Thank you all for your prayers for the Huacarpay and Lucre flood situation. I will say that I am more informed of the situation in Huacarpay than in Lucre, so most of this update will be about Huacarpay. However, Lucre, a neighboring community, where we also have a church, was also affected. The river running through Lucre flooded. Some houses collapsed and at least some of the people from the church were affected. However, it was mostly the houses that were along the river. The pastor has a fish farm restaurant, which provides their income. All the fish escaped and several of the pools where they were being raised have been washed away by the river. However, two pools have remained intact and it looks like they will probably be able to rebuild. The church there was not flooded, however, there is a playground in the church’s yard that was flooded. I am not aware at this point of exactly how many families from that church have been affected, but do know that people from the church have been affected. It has been a difficult week for many people, but we have seen God’s grace at work as well. My church is in Huacarpay, so I am out there practically every weekend. I almost always stay overnight with either the pastor’s family or my friend Juana’s family on Saturday nights as well. These two families and several others as well have become like my own family over the past 2 years that I have been here. Sunday 1/24, I was in Huacarpay for the service and spent the afternoon with Juana and her family, leaving early evening. Never did I suspect that less than 12 hours later, at 3 AM, I would receive a phone call from my pastor’s daughter and good friend Lisi telling me that their house was flooding and to please pray and tell others to pray as well. When I called her later in the morning, she said, “Betania, all of Huacarpay is flooded. I don’t know if we will be able to live there again.” Their family escaped in their pajamas, pulled out of their house by ropes, and was staying in a big truck with several other families from the church farther up on the mountain. She was not kidding. All of Huacarpay was flooded, except for the church sanctuary and Miguel and Maria’s house, leaders in the church. A week later, half of Huacarpay is still under standing water and cracked and crumbled houses can be seen all up and down the street. Many of the houses are made of adobe mud bricks, which absorb water and disintegrate rather quickly. Plastering the walls helps, but even that is no guarantee against a raging river. Not all the families in the church were affected, because not all of them live in Huacarpay. However, as far as I know, at least 6 families in or closely connected to the church lost their homes. And no one is unaffected. Those who have not lost their own homes have family members and friends who have. Not only homes and possessions, however, were lost. Animals and fields, which provide a good amount of economic support for their owners, were also lost. Corn and potatoes were in the midst of their growing season and have now been ruined by their extended soak in muddy water. Currently, most of the residents of Huacarpay are living on the hill overlooking their drowned homes, in and around the elementary school building sitting on the hill. The government has provided some tents, though not enough for everyone. Those with no tents have patched together shelters from whatever materials they could find. Walking in to the school area, it feels like a refugee camp. Children play on the school’s playground. Older people do work or sit around talking. Youth and adults do whatever needs done. Every little while someone will yell that something is being distributed and everyone runs to get in line. Dogs and chickens roam around freely. Women handwash muddy clothes and cook. Men move around furniture. People visit each other’s tents. Cars drive around. It’s a relaxed busy atmosphere. Active, but not in a frenetic way.
There are many needs right now. Thankfully, there is plenty of support coming in from various places. However, everyone realizes that it is also a matter of time until the flooding ceases to be on the forefront of everyone’s minds and the support gradually recedes like the chocolate floodwaters. People wonder what will happen several months down the road. It could conceivably be 6 months or so until people are resettled and able to move into new homes, which the government has promised to provide resources for. Right now, people are in need of physical support in many random forms – fly strips, hygiene and health items, plastic tarps, blankets, laundry soap, clothing, food, water, etc. I’m sure they’re also in need of psychological support, but that one is pretty much beyond me. They are in need of financial support. People are also in need of emotional support. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve given someone a hug this past week only to have them burst into tears. They are exhausted, overwhelmed and taking one day at a time. Just to know that people are praying and are standing with them is a blessing. They are in need of strength and wisdom to know how to make decisions. And the needs change every day, and from family to family, so I’m never sure what I will be doing from one day to the next. One day I might be helping someone do laundry before their clothes rot. The next, I might be helping to get a mountain of dirty dishes under control or organize a Sunday school classroom so 6 people can live and sleep in there comfortably and not go crazy because all their stuff is sitting in bags and bundles all around the room and they have no space. Another day I might be babysitting so a mother can have time to do her baby’s laundry. I’ve found that ministry has many more faces than I ever realized and that many unlikely things can fall into that category.
