NTM

FLOOD UPDATE:  Thank you all for praying for Caleb & the guys as they’ve been out helping in the community.  They have come back safely and went out again today to help.  Caleb came home and told me what he had seen and it was pretty unbelievable.  Those are the kind of things you see on TV, but not in person.  So sad.

Caleb was helping in some of the areas that were totally devastated.  Nothing left except debris, mud and dirty, hungry people.  People kept asking them, “Do you have any water?  Do you have any food?  Please help us!  My family needs help!”  Caleb spoke quietly as he told me of their desperation.  These people who already had so little now have nothing at all.  I think it was hard for Caleb to come back home to a hot meal and a dry place to sleep that night.

BELOW: Everything is soaked and filthy.  Notice the debris on the power lines!  The water was so deep.

ABOVE: The squatters who live right on the river were hit especially hard.  Much is still underwater.

BELOW: Behind this collapsed wall were many poor people’s homes.  There is simply no trace of them now.

Today, Caleb and a bunch of other missionaries went to two houses and helped with the massive cleaning effort.  Besides the water, mud, trash and dead things, there was an oily film everywhere.  I guess this black oil was from all the cars that were underwater and some tanker trucks that had tipped nearby.  Well you can imagine how difficult this all was to clean, and how little was able to be salvaged.

The missionaries who live here had spent two days on their roof, along with about 100 other people who’s houses had totally washed away.

BELOW: One home after tons of cleaning.  You can see the water level mark on the door.

There are two more storms, of this same magnitude, that are brewing as I write.  We pray that they do not come here.  Thank you all for your concern and prayers and we’ll keep you posted.