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<br /> <br /> <br />To recreation hall <br /> <br />--Big Thompson River <br />- <br /> <br />In Seal'ch of Highel' Gl'ound <br /> <br />On July 31, seven Campus Crusade for Christ staff women lost their lives in severe flash <br />flooding near Loveland, Colorado. These women are Terri Bissing, June Fujiwara, Rae <br />Ann Johnston, Barbara Leyden, Cathie Loomis, Precy Manongdo and Carol Rhoad. <br />The following story, which appeared in WORLDWIDE CHALLENGE, is reprinted by <br />permission of Campus Crusade for Christ, Inc. The publisher is grateful to the editor of <br />that magazine for this kindness. <br /> <br />The Saturday evening retreat began <br />innocently enough: 35 Campus <br />Crusade staff women were anticipating <br />a barbecued chicken dinner at the <br />Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch. "Who are <br />you all?" the ranch director asked staff <br />member Carol Rhoad. "And why do <br />you all seem so beautiful and radiant?" <br />As the Big Thompson River rushed <br />by the picturesque spot outside Love- <br />land, Colorado, Carol told the director <br />about the women. They all held leader- <br />ship positions on the Campus Crusade <br />staff. Their radiance, she explained, <br />came from a special source - the <br />personal relationship each of these <br />women had established with God <br />through Jesus Christ. Little did Carol <br />realize that later that evening she would <br />come face to face with the Source <br />Himself. <br />On that Saturday, July 31, flash <br />flooding in the Big Thompson Canyon <br />claimed the lives of more than 100 <br /> <br />people including seven Campus <br />Crusade staff women. More than 10 <br />inches of rain fell within minutes, forcing <br />a IS-foot wall of water through the <br />narrow, 25-mile long gorge, crushing <br />everything in its path. <br />The staff women who lost their lives <br />are: Terri Bissing, 27, Glenwood <br />Springs, Colorado; June Fujiwara, 27, <br />Pukalani, Hawaii; Rae Ann Johnston, <br />28, Crystal, North Dakota; Barbara <br />Leyden, 29, Monroe, Michigan; Cathie <br />Loomis, 29, Seattle, Washington; Precy <br />Manongdo, 28, Philippines; and Carol <br />Rhoad, 23, Grantville, Pennsylvania. <br />The women had gathered at the <br />ranch for fellowship and a briefing <br />session before their return to Ft. Collins <br />where nearly 3,000 U. S. field staff were <br />meeting for two weeks of training. At <br />9:40 p.m., shortly after the women had <br />taken a coffee break, a siren went off <br />outside the building. Then a megaphone <br />blared, "Everyone evacuate immed. <br /> <br />iately. Flash flooding. Ladies, take your <br />purses and leave immediately." <br />Once outside, the women received <br />instructions to go to higher ground. "In <br />the pitch blackness of the night, it was <br />all quite confusing," relates Vonette <br />Bright, wife of Dr. Bill Bright. "They <br />kept telling us to go to higher ground, <br />but no one was showing us where <br />higher ground was." <br />Piling into eight cars, the women <br />headed out in four different directions. <br />Four cars crossed the river in the <br />direction of Highway 34. Two of those <br />cars made a left-hand turn east to Love- <br />land while two cars turned right. The <br />other four cars, including Mrs. Bright's <br />car, stayed on the north side of the <br />canyon. Mrs. Bright's party traveled <br />downstream a few hundred yards, left <br />their car and walked to the ranch rec- <br />reation building. The women in the <br />rem,aining three cars took another road <br />down the north side of the canyon. <br /> <br />17 <br />