What's worse than a major hurricane? Tropical storm Noel!

Yesterday I was able to get to Sabana Perdida at last. A group of us from the church and school went to visit three places: a shelter, a neighborhood, and a family from the church that had lost everything in the flood. Before going, I went through my whole house, setting aside things that I could take to the refugees.

The taxi over was "interesting". We got stopped by the police once, but the driver told them that we were bringing in relief supplies so they let us go on. The driver told me that he was sure they were stopping us for a bribe. Sometimes it helps to have an American in the car! It is a long drive, and the best way is to go on a highway which runs out in the country a bit. While in that part, the car began to go slower and slower. We were running out of propane! The driver told me that we were not far from a gas station, but he looked a bit uncertain if we would make it there. We did, barely. I think we were about on fumes, the car was going so slowly.

During the visits our group made, we ran into a group of protesters carrying signs saying "we need food, water, clothing, medical care", etc. We stopped and talked to them for a while, and took their pictures. I'm afraid they put a lot of faith in me, for some reason, like I was going to be the one to fix everything. I tried not to get their hopes up falsely; I didn't know what I'd be able to do; I still don't.

We walked on and came to the next community, one where almost all of the houses were either fully submerged, or nearly so, just a couple of days ago. At the time there was still water in the houses and in some streets, although it had gone down a whole lot. The houses may have had six inches to a foot of water still in them, for the most part. My friend reports that they are still flooded today, because it rained over there again.

These people told us the same story. They have no drinking water, food, clothing, medical care, or mattresses to sleep on. Some are sleeping at shelters (which can be dangerous) while others choose to sleep on the street near their house. Thieves steal everything they can get from the flooded houses; they will even steal light and plumbing fixtures, if the houses are not carefully watched.

We went to a shelter that housed about 67. It was a public school, and they put several women in each room. It was not clear if the whole family stays together or apart, as the men were gone looking for work. Most of the men of this community work as "chiriperos;" that is, they do whatever they can find for the day. The room where the food and any other donations were kept was shockingly bare. There were some small milk cartons from the government school breakfast program, and some bread, and precious little else to be had. People from the community had brought in a few odds and ends. It didn't look like enough for 20 people, much less 67. At the shelters the people supposedly are fed at 11AM and at 4 PM, and that's it for the day.

The moms and children were just sitting around on the floor on very thin mattresses. Some had sheets some didn't. Some of the children were naked. I am not used to seeing children as traumatized as some of these were. While some kids were still happy and friendly as usual, there were others that just looked like they were in shock. There was nothing for them to do, not a book to read or a toy to play with, nothing to distract them from the horror of what they had just been through. There were several pregnant women. One who was due any time, said she had nothing at all for her newborn, when it arrives.

After various phone calls, I was able to ascertain that in the church/school in Bonao, at least three deaf people have lost their homes and are in shelters. One of my students in the capital was from the area where the houses were submerged; he and his family are staying with relatives for the time being. Part of the roof is missing from the house of another student.

A friend who is a medical missionary is interested in bringing a team to help. Another missionary I go to church with wants to work together to get these people some relief. We are forming a quick net of providers, to help fill in the gap. We are going as the hands and feet of Jesus, not any particular denomination.

We are thankful for a Florida church that joined in the battle and send us $300 to help provide for basic needs.

The next two days will be busy ones. I have asked for donations of household goods, food, clothing, medicine and just about anything, from the church I attend here. A couple of people have offered to help deliver whatever is collected from our small church. I'm going over with a medical missionary who wants to look over the situation, with the possibility of scheduling a medical operative for a day next week. One other missionary who attends my church has offered to join in--she knows more than I about relief work.

Then there will be Tuesday. School will start again. It is important that parents get their kids back in school quickly. It will help them to be in their regular routine again, and I'm sure it will be a comfort to them. I hope at that point, that I'll be able to walk away, knowing that there are loving hearts continuing to help these people.