Hurricane Mitch came upon us with no advance warning whatsoever.
No one
could have imagined what was going to happen in Central America the
first few days after the hurricane reached category five status.
Solid
rain all day is not normal for Nicaragua or Honduras, but occasionally
does happen. But as weather reports came in and Mitch began hovering
at
a 7 km per hour forward speed, the cumulative effects started, slowly,
to be overwhelm us. Rivers threatened to spill over their banks,
lower
areas began to turn into swamps. The poorer people's inadequate housing
caused them horrendous discomfort; they began surffering from colds
and
fevors brought on by winds and rain.
By the third day the magnitude of the disaster was beginning to dawn
on everyone. Here in Managua, on the less-damaging backside of
the
storm,
we were always a day or two behind what was happening in the mountains.
But when we watched the news in the evenings, what was happening seemed
more like an extreme monsoon season in Bangladesh than the end
of the
usual rainy season in Nicaragua’s towns of Jinotega, Esteli or
Somotillo.
As massive flooding swept away villages and towns, as bridges collapsed,
thousands fled to higher ground. A national disaster had overtaken
us.
Still, the international news media weren’t reporting too much about
the
damage. Then the
sides of the Casitas Volcano caved in after the extinguished cone filled
with water. Mud slides wipeout out whole villages. There was no higher
ground to escape from the torrents of mud, water, and rocks. The press
began publishing body counts and photos of half buried bodies,
of
exposed limbs above the debris, and stories of victims screaming while
trapped below the mud.
Yesterday, while volcanologists were studying Casitas, they noticed
something unusual about another of the 14 volcanos that stretch . This
second peak now
appears to actually be posed for a possible eruption--not with water,
but with magma and sulpher. This would be an almost unimaginable
complication in the middle of the emergency relief efforts in Mitch’s
aftermath. The press today reported earthquake tremors in the
country’s
northwest, near Chinandega. After the severe shake of two weeks
ago,
whose the epicenter was 8 miles from our orphanage near Maangua, it's
hard not to take every report with a bit more trepidation then the
one
before it.
It’s still raining. Lake Managua, which normally recieves 45
milimeters of rain during October, has received over 600 in one week's
time.
This still doesn't compare to the downpour in the mountains.
Dams have
burst, others are very close to giving out. Rivers have changed courses
and ripped through major
Highways, cutting of the way for relief workers and supplies. The entire
countryside north of Managua is inaccessible by land. Over 20
bridges
Were destroyed; 30 more are seriously damaged; 25 need repair.
Over
1100 miles of paved road have been ruined. Even more miles of
all-weather dirt roads are gone, washed away by flood waters that have
cut off tens of thousands of people from immediate disaster help.
The immediate need is food and clothing. Some people caught in
the
floods were literally stripped naked by the currents. Others
climbed
trees and spent days in them to avoid the floods. A few lost
their
lives when they fell asleep while seeking shelter in the treetops.
The
water rose well above roof tops in the hardest hit areas. Where it
was
only waist deep ,many were reluctant to leave their meager possessions
to the vagaries of weather or looters.
The greatest danger now is the disease that could surface and spread.
Cholera, dengue, serious diarrhea, the devasting effects of a virulent
flu strain, internal and external parasites tend to flourish in the
wake
of natural disasters in the Third World. Dangerous tropical skin
infections resulting from long exposure to moisture are an imminent
threat…well, the list is long.
OK, now for the bright side. Humanitarian response leaves me humbled,
awestruck, like "a man with unclean lips". Our church took a
last
minute Sunday offering for clothing, medicine and money. The
brethren
gave over two thousand
cordobas ($200, not a great amount, but considering the lateness of
the
moment and mid-storm conditions, it was good), over 40 large sacks
of
clothing and medicine. We took it
to a local TV station that had initiated an18 hour a day marathon
coverage of the disaster and relief efforts. When we brought what we
had
collected to the station’s donation collection point Verbo Church got
a
30-second spot. The publicity, of course, is not the point.
What was
touching was to watch on TV as thousand of primarily poor people combed
their pantries and dressers to bring in bundles to help those less
fortunate. The TV was aiming for total donations of two million
cordobas and whatever clothing would come in. From a trickle
on the
first day, the piles of bags of clothing grew and grew and grew. At
last
count the the people had given almost five million cordobas.
This
nation that has had a terrible reputation--many times undeserved--for
its hand held out
to receive showed a response that would make the citizen of any country
feel proud. This is the true Nicaraguan temperament that has
been
struggling to manifest itself through so many years of political unrest
and poverty.
International aid has also begun to arrive from the Americas, Spain,
and
other nations. Damage estimates are running far above those of the
1972
earthquake that leveled downtown Managua. However, about what will
happen next... that’s a coin toss. Please pray that graft and
speculation don't get a foothold on relief efforts. Pray that all aid
funds will be well managed.
Now, about us: The big question is what would the Lord have us do? After
working for almost four years in a disaster housing project in Guatemala
I clearly learned thatfools rush in where angels fear to tread. Let's
make sure God is glorified in whatever we do. Let’s try to meet some
real long-term need of people whose lives have been washed from under
them by this flood. I'm praying. People seem to want to seriously
volunteer their help. I know I want to seriously help.
But I'm begging
God for guidance. The Verbo Church in Managua is helping our
physicians
go to Tipitapa over the weekend. This is a small town situated
on the
narrow plain between Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua and a very bad
place in which to live during flood conditions. A few days ago we took
clothing to a refugee site for people who had been evacuated from the
edges of Lake Managua (the waters of which have encroached about 150
in
from the normal wet season shoreline).
I'm waiting on the Lord-- if crazy, hectic work days can be construed as
"waiting"--to see what God wants us to do. Some possibilities
are to
provide health care, food distribution programs, or, later on, housing
and development projects. We’re considering the possibility of
focusing
on one or two villages with the idea of helping the people achieve
material and spiritual restoration (that's the proper word, isn't it?).
Meanwhile, we're working on the "El Buen Samaritano hospital project."
Recently we broke ground on a boy's dorm on our training farm and
orphanage grounds outside Managua. We’re preparing 293 meals a day
just
the kids in our orphanages. We also started a second church in Managua
that’s already outgrown its meeting room, so we’re looking for another
place. Now, as God wills, we’re getting involved in helping the victims
of Hurricane Mitch.
Thanks for your prayers! God loves Nicaragua. Pray for Honduras,
I
spoke
with the leadership of our church in San Pedro Sula and they say their
country's situation might be worse than ours here in Nicaragua.
MAY GOD BE LIFTED UP IN THIS
Yours in Jesus,
Bob Trolese
If you'd like to help us reach out to the Nicaraguan flood disaster
victims, you can send immediate help through on online donation at
our
website: www.verbo.org Or please contact:
James Jankowiak - International
Missions Director of Verbo
Ministries
at Tel: (561) 790-7129
or e-mail jamesjan@bellsouth.net
or P.O. 17807
West Palm Beach FL, 33416-7807