October 8th, 2017

Somewhere in Nicaragua

I’m gonna break this report down today into a few sections. Since there is so much going on here with all of the clean up and relief efforts by many people all over.

Like Marvin here, making special dedicated time on his day off from work to help out and bring water to many areas in need.

Oops, haha precious water, you can spill the beans, but save that water!

See that HUGE water carrying hauler & tractor.. that’s what was being used to help deliver tons of water to a lot of local people today.

What happened: the floods contaminated the wells, so now they cannot be drank from. Soooo deliver clean water!

Parker and Marvin and many others out there today were working their butts off, and we want to also say a huge thanks to all the poeple of Hacienda Iguana, the HOA and Grace for all the added help as well!!!

So part two if my little report today. I was heading back from being in Managua since Friday. Let me just say that going there just a couple of days ago versus when I was heading back today, was incredible. So many Gigantic trees like this had fallen due to all the soaked land, many of them fell on completely across the roads making them almost impassable.

The stuff I saw heading there was devastating (I wish I had pictures of my way into town), but here’s what it looked like a couple days after.

Everyone was jumping in to help, whether it was fallen down tress, toppling power lines, trees falling on homes, or this one which was a doozie… this HUGE sink hole that took out almost the entire width of the road. This is right before you get to Maxi Pali on the Northern end of the road heading south towards SJDS.

Which is where I was headed to help Parker stock up on some supplies that they were going to be distributing to all of the families in dire need of food amongst many other things.

I am amazed at how quickly they got the power back up here. If you could have seen how many of these I passed on my way to Managua on Friday, you would have thought there is no way they could have gotten the power back up the very next day. But they did!

There was an armada of these things called into action the entire weekend.

Mud and land slides, fallen debris, homes being completely washed away.

The land everywhere doesn’t even look the same. It’s pretty shocking to see so much damage, I can’t image what Puerto Rico looks like (in person), this was a Tropical Storm.

So much water came through here. The water was going over this bridge and then some.

This is not a pond, or a lake, this is all that water that is stuck just on the north side of the entrance to Hacienda Iguana. Looks like Lake Nicaragua.

So, right when I got back today, I needed to help get some things to the right people and this was one of the places. This was our local donation and make shift relief center. The Community Palapa.

I couldn’t believe how much stuff was donated and delivered over the weekend.

Most of the things you don’t see here had already been taken out, as people were making rounds to surrounding communities all day.

Not only is food and water a major thing needed, but many people lost everything, only leaving them with the clothes they had on when this all took place.

One of the MANY trips taking items to those in need today.

So clothes, bedding stuff, blankets, pillows. etc. If you can think of any household item that you might take for granted on any given day, this is what all of these are in desperate need of!

Just one small group shot of all the many many people out there helping this weekend! Thank you everyone for all of your efforts and help. What a wonderful way to help give back to the community who so badly needs it right now. My phone has been going non-stop with all the talk and chatter with how everyone has been organizing such amazing relief efforts!

Not your typical day at the Beach Club. The land, sand and structure have all changed so dramatically, I’m not sure if or how long it will take to get this place back to how it used to be? So much sand is gone!

I was certainly not expecting to see anyone out surfing. But low and behold, there were actually about 6 or 7 guys out.

Crazy how mother nature works. That’s all sand in the middle of the frame. Just a couple of days ago, this place was a raging river out to sea. None of that sand was there, as a matter a fact, this river that formed from the flash flood was more than likely about 10 feet below, and now look at how much sand is back there. This was due to all the big surf and giant high swinging tides which brought the sand back up the rivermouth.

All things considered, it was good to see some people who paid to have a little surf getaway vacation getting to enjoy what they came here for!

Another look at the erosion from the surf, rain, and winds.

I have to say… I’ve seen the double hand stall in the barrel here far more times than I’ve ever seen a double hand grab bottom turn! Unique!

See, I knew these guys were here on vacation. I didn’t expect to see any local people out surfing, since everyone (who’s here right now) is out cleaning this place up. These guys were stoked to be able to get some surf in, I can only imagine, after what we just had blow through here.

The water’s still a little funky. I’d maybe take a shower in rubbing alcohol, amigo. Other than that, I think you’re be just fine!

So, there are a lot of people on social media who have been expressing greatly how they could help yet being so far away. This is one of the many GoFund me’s that was set up. You can click on the link here:www.gofundme.com/n2674c-nicaragua-emergency-flood-reliefTropical Storm Nate hit Nicaragua on the evening on October 4th and by the early morning of October 5th, mass flooding and devastation had ensued. The rains kept up until Saturday afternoon, keeping the rivers high and access to many areas impossible. The area where we work and live, Tola, was impacted heavily by the rains and flash flooding. Hundreds of people lost homes and all of their belongings. Power has been out for over 72 hours now and the wells are contaminated, which means people have no drinking water or a way to bathe. Martita, the nurse who runs our ultrasound program, lost everything in her home when the river rose and swept through – she and her family barely made it out alive. My daughter, Sarah, and her family evacuated by walking in waist-deep rushing waters to high ground. People are sleeping in the streets, in the schools, in family members’ homes, with no food, no water, no clothes. This is Phase One of our efforts. Because shipping items takes so much time and money, at this point we are collecting funds in order to buy items in Nicaragua to distribute. Needed items are purified water, basic hygiene kits, buckets and barrels to hold clean water, food, sheets and clothing. 100% of your donations to Missions of Grace will go to your designated cause. Stay tuned at our FaceBook page @MissionsofGrace Our website is  www.missionsofgrace.org This situation is dire – lives need saving – please share this and give NOW!

Here’s to looking to the future of things here! It’s looking UP! We all have a long way to go to help rebuild this place and get the local people back on their feet, but we’re headed in the right direction. Thanks to EVERYONE here (and afar) who are helping. The outreach has been beyond amazing!! Kudos to you all!! Muchisimas gracias ~