Thank you all for your prayers and concerns as hurricane Eta made landfall in Honduras last week. It was a wild experience, but God is good! The hospital was spared any major damage, as well as the new land that is currently being fenced for the expansion project and family houses. Lots of new leaks in the roofs, but with buckets and towels we averted substantial damage. Our road up the mountain however did suffer major damage with numerous landslides and large sections of the road completely taken by the river. The bridge just a few minutes past the hospital was compromised as well. The river became so big that it took a huge portion of the land at the end of the bridge, and the bridge now connects to NOTHING, just sort of standing out there in the air. When the waters receded the river diverted to the new side and it is DRY under the bridge!
The villages beyond the bridge are cut off from the rest of us with their only way out being a walk through the deep river and then another walk through the creek close to the hospital that became its own river. Big machines have been working on our road and just this week we were finally able to make it into the city to connect to the internet. The rising creek waters went right to the edge of our new property, but it was as if angels were there holding the perimeter wall and we didn’t lose a single foot of land even though other places were eaten up by the river! Our construction crew spent a few days cleaning up this week and are now beginning work on a new section of fence. We are moving onward and thanking God for his hand of protection on the three of us, the hospital, and the expansion project!
We have been able to see patients, attend emergencies, and even host those coming up to help our people after the storm. The hospital has been a great landing place for them to stop and distribute food, rest and have a cup of coffee as they repair the electrical and phone lines and get the road opened up again. We are now hosting the work crew that is repairing the river and bridge, they will be with us for the next 3-4 weeks, we have fed the electrical engineers and crew as they made plans and repairs, Wednesday the Red Cross showed up and we took them for tours of the damage, and on Tuesday a group of restaurant owners from La Ceiba showed up with hundreds of ready made plates of food, supplies, clothes, diapers and bottled water! We were able to quickly set up tables and organize the give away. Today, those same restaurant owners are bringing bags of provisions to bless those in need from the village of Los Limpios and other outlying villages. Tomorrow they will ford the river to bring food and supplies all the way to the villages at the end of our long dirt road. It’s been a good week watching people come together to help our communities, get roads opened again and help those in need.
In the midst of the deluge of rain and wind, Tabby and I were buried in accounting, reports and deadlines! Martin would crank the generator to keep our computers charged and give us light to work late at night. No lights, phones, internet, or running water, but we worked! Today we have set up camp in a hotel room in La Ceiba with all of the files, papers and receipts and are clicking away trying to meet tomorrow’s deadline. Martin will drive back to the city to pick us up tomorrow afternoon. Other areas of the country were hit much harder and we are just now seeing pictures of the devastation. Our hearts are overwhelmed! We are also overwhelmed with thankfulness to God for his protection of our area!
On November 9th we celebrated 13 years since we opened the Jungle Hospital. God is faithful and the best is yet to come!