I’ve had many feelings this week, personally. It has been very hard to see those I love, those with whom I have spent a lot of time, those who have given to me of themselves, now devastated and homeless. I have struggled with guilt, with feelings of “why my family and not me?” I have come to the conclusion, on that issue, that if God has provided me with a house safe from flooding, it is so that I might be a blessing to others. Huacarpay is without water right now and so a hot shower, a warm bed and breakfast is a ministry in and of itself. Even just the chance to watch a movie and get away from reality for a bit is refreshing, since the reality tends to be all-consuming. It’s the topic of conversation. It’s on the news. It’s right before their eyes. It consumes all their time. It’s inescapable. I have also struggled with feelings of not belonging, of not doing any good. However, God is showing me that I am right where He wants me to be and doing just what He wants me to be doing and I belong because I am with my family. One of my big struggles is learning to accept hospitality from homeless people. In this culture, if you reject food it is a big offense. And if someone is helping you all morning, then it is just natural that you would feed them. However, when you know you have food in your house and someone with no house and living on the donations of others is offering you food, it is humbling to receive it. I am learning to accept hospitality and food without feeling guilty and trying to never go to Huacarpay with empty hands. I have been encouraged by the story of Elijah and the widow. When the widow was willing to make bread for Elijah first, before herself and her son, then God blessed her faith and promised that she would never be without provision. I pray that He would do the same for my family in Huacarpay. I don’t want to come across in a way that makes a superior/inferior divide or offends anyone, yet I do want to be sensitive to the needs of my family.
I have seen and heard many encouraging things this week. Juana told me that her family has renewed desire to be in church and is feeling a stronger bond of unity between themselves and other members of the church. People from the other Mennonite churches have also been coming to help and have been an encouragement to the brothers and sisters of Huacarpay. Those from the church continue to have faith. Just this afternoon I heard someone quote the pastor’s wife as saying, “If this happened, I know that it is because God will bless us so much more in the years to come.” Yes, they are wondering why, but they also know that God has a purpose in all this. I am praying that He would be glorified. It is beautiful to see the people hanging on to God for dear life and not letting go in the face of tragedy, to hear them singing “I Surrender All”, to know that they are reading their Bibles and there finding encouragement. Let it continue! Also, praise God that the rains are holding off for now!
Some specific prayer requests would be:
· Health and safety for all those living and/or working in Huacarpay and Lucre. Water-borne diseases could easily become a problem. Muscle injuries and general bumps and bruises are the main complaints. Colds from extended exposure to the elements and to cold water are also a good possibility. Also protection for people who are going in to crumbling houses trying to locate possessions.
· Provision for the needs of the communities, both in short-term and long-term focuses.
· Emotional, physical and psychological strength for those who are trying to rebuild their lives and be strong for each other. Good sleep and good dreams as well.
· Wisdom to make decisions about where to rebuild and how, etc.
· Increased unity in the church, both now and in the future. That this would not just be something that would bring the church in Huacarpay and the Mennonite churches in general together for a season, but that it would be a catalyst for church unity for years to come.
· That the church would have and take opportunities to be a witness to those around them, that their reputations would be above reproach and that people would truly see a difference in them.
· Wisdom for me personally to know how to be a blessing to all those affected and also how to manage my time. I am teaching English summer school (we began the morning that the flood had happened) in the mornings and going to Huacarpay in the afternoons as much as I possibly can. That God would use me to show His love to my family and to bless them in whatever way I can.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. It is a blessing and a strength for me to know that you are praying and to be able to take that news out to my brothers and sisters in Huacarpay. They are encouraged to know that others from around the world are praying for them, even those who don’t know them. Please continue to pray with us here. I will keep you updated as well as I can, in between teaching and running out to Huacarpay. Blessings to all of you.
Love,
Bethany
