, which Dawn said has helped them immensely in finding themselves again here in the Northwest.

The members of the church began to help the family find a place in Moses Lake donating all the furniture, linens and everything else for their new house that they were planning on moving into sometime last week. They also gave the family extra money to help get back on their feet.

Since coming here both Ron and Dawn have found jobs, Dawn working at Ernie's Truck stop, and Ron working as a truck driver with the same company he worked for in Texas. Andrew and Jeramie were supposed to be in Moses Lake on Thursday the 16th and once they return the Rainwater family will once again be complete.

Moses Lake has been a refuge for the Rainwater family but they are now planning on staying here for good. "Everyone has really made us feel at home here," said Dawn of the town she has been uprooted to.