Bobs Update on his emergency relief in the Philippines: It was a 31 hour trip to our destination. That includes the long bus rides, five hour ferry ride, time spent waiting and packing, and a 12:45a wakeup to depart for the ferry at 1am...after “going to bed” on a concrete floor at 10:15p. We were unable to reach our original destination because a bridge was washed out. The alternate “housing” was at a bible college that had suffered extensive damage. The first night many of us were rained on in our sleep as the water came through the roof. It was a mess! Many of my items are laid out on the floor right now, still drying from then. It was more like a military operation than a mission trip. The first few days it seemed we hardly ate. We’d go 8-10-12 hours between food, and when we ate it was nothing to write home about. How about sardines in tomato sauce with rice for breakfast? The devastation was staggering. We drove for miles and it only seemed to get worse. Many houses/structures leveled, but mostly it was roofs torn off and/or mangled. Debris everywhere, especially close to the water. The people will not have power for months and they are in need of food and water. We estimated that we provided food/water to over 1,000 families. I was working as a medic, cleaning and dressing wounds. In Tacloban, an area of intense devastation, I assisted in carrying out a body that was found in the debris near the water. The other bag contained the body of a child estimated to be about four years old. We were instructed to leave both bags on a street corner for pick up. It’s 8:25 Saturday evening as I begin writing. Returned from the outreach a few hours ago, got some sleep then went out to eat with Jermane. Info on the outreach will be posted on fb. I know that maintaining consistent prayer will be difficult – not to worry. Please pray when you can. And lest I forget – Praise God for his protection over the team and the safe return of us all, without illness, disease or injury!!!
Posted on: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 13:45:16 +0000