What a week...

by Paul , Sunday, August 16, 2026, 19:43 (2 hours, 6 minutes ago) @ Paul

What a week. Parts of the city resemble a war zone. You can't go from point A to point B without visiting most of the rest of the alphabet, or so it seems at times. The death count so far is surprisingly low considering the damage to buildings and such. After distributing some basic groceries to families in need over a couple of days we were able to turn our attention to the damage done to the church building when a neighboring building dropped part of its poorly built third floor on us. Thankfully with the help of several members and friends we were able to get the debris removed and yesterday we were able to get new tiles installed on the roof. We had to remove computer/sound equipment/etc due to possible looting on Tuesday. Not sure when we'll be able to get that set back up. Today we gathered with folks who live reasonably close for a time of fellowship and encouragement. We used my cell phone to do a "Facebook Live" for folks living further away. What a joy to see each other and to have a chance to interact in person, hear each person's story if they wanted to share it and to ask for information on needs still needing to be met.

Thank you all for your prayers on our behalf and to those who have given to help meet needs here. The attached photo is of one of the last batches of groceries we delivered, motorcycle being the only transportation we had available. One one of the last trips was outside of town to a family that had their house severely damaged. Sheri found herself in a place she didn´t feel technically capable of maneuvering, but I'd gone on around the bend. She didn't show up and I as afraid she'd gone down. Thankfully she had the good sense to stop and wait for me to return. I was able to park my bike and take her's down to a flat spot and she was OK from there. It was a relief to find a better road back out of the area.