Rain, Rain, Go Away!

How do I even begin to summarize all the events that have taken place the past 10 days?  I probably need to start with this amazing verse found in the Psalms, because I have had to cling to it with my everything.

"From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I" (Psalms 61:2).

My heart has been beyond overwhelmed in light of all the difficult trials that have come across our path here at the orphanage.  We are in the heart of the rainy season and it has been one of the worst ones yet.  The rains have brought massive storms, flooding and destruction.

It all seemed to start about a week and a half ago when our truck and 15 passenger van got stuck in the mud and water.  It had rained so much that the rivers breached the banks and flooded our fields, creating a flash flood which began washing away our road.  We were able to pull out the vehicles with Pastor Luis' giant 4x4 truck (nicknamed "Black Beauty").  However, that night seemed to set forth in motion a week of vehicles getting stuck over 15 times, somewhere on our property.

One of those was the Coca Cola truck that delivers our bottled water.  It was as if he had hit quicksand.  His truck quickly sank about 3 feet in the middle of our road.  For the next 3 days, all sorts of trucks, tractors, backhoes, tow trucks, and a slew of people tried to get the massive truck out, but to no avail.

Fortunately, last Friday they were finally able to get the truck out of the road and to safety.  Unfortunately, what suffered the most during this whole ordeal was our poor little road, which is no longer a road.  It is completely destroyed and undriveable.  We now have to park both of our 15 passenger vans out near the main road and walk back and forth to get the kids to and from school, as well as bring supplies in to the orphanage.  Boy, do wheelbarrows come in handy when you’re hauling groceries, propane tanks, bottled water, and other supplies back to the house.

Our new route to walk to the vans.

Coca Cola bought pallets and created a new walking path for the children!

One little ray of hope we received during this time was a new 15 passenger van.  We’ve desperately been in need of another one for our growing family and had been earnestly praying and searching for one.  It’s kind of funny how right in the midst of chaos, the Lord blesses us with a new van.  It reminds me of what Job cried out….

“…the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).

The Lord gave us a new van…and also took away our road.  Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Our new van, Rhonda!

The other major problem that came as a result of the massive rain, involved our septic tank system.  The girls’ side septic tank is now completely destroyed as well.  It all started one night as Jackie, another worker, and myself spent 4 hours cleaning up septic water that had backed up into our building.  There was so much rain and water that it not only flooded our tanks but also lifted one up about 5 feet above ground.  This of course broke other pipes and important pieces, which has now left us operating on a broken system on life support.  Fortunately, somehow (basically by a miracle), the one remaining tank is still functioning a little, which is allowing us to still use the bathrooms, showers, etc.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any water because our main water line busted as well.  During the whole fiasco of trying to get trucks unstuck from our road, one of the back hoes sank and busted the main water line…which is now in the process of being repaired.

So, yes, it has definitely been a rough week and a half.  Yes, we feel beat up and discouraged.  BUT…we are hopeful in our Lord!

"We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8).

There are so many other stories to share, prayer requests, and needs.  Please continue to follow along our adventure via the blog and especially Facebook.  Thank you so much to you all for your kind words, and especially for your prayers.  They are definitely felt and needed.  It’s amazing to see the continual support we have from people all over the world!

Many of you have asked specifically of how you might be able to help aside from praying.  All of these challenges have brought up a number of unexpected expenses.  If you would like to donate specifically for the repairs that are being done OR needed to be done, you can do so through our website, www.thehouseofblessing.org or mail a check, made out to HOB, to the following address, 1902 South Meridian Puyallup WA 98371.

Thanks so much...talk with you soon!