Begin forwarded message:
From: Jane boyce <janeboyce@live.com>
Date: January 22, 2018 at 11:33:20 PM AST
To: Jane boyce <janeboyce@live.com>
Subject: Update 2
First, internet is very limited and there is none in the town of Maunabo where we are staying so if you don't hear from me...don't worry! We do have phone service so you can call us...
We are back in San Juan as we picked up Bob & Elsi today. We toured Old Town & El Morro with them & had a delightful dinner on the cobblestone court filling them in on what we'll be doing & catching up on Dexter news.
The last couple days have been so full I don't know where to begin....
We left San Juan on Sunday morning, stopped for some groceries and headed to Maunabo. Easy drive until we got to the mountain. Hurricane Maria wicked winds had knocked down most every utility pole & so many trees and they hung over the road. We tried to hug the inside lane as many areas on the cliff side were washed out...and it was a looooong way down. So many homes were damaged ...or entirely smashed. Trash piles were everywhere. We crept into town just as the church bells were ringing. We found the church we were looking for and slipped in during the first song. Pastor Johanna Gonzales, our contact, waved at us and soon introduced us to the congregation. Clapping and cheering followed. During their greeting time, it seemed half the church came over to welcome us. Johanna asked a young girl to come and translate her sermon in English for us so we were able to hear her message which was the importance of asking God to be our refuge in all times and especially in hard times to show others your faith by our kind acts. She reminded us that if we can trust God in hard times and be His hands during those times, our faith will become stronger. I wholeheartedly agree. I had to think that since my life is so good, perhaps that's why I crave helping others...it's a chance to strengthen my faith and to witness others who have so much faith. After church, we settled into Johanna's home taking over Naomi, her daughter's room. A church member brought rice, beans & pork & several people joined us for dinner. Alice, Johanna's other daughter, speaks perfect English so we learned much about the hurricane, the months of no electricity (just got last week), no clean water, no mail, no phone. The depression that set in deep down looking at all the devastation. They too talked of how neighbors were helping each other...how several volunteer groups came to help and others trucked in supplies. That's what kept them hoping that things would and could get better. Looking around, I was overwhelmed...and I can't imagine what it looked like 4 months ago!
Our first job was to find someone who really needed the solar generator we had brought with us. Johanna closed her eyes, thought for a few minutes and then said, Ruby. Ruby is an 89 year old widow who still did not have electricity. She scurried to open her gate when we arrived and hugged us heartily saying welcome to her home of love, love, love. She offered us cold juice that she had in a cooler. She was so excited to show us her wedding pictures...about 45 years old. After much visiting, we hooked up the solar generator and turned on the light....tears ran down her cheeks and she wrapped her thin arms tightly around me. Alice translated her words: Now I will be able to sleep at night with out fear. She walked us to her gate holding Roger's hand the whole way.
We made a couple more stops as we passed cars and stopped to talk. One carload of new volunteers asked Johanna to direct them to someone with great needs. So she stopped in front of the home of one of her church members and she jumped in the car with them & drove off. We stayed there and visited until she came back about an hour later. Luckily Alice was with us to translate and of course, we were offered cold drinks & snacks. We finally got back to the house around 8:30 & Johanna insisted on cooking a meal. Fried chicken & hot mashed potato salad. We headed to bed but Johanna had to go pick up Naomi from a friend's. It'll be a short night for them as they get up at 5 a.m. to get off to school...a car ride to the next town where they catch a bus to school. The school in town here is poor...Alice said last year for her final English exam, she had to do a crossword puzzle. She wants to be challenged.
Monday morning after we passed out UMCOR supplies & water to 3 people who stopped in, we headed to Ruby's to see if all was well & ask if she'd like help to clear a tree on Wednesday. Then we went to a home where two brothers live in a terrible situation & asked if we could come Thursday to help them. So with plans made, we headed to the airport to get Bob & Elsi, I'm ready to put on my work clothes & boots!
