December 3, 2013

Dear Prayer Team,

 

Ben Horton: Boots in the Mud

People who donate to relief operations such as the ones we are conducting want to know if they are giving to organizations with “boots on the ground” – people who are actually on location where the disaster struck.  Ben Horton and I have Boots in the Mud – of the city of Tacloban.

The powerful storm surge that came with Typhoon Haiyan brought a 10-20 foot wave of salt water far inland.  The salt water mixed with water from the open sewers and canals, and left behind a silmy, odorous ooze. All around was sticky mud.

 

Into the mud of Tacloban walked my friend and fellow ABWE missionary Ben Horton.  When he heard how the typhoon affected our area, Ben began making plans.  He planned ahead for the funds needed to bring relief and planned to drive down with me to Tacloban, Leyte

Ben came prepared for almost anything, and his thoughtful preparation has made it so that we have needed and used almost everything that he brought down with him:  buckets, generator, crowbars, canned food, camping stoves, air mattresses, tool boxes, batteries, and more.

 

God used Ben to be a great encouragement to me, when I was exhausted and overwhelmed.  He was also exhausted and overwhelmed, but we have been able to encourage each other through the difficult times.  When we arrived, it was raining both inside and outside the house, and a waterfall was pouring down the stairway.  Just a few days later, the floors were almost dry, the roof is covered with the tarps that he brought.  We have temporary lights with the generator and other wiring he brought.  I can finally begin to think of how to begin relief and make active steps toward assisting the troubled people around me.

 

Thanks, Ben.  I’ll never forget your Boots in the Mud.

 

Dumped Garbage Answers Prayer

Our Neighborhood: Click For More Pictures

I have been asking people to pray for me about how I can contact others working in relief in Tacloban.  I did not know that garbage would play an important role in my search.

While Ben worked in our yard on repairing a vehicle which we will be using for relief, I went to meet our neighbors.  When I went into the street, I found that someone had dumped a large pile of garbage in the middle of our narrow street.  How would Ben and I get the vehicle out, if the road was blocked?  I wondered how many hours it might take to clear it by hand, and where we would put the garbage when I was through.

In the morning, I looked across the street.  There was a small excavator there, with a United Nations sign on it.  Could they help us?  I talked with the district chairman, who had stayed up until 4 am answering the requests for help, but kindly entertained me.  He did not say yes or no, since the excavator was scheduled to work in his district, and I live in a different district.  At 8 am, 3 workers showed up to begin their day’s work of cleaning the roads.  I asked them if they would be willing to help clean my road, which was just across the street from where they parked.  They hesitated a bit, then said they could help.

I was so grateful to God as I watched the heavy equipment lift the wet, slimy, dirty bags of garbage into the truck.  I could be handling that stuff for hours, without their help.  Then came a bigger surprise:  A man in a blue UN shirt walked up to me.  His name was Faisal.  He said that he was from Banda Aceh.  He had himself experienced a tsunami, and wanted to help people just like others had helped him.  He readily gave me his phone number, and said I was welcome to visit him and talk about how to plan relief efforts.  He also offered the use of the excavator any time we needed.

When your neighbors cover your road with garbage, it may turn out to be an answer to prayer!

Carrying the Light,

Jim and Allene Latzko