HURRICANE RELIEF … NOT OVER YET … WHAT WE DID NOT KNOW WE DID NOT KNOW

2007 08 29
Wednesday Morning
Report from Hal Lesesne

Two days ago, it looked as though things might be coming to a close. The government appears to be doing a good job of supplying food and materials at regular intervals, especially in areas south of the eye of the hurricane (south of the Mahuhual/Bacalar area). This is where we have been focusing most of our efforts. The area south is more densely populated and has a greater overall number of affected areas than the area north of the storm center, which includes most of the Zona Maya.

Yesterday however, we decided to take a trip back through the Zona Maya, through the areas that we visited on day one and then down through a thick stretch of jungle, exiting in the area of Petcacab. Upon arriving in Petcacab, the destruction was apparent. More than 50% of the homes had significant roof damage. There was no power and the one distribution of food ration that each family had received from the government was running out. Their milpas (community farms) had been destroyed and Petcacab's local logging operations, which employs almost the entire town, had been significantly jeopardized.

There are three towns from Petcacab to the main federal highway. Each of them seemed to get progressively worse in terms of housing conditions and food availability. The last town before returning to the highway is Noh-bec, which has more than 700 families and more than 50% of their homes are without roofs. The Samaritan's Purse team has ordered a considerable amount of additional tarps to be flown into the area in the next few days and a church in Merida is building an additional 1000 dispensas (food rations) for us to take and deliver in that area.

We will be going back into those areas today and I will try to update either tonight or tomorrow morning with our progress.

Thanks for your continued prayers for the people of this area and for the Samaritan's Purse team and Sandra's House,

Gracias a Dios, Hal
 

HURRICANE RELIEF IS AS SIMPLE AS TARP … AND WATER

2007 08 26
Sunday
Report from Hal Lesesne

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We started our day early again, heading south to Chetumal for a meeting with the churches who are heading the local effort. Homer Hawthorne, a Southern Baptist missionary in Chetumal has asked one of the churches there to organize the effort, who in turn has enlisted the help of six other local churches in their denomination to help build food packets for distribution.

The meeting gave the Samaritan's Purse staff an opportunity to thank the individuals involved in helping with the creation of food-packets. They then portioned the packets between the six churches for local distribution in their own areas.

After the meeting, the group enlisted the help of the pilots who had joined us here in Carrillo Puerto to fly over the area, survey the damage and try to discover possible pockets of people who may still be unreachable because of distance or road obstructions. The survey didn't turn up any additional areas but they were able to see much of the affected area. It was also very encouraging to fly over the areas where we had previously distributed food, water and tarps, and to see many big blue Samaritan's Purse tarps being used to cover homes damaged in the hurricane.

Yesterday, in Nueva Canan, we helped several other local residents install a tarp over a roof that had been completely removed in the hurricane. Returning by air today, allowed the team to see that six additional tarps had been installed by the residents. As we headed back to Carrillo Puerto this evening, I was reminded by a heavy rain storm of what an impact these simple rolls of plastic and fiberglass can make in someone's life.

Gracias a Dios, Hal
 

HURRICANE RELIEF COMES TO REMOTE VILLAGES IN THE ZONA MAYA

2007 08 25
Saturday
Report from Hal Lesesne

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Joining Sandra’s House Mayan Ministry and Samaritan’s Purse in our work the last two days have been three pilots from UIM International, a Ministry specializing in moving missionaries around Mexico. We traveled to two separate villages two hours west of Chetumal, Mexico to distribute food-packets and drinking water to the residents. The local church in Chetumal had reports that the area had been unserved by government agencies because of the distance from the initial impact of the hurricane.

Today we traveled closer to the actual path of the hurricane, visiting Nuevo Canan, Rio Verde and a small village in between. These villages were located almost three hours west of Bacalar. Our travel was slowed by numerous downed power lines, trees and still flooded roads. Upon arriving in each of the villages the Samaritan's Purse workers assessed the need, calculated the number of tarps and food-packets needed and then distributed them. In two of the villages, we were able to help tarp some of the hardest hit homes.

Samaritan's Purse has also purchased two large plastic cisterns that we fill with purified water each morning and tow into the villages to refill the resident's containers with clean drinking water. Normal delivery of water to the villages has not been reestablished yet because of the downed trees and power lines. So, clean drinking water has become a great need.

Please continue to pray for the Samaritan's Purse team and the churches involved in this relief effort. The days are long and strenuous, starting at 4:30 AM and ending late into the night. We are driving great distances each day, towing almost 1500 liters of water through roads that aren't in very good condition and following a transfer truck that barely fits through the downed trees.

