Hurricane Relief…There Is Still Great Need!

Thank you all for your generous support of Nicaragua during this difficult time. Within a two week period, Puerto Cabezas on the Northern Carribean side of Nicaragua was hit by two massive storms, Hurricane Eta (Cat 4) and then Hurricane Iota (Cat 5). In the weeks since we have mobilized to support our local church Verbo in Puerto Cabezas and the churches along the Rio Coco. We put out a call for support and your alls response has been amazing!

Below we share some stories…but there is still so much to do!

Can you keep helping? Our goal is to raise another $10,000

HERE IS WHAT WE HAVE DONE TOGETHER SO FAR! We’ve sent over 100,000 pounds of food for immediate food relief in the areas directly hit by the Hurricanes. There are tens of thousands of people affected by these storms. We have delivered food packs to families in shelters and to their homes as they are returning to their devastated villages.

We purchased eight chainsaws and delivered them to Puerto Cabezas to begin the massive clean up effort. The team worked for the week in Port as well as in two Miskito villages. Since that first trip, members of Verbo church have been going to each remote Miskito village, staying for several days working with the local community to clean up their properties of fallen trees and destroyed homes.

We purchased a boat motor to make it possible for Verbo Church to deliver food packs and relief to the most remote Miskito Villages along the coast that took a direct hit from the Hurricanes. Hallover is a village of 105 homes on the coast. This village was the landing point for BOTH storms and it was split in two by the storms. All of the homes were destroyed except for one, and now the Carribean connects to the Bay right through Hallover. It was very very sad to witness such massive destruction.

We have also purchased 1,100 pieces of roofing tin to help people rebuild their homes as they return to their villages from the shelters in Puerto Cabezas. On our trip last week to deliver food to the villages of Layasiksa and KukaLaya we were given some advice by the village elders on how to help rebuild there. The people said they need tin for roofs, but if we get them gas and chainsaws they will go out into their land and work for a week to get the wood they need to be able to rebuild their own homes. We will get to work on that immediately but also know in other villages people will need help to build homes from scratch.

On our trip last week we also had friends from Hydrologica, a well digging company based here in Nicaragua. Brandon and Dave have knowledge from years of experience working with wells and came to assess the water situation as people return to their villages. We tested wells for salt content to make judgements on immediate fresh water relief. Of equal importance, Brandon is going to put together a report on long term water solutions, including installation of sustainable wells in these remote villages.

Along with all of this material support we know more than anything that the people need our love and care in this difficult time. We prayed for many many people and asked the Lord to heal them and help them during our trips. We also just sat and listened to their stories. Amazingly and as an answer to many prayers, there were no deaths in any of these villages! I sat with Doña Rosa in Layasiksa and listened to stories of men using rope to tie themselves together to wade through flood waters to get to safety in the middle of the storm. Stories of the elderly being rescued by being carried in sheets just above the storm surge as the flooding started. It was harrowing to hear…but absolutely incredible to NOT hear of many many deaths!

This morning at church Pastor Earl (who is coordinating Verbo’s relief work in Puerto Cabezas) shared about his first trip back to Hallover after the second Hurricane. He gave a woman from the shelter a ride on their boat to return home. As they got closer to land, tears started streaming down her face and she was weeping. Her family was large and had thirty homes between all of their relatives. Every home was gone and she wept. The devastation is real and it is overwhelming. But, we are able to help. We can do a lot together, and honor the Lord as we do it!

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Krista will be in Puerto Cabeza’s this week with her brother Brinson and a group of four others. This will be our fourth relief trip. They will be visiting the shelters, spending time with people and praying for them. They will also deliver 500 more food packs to remote Miskito villages. These packs will be provide food for 3-4 weeks for a family of 5-7 people. We also know they will be getting a vision for the long term work of helping people rebuild their homes. Please keep them in your prayers for safe travel and much success in helping people.

God bless you all…and again thank you for supporting this relief work in such a hard time for Nicaragua!