As Many of You Know,
Saturday night, our mountain-side town, Sentani, had torrential downpours resulting in devastating landslides and flooding. The official death toll is at 79 and counting. Much of our town has been destroyed.
Praise God, we are fine, and our house is fine, but countless people have lost family members, and over 4,000 people have lost homes.
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Mud and boulders tore down the mountain, ripping through and burying everything in their path.
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There used to be houses down this strip, but they were wiped out. Jim has many friends who live in this area, as this is where he teaches weekly Bible studies. One friend told of he and his wife seeing their 7-month old baby ripped away in the landslide. Another man, searching for any surviving pigs of his, heard a faint non-pig-like noise, and found the baby's nose and mouth barely sticking out of the ground. They dug her out (which involved using a chain-saw to remove the tree that was on top of her) and the baby miraculously has a clean bill of health! Yes, you read that correctly. ALL glory to God!
Another friend told of the moment she saw the wall of water coming toward her. She said she grabbed her daughter's arm and started walking to higher ground. The water was then raging all around her, but she kept praying "In the name of the Lord, in the name of the Lord," - a simple prayer reflecting her genuine dependence on the One who holds all things - and she said everywhere she stepped it was dry, until finally they reached safety.
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Far too many, though, did not make it.
Since the first wave of flooding and landslides, each subsequent night it has rained all night long, and each night has brought more flash flooding and landslides. There has even been an earthquake thrown in for good measure. Not many people are sleeping very soundly, as you can imagine. And each morning, crews have had to begin all over again clearing roadways of silt, as all the drainage ditches are packed full of mud.
Please take a moment to stop and pray for the people of Sentani. Please pray that the rain would hold off and that the enormous task of clearing the streets and drainage ditches, repairing roads and bridges, and finding more permanent housing for all the displaced would be expedited. Pray for the thousands of refugees to stay healthy in sub-par accommodations. For no disease outbreaks from the flooding, as could easily happen due to the poor sanitation here.
We live in a broken/fallen world. Pray that God's ceaseless love and kindness would be evident and triumphant to those who are hurting. Praise God, we have seen believers working around the clock to provide shelter, food, clean water, and medical care to thousands. Pray that they/we would continue to do so as the months of recovery drag on - that God's love would so evidently shine through us in the midst of such darkness.
In His Grip,
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