Saturday, November 01, 2008

Dear Family and Friends:

Our team is well and energized after last night’s good sleep!

Yesterday we mentioned that we had seen flooding. Today with heavy rains, we have had the chance to experience flooding. The streets of Mae Sot were flooded and impassable this morning when we awoke. Local shopkeepers were sandbagging their establishments. Somchai was trapped on a bridge in his truck and was rescued by local officials in a boat. The news reported that Mae Sot has not seen this type of flooding for almost 40 years and there were reports of some mud slides in local deforested areas.

We called back to the US this morning to keep our support group updated. With the flooding and local sanitary conditions, we are taking precautions to safeguard health and well-being.

Remaining in the hotel, we used the morning to re-evaluate priorities in light of the flood circumstances. We discussed adding a focus on water purification through teaching of water purification techniques and teaching construction of water filtration units. The rain stopped mid-morning and the waters began to recede. Just after noon, we ventured out for some food. Mid-afternoon, Jim and Jerry went out to buy supplies for building a water filtration unit. While the rain started up again in the afternoon, the streets in the immediate area are now mostly clear.

Tonight we celebrated Jerry’s 65th birthday with some birthday cards, a video made by his children and grandchildren, and the team’s off-key singing of Happy Birthday.

Tomorrow we have permission to enter the refugee camp where we will worship together with the refugees and get a sense of how the flooding may have impacted them.

Alex has posted a couple of trip pictures from Mae Sot at the links below:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=10758&l=3ebcf&id=1196427976
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=10670&l=c3fa7&id=1196427976

Our spirits are high. Today gave us the opportunity to reflect on God’s purpose for this mission. The team is doing well and we remain in good hands. We ask you to pray for health and guidance in the coming days.

Working to share His love and protection,

Alex, Jerry, Sylvia, Tom and Jim