The rain has been almost constant for the past week. Yesterday, we heard that the road out of Trujillo to Tacoa was under water and the bridges were being undermined by the raging river.
Yesterday Brian and Jeffery went to check on the families that we serve who live near the rivers. They convinced two that they needed to leave before the water was in their houses. Some of you may remember the gully next to Jennie's house. It is now full of water and in just a few more feet, it will be in the house. Jenny and her family moved to higher ground. When they checked on Erica's family the river was level with the road and huge puddles were filling he holes in the road. When they left that area, they could see that the water was getting higher. They took Erica and her family to a shelter set up for displaced people. Brian had talked to the lady in charge and asked what else we could do to help.
That morning we had tried to stock up on groceries before the stores were bare since nothing can get in to bring more food. We bought 100 pound of beans and rice hoping to give them out to the displaced families. The lady agreed that that would be helpful. Last night we estimated there would over 100 hungry people waiting for us to bring food. We made a huge stock pot of soup. Then we received word that there were 170 with 40 more on the way. We made another big pot of soup. Right before we were ready to take it over, they said there were over 300. We had purchased plastic cups and spoons and five loaves of bread since there was nothing at the shelter. We only had enough for 200, but figured that was better than nothing. When they got there, there were other people to help serve the soup and while that was taken care of, Brian and Mabelline's brother, Danial, put plastic all around the building because the rain was blowing in the open windows and the people inside were getting wet and cold.
Yesterday Brian and Jeffery went to check on the families that we serve who live near the rivers. They convinced two that they needed to leave before the water was in their houses. Some of you may remember the gully next to Jennie's house. It is now full of water and in just a few more feet, it will be in the house. Jenny and her family moved to higher ground. When they checked on Erica's family the river was level with the road and huge puddles were filling he holes in the road. When they left that area, they could see that the water was getting higher. They took Erica and her family to a shelter set up for displaced people. Brian had talked to the lady in charge and asked what else we could do to help.
That morning we had tried to stock up on groceries before the stores were bare since nothing can get in to bring more food. We bought 100 pound of beans and rice hoping to give them out to the displaced families. The lady agreed that that would be helpful. Last night we estimated there would over 100 hungry people waiting for us to bring food. We made a huge stock pot of soup. Then we received word that there were 170 with 40 more on the way. We made another big pot of soup. Right before we were ready to take it over, they said there were over 300. We had purchased plastic cups and spoons and five loaves of bread since there was nothing at the shelter. We only had enough for 200, but figured that was better than nothing. When they got there, there were other people to help serve the soup and while that was taken care of, Brian and Mabelline's brother, Danial, put plastic all around the building because the rain was blowing in the open windows and the people inside were getting wet and cold.
This morning we spent hours picking through 15 pounds of beans to remove the rocks, dirt, ect. Myra and the ladies cooked the beans and 25 pounds of rice. Brian and some others took that over for lunch. We had heard that they needed water also, but when they got there, someone had set up a system for purifying the water. It seems like there are others helping out too and bringing some food as well. We plan to make soup again tonight.
Yesterday all the gasoline in town was gone and there were long lines at the grocery stores. But this morning we learned that the road had been open for a short time in the night/early morning. It seems that the gas truck got through and there were fresh veggies also. I don't think that the regular grocery stores were able to get anything else to restock their shelves.
Please pray for us and the people of Honduras. Pray for dry weather! It was clear this morning and I think the sun even made a short appearance, but now it is pouring again. We feel safe where we are and as long as we don't lose power, we should be fine. We are on high ground and aren't worried about the flooding directly affecting us here. However, we need wisdom about when we do need to be concerned and what to do in case of things deteriorating to the point where we feel it is unsafe for us to remain here. The power was out for a while this morning and so we are forming "what if" plans. We thank God that has blessed us with a safe, dry, and comfortable place to sleep while so many people here have none of those things. We are glad that we are in a position to be helpful to them. Pray that we will be able to continue the help we have started.
I will try to keep you updated. With the power outages, I try to conserve the battery on the lap top as much as possible. Thanks for praying for all of us. I hope to post pictures too, but that may have to wait until later also.
A few other notes:
Yesterday all the gasoline in town was gone and there were long lines at the grocery stores. But this morning we learned that the road had been open for a short time in the night/early morning. It seems that the gas truck got through and there were fresh veggies also. I don't think that the regular grocery stores were able to get anything else to restock their shelves.
Please pray for us and the people of Honduras. Pray for dry weather! It was clear this morning and I think the sun even made a short appearance, but now it is pouring again. We feel safe where we are and as long as we don't lose power, we should be fine. We are on high ground and aren't worried about the flooding directly affecting us here. However, we need wisdom about when we do need to be concerned and what to do in case of things deteriorating to the point where we feel it is unsafe for us to remain here. The power was out for a while this morning and so we are forming "what if" plans. We thank God that has blessed us with a safe, dry, and comfortable place to sleep while so many people here have none of those things. We are glad that we are in a position to be helpful to them. Pray that we will be able to continue the help we have started.
I will try to keep you updated. With the power outages, I try to conserve the battery on the lap top as much as possible. Thanks for praying for all of us. I hope to post pictures too, but that may have to wait until later also.
A few other notes:
- The shelter is part of a collage/school campus if you can call it that. The building is just empty classrooms. There are no cots and no Red Cross. We don't know if they have any or sufficient bathroom facilities. There are 65+ people in some of the rooms. There are a ton of kids with little or nothing to do but watch the rain come down. During the break in the rain this morning, the ladies tried to wash clothes in the dirty water all around in ditches and puddles. Brian helped string up two clothes lines per room for people to hang their clothes up in hopes that they may dry.
- The entire country is being affected by the flooding. Honduras is on red alert. Most people are not going to work. We don't have access to much news, but we do know that there have been widespread problems so this is not just affecting our corner, but a very wide area.
1 comment:
STAY SAFE!!!
Praying that you can make it home!
I love you each dearly ~
Amy
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