Genelle Guzman-McMillan
February 8, 2003
10:30 am
Message Summary
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5). For 9/11 World Trade Center survivor, Genelle Guzman-McMillan, these words are at the core of her being. During the 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning session of Founder’s Week, Dr. Stowell interviewed McMillan. Here is her compelling story:
McMillan wanted a change from her home in Trinidad, so she moved to New York in 1998. After her mother’s death, she moved back to Trinidad in 1999, but felt pulled back to New York at the end of that year. In order to stay in New York, McMillan knew she needed to get a good, steady job. She couldn’t believe it when she was hired at one of the World Trade Towers and was excited as she began her first day there on January 19, 2001. She made many friends through work—including live-in boyfriend, Roger—and spent each weekend partying.
One of McMillan's friends, Gail, who used to party with her, began attending The Brooklyn Tabernacle and became a Christian. McMillan couldn’t understand why her friend had changed, and after Gail kept inviting her to church, she and Roger finally went. The service moved McMillan to tears and she went forward for the altar call. But that Sunday night, she was out partying again and didn’t think much about the whole church experience.
On the morning of September 11, McMillan didn’t feel like going to work. She debated whether to take a vacation day, but since she was planning a trip later, she reluctantly went in. The weekend prior, she and Roger had gotten into a fight, and she decided she was going to break up with him. He was planning on taking a trip to Toronto later that week for a wedding, and McMillan was counting down the days till his departure. She was looking forward to having the weekend to party with her friends.
Going to her cubicle on the 64th floor, she dropped off her things and went to the cafeteria on the 44th floor to get breakfast. She returned to her desk and was talking with a friend when suddenly they felt the building shake. They looked at each other and wondered what it was. Thinking it may have been an earthquake, McMillan quickly called Roger and told him that there may be an emergency and that they would probably have to evacuate the building. They planned to meet outside by Century 21, a few blocks away. McMillan thought it would be nice to have the rest of the day off of work.
They were not given any orders to evacuate, so a TV was turned on and at 9 a.m. there was a report of a possible terrorist attack. McMillan wasn’t sure what that meant as she had never encountered anything like that in Trinidad. Some people on her floor began to go down the stairwell because the elevators were not working. The stairwells were then taped off because they were too congested and so McMillan and 15 other people waited for more news.
As smoke began to come through the doors, they decided to rip the tape from the door and evacuate down the stairs. Scared of what was happening, McMillan held tightly to her friends’ hand and they descended. McMillan’s feet began to hurt as she walked down flights of stairs in her high heels, but she didn’t want to stop and take them off. Reaching the 13th floor, McMillan couldn’t take it anymore and bent over to take her shoes off. Just as she did, there was an explosion and everything went dark.
McMillan lost her grip on her friends’ hand. She lay still, sure she was going to die as she felt debris falling all around her. The noise got louder and louder and it felt like hours had passed before it finally stopped. When it finally did, McMillan tried to move but found that her head was pinned between two cement pillars. She couldn’t move her legs or her right hand, so with her left hand she brushed the dust from her eyes and mouth. She began to feel around and noticed something soft underneath her. She determined that was on top of a body and because something hard was poking her side, she used the body as a cushion to get more comfortable.
For the next 27 hours McMillan remained conscious, but fell in and out of sleep. She thought a lot about her life, her mother, and death. She knew she would probably die, but she began to cry out to God begging for a second chance. She had never really prayed before, but the more she did, the more she felt her faith in God growing. “I just wanted a second chance at life,” McMillan said. “I wanted to be with my family. I knew my life was going to change as I prayed for a miracle. I realized that I was still breathing and I knew that God had a plan for my life. I knew He was going to answer my prayer.”
As she prayed, McMillan began to hear the rubble above her being moved. She heard the sound of trucks and people’s voices and she called out, “Is anyone there?” There was no answer. She called out again and a voice answered back. The voice asked her name, where she worked and what floor she was on last. She answered but knew she didn’t have the strength to keep talking. McMillan then stuck her hand out in the air and asked if he could see her hand. He couldn’t, but she kept it stretched out and called out to God, “Why me?” At that moment she felt someone grasp her hand. “I’m here,” said the voice, “you’re going to be okay. I’m not going to let you go.” She asked his name and he told her it was Paul and that he wasn’t going to leave until she was rescued.
Finally, another rescuer found her other hand and they moved the rubble, pulled McMillan from it and placed her on a stretcher. As she was on the stretcher she opened her eyes and could see the sunlight. She could see Paul’s face now, and he was still holding on to her hand. She was rushed to the hospital where Roger met her. She asked him to find out more about Paul so when she was out of the hospital she could thank him. Many people were asked about Paul, but no one by that name was on the rescue team. A search went out, but Paul was never found.
McMillan stayed in the hospital for five weeks and had four surgeries on her leg. The doctors thought they would need to amputate the leg, but one doctor tried the surgery one more time. The surgery worked this time, but McMillan was told she’d have to wear a leg brace for the rest of her life. McMillan says this is another miracle because she doesn’t have to wear the leg brace any more. “I can wear my shoes again!” said McMillan excitedly.
McMillan received Christ on September 12 and has been attending The Brooklyn Tabernacle since. “When I was in the hospital, I just wanted to get out and start my new life. I wanted to go to church and be baptized.” Roger also became a Christian and the two were married the morning she was baptized. Pastor Jim Cymbala says, McMillan is truly a poster child for the concept that God has a wonderful plan for your life.
Student Response
This is an amazing story of how God works! God uses different ways to get a hold of people’s lives, but we have all been rescued from our life of sin. This made me think of how much I trust God with my life. Do I rely on my own understanding and plans for my life? Or have I given everything completely to Him? God is so faithful and wants the best His children. Sometimes it takes difficult circumstances to make us cry out to God in complete surrender of ourselves, but that is exactly what God wants from us. And He will answer us and rescue us from the rubble.
—Allison Hlad, Senior, Communications/Print Media major