American Red Cross Community Engagement and Partnership volunteers deliver blankets to Master Tran and Kieu Le while visiting the Quan Am Nam Hai Monastery. The monastery was damaged by Hurricane Michael, and the sisters, with help from the community, are making repairs. Photo by Sanja Tabor.
“We were able to practice coming back into ourselves with our breathing, and that’s what calmed us."
Master Tran, who moved to the area 6 years ago.
PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- At the Quan Am Nam Hai Monastery, sisters held a table against broken windows to stop wind and rain from coming into the temple during Hurricane Michael.
“It’s quite scary,” said Master Tran, who moved to the area 6 years ago.
Tran, along with four other residents of the monastery, rode out the storm in the main house on the property.
“We were able to practice coming back into ourselves with our breathing, and that’s what calmed us,” Tran said.
When the storm stopped and the sisters could assess damage to the 20-acre meditation and teaching center, they discovered most of the trees on the property were broken and all of the buildings needed repairs. The sisters’ plan is to rebuild with help from the community.