It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...

No really, it was! On Wednesday, January 12^th, 2011 a tropical depression within Vanuatu developed into a category 1 hurricane. Just missing the main island of Efate (where we live), the storm focused its fury on the islands of Erromango and Tanna, just south of Efate.

Looking out my window in the middle of the night, I saw the gail-force winds twisting and blowing the trees with a big gust to the East, then a stronger gust to the West. All throughout the night the wind wreaked havoc on the shrubs, trees and houses. Sheetmetal pieces on many local houses that were not nailed down (and even some that were) were sent flying through the surprisingly cool night air. I was left wondering if we were going to lose power during the night, but we never did.

Surveying the wreckage in the morning, our yard, trees and house fared pretty well. Out in the street, there were leaves and branches strewn everywhere. Several large limbs had fallen throughout the night and even in the morning the winds were still strong, but had decreased intensity.

15 minutes outside of Port Vila, in the village of Etas the church is experiencing troubled times. In the process of constructing a permanent church building to minister to the village and reach out to lost souls, the hurricane all but destroyed the basic structure the Christians had built.

The basic structure had the wooden timber walls and roof in place. Because the finished walls needed to be supported and finished inside and out, the structure itself was not yet usable. Christians in Etas hoped 2011 was the year they would complete their building and have a permanent place to meet. In fact, they had used all existing funds on hand to purchase the supplies to build the newly demolished structure. Now, the Christians will have to make plans for the future, which will probably not include rebuilding. Please pray for the church in Etas.

Damage to the outer islands and villages are yet to be reported. Still, many people have heard that cell phone towers, houses and gardens have all been knocked down by the storm. Winds were said to be strong enough to either batter down or uproot most of the crops on Tanna. Unable to reach Christians there, I cannot give an accurate report of the situation. I do know that the biggest difficulty will not arise in the days after the storm since people will go to their gardens and harvest any fallen fruits and crops, but in the next month or so when the demolished gardens are deplete of food. Granted, many will toil in rebuilding their houses, but their greatest concern will be for the gardens as that is the main source of food for many.

On another note, our family is blessed to weather the storm here in Vila. Had we moved to Tanna already, we may have decided that facing a hurricane in a village was not for us. However, our hearts go out to those who did face the hurricane in those conditions and we recognize our blessings in surviving the storm.

Until next time…