Tomorrow Samaritan's Purse has a meeting with a group of six churches in Chetumal to give food-packets and instructions for distribution to start increasing the involvement of the local Christian believers. They also plan to send the plane out over the path of the hurricane to search for the possibility of remote and difficult to access communities that may not be served by good roads.

In Christ, Hal
 

SANDRA’S HOUSE and SAMARITAN’S PURSE WORK TOGETHER IN THE ZONA MAYA HURRICANE DEAN RELIEF EFFORT

2007 08 24
Friday
Report from Hal Lesesne

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Yesterday the Samaritan’s Purse and Sandra’s House Team were able to distribute bags of one-week food supplies and tarps for roof repair to two villages in the Zona Maya that have been inaccessible to the government relief programs. The trip into the villages was slow going with many downed trees blocking our progress. Following our vehicle was a two axle transfer truck carrying supplies for the distributions. We had to stop repeatedly to remove trees and branches to clear a path large enough for the truck to pass.

We saw a good deal of flooding and many roofs and homes that were damaged, some beyond repair. Many roofs could be covered with tarps until the next season of guano (the palm-like branches that are often used for the thatched roofs in this area) is ready to be cut down. The waters are residing, but these residents still have a lot of work ahead of them to get their homes and lives back to normal.

Please pray for these villages. We have seen many milpas (community farms) that have been completely leveled, losing their entire harvest of corn this year. The impact of these losses may not be felt until months down the road. As it stands right now, it is not clear how people from the US can help specifically, but Samaritan's Purse is working hard to find the needs and to develop a strategy to best serve those un-served in this area.

In Christ, Hal
 

SANDRA’S HOUSE WEATHERS HURRICANE DEAN IN THE ZONA MAYA

2007 08 23
Thursday
Report from Chastity Lesesne

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A team of four men from Samaritan's Purse in Boone, NC arrived at Sandra's House today with hurricane relief supplies. They have joined with two Sandra's House representatives, Miguel Luna and Hal Lesesne as well as two government officials from Felipe Carrillo Puerto to assist in Hurricane Dean relief efforts here in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Their plan is to go into some of the Mayan villages that have not received government assistance or are the hardest to access such as Chan Santa Cruz and Narmanjul Poinente. In those villages, they will distribute food baskets with essentials as well as building supplies. Today will allow everyone a better picture in order to assess what is needed most for other options of service to those hit the hardest by this hurricane.

In Christ, Chas Lesesne
 

2007 08 22
Wednesday
Report From Hal and Chastity Lesesne

Now that we have power on again (as of 10 pm Carrillo Puerto time), I wanted to send a quick email to let everyone know that we have weathered hurricane Dean, are back at home in Carrillo Puerto and things actually look pretty good in this area. We wanted to thank all of our friends and family for their prayers and ask that you continue to pray for those affected by Hurricane Dean, especially those in the small Mayan villages to our south.

There hasn't been any reported loss of life in Mexico from Hurricane Dean as of yet, but the area has been ravaged by rain, flooding, high winds and other effects of this massive storm. In many of the villages we serve, we are hearing reports of homes being lost and extensive damage. In these impoverished communities, it is difficult for the residents to maintain their homes and especially their roofs (usually thatch roofs with stick walls and dirt or concrete floors) to adequately withstand the rain and wind.

The president of Mexico (Felipe Calderon) is scheduled to be in Carrillo Puerto tomorrow to assess the damages and to discuss the needs that are most urgent with the local government.

During the storm, at Sandra's House, we were able to provide shelter for three families, one with very young children. The families were staying in palapa (thatch) roof homes here in Carrillo Puerto and were concerned that they wouldn't withstand the weather. We praise the Lord for this wonderful facility and it's structural strength.

As for the condition of Sandra's House, we have lost several large portions of the palapa roofs, but nothing more than we have seen before in large wind/rain storms and the repairs should be very simple. The courtyard (which many of you know very well) has lost a few trees, plants and limbs, but will only require a little bit of cleanup.

We will try to update again soon as we find out more about damage in our area and let you know what Sandra's House is trying to do to help. We should know more tomorrow after we are able to travel through the affected area south of Sandra's House. We were unable to pass today as the military had shutdown all access until tomorrow. We are planning make the trip then.

The hurricane arrived just as we completed three separate days of marriage conferences in our area with Scott and Tana Andrews. God provided the means for them (and also Lilly Andrews and Amanda Eads) to get out of Mexico ahead of the storm. I know that many of you were praying for their safe return.

Our camera seems to now be on the fritz following the storm - I think it may have happened this morning while loading the car in the rain, but we still managed to get a few pictures. http://hal.lco.net/photos/Dean/index.html

Thanks again for your continued prayers and we are so encouraged by God's faithfulness and also the encouragement of your emails and phone calls.

In Christ, Hal and Chas Lesesne