Cyclone

Downed wall at our kids' school

The storm is most terrifying at night.  Power has been cut with the first high winds and the moon is hidden by the clouds plunging the town into deep darkness.  The wind is screaming through the tin roofs which bang and knock about like so many doors slamming or cars crashing.  The noise and the darkness are so great that a deep sense of isolation settles on the house.  If houses are being blown away by the wind, or washed away by the waves, would we even know it?  Could their cries be heard in this terrible darkness and who can save them? I keep thinking of the villages on the big island, in deep darkness, the wind and rain deafening their senses, and the sound of people crying in the night.  Who do they cry out to?  Where does their help come from?

Thankfully our experience this week has not been one of devastation and loss, but rather we’ve had the realization of how easily it could have been a major disaster.  Now others have had it much worse than us, like on the big island where winds and rain were much more severe.  During the midst of the storm we received messages from our friends on the big island asking for prayer as whole villages were crying in fear as the cyclone brought about the destruction of houses, trees and property. So we don’t want to undermine what for some islanders was truly disastrous. 

But for the most part, we see God’s mercy on these islands during this time, as we’ve realized that there are many ways in which it could have been so much worse.

The first disturbing realization is that islanders don’t seem to really think it could happen to them and so aren’t very prepared.  Granted, most of the time, thanks to our location, cyclones do not hit the islands or if they do it is only after the storms have been drained of their power.  So islanders tend to hear “cyclone” and think that there will just be more rain than normal that week and that the ocean will be more agitated. This cyclone however chose a rather singular course, a direct b-line for our islands, with nothing to hold it back.  It could have been truly terrible and we tried to ask islanders about it beforehand, but islanders spoke of it blowing over, of it being nothing, and just laughing at the winds.  In fact, it seemed like a macho thing for the young men in our neighborhood to hang out in their normal, rather exposed hangout spot and thumb their noses at the wind and rain throughout the storm.  Of the injuries we have heard about on our island, most of them were related to unwise decisions.  A pair of men were riding a motorcycle in the midst of the storm when a tree fell in their path.  Others were out in the fields when a tree fell on them.  People had been warned to stay inside, but many islanders didn’t think it would be that big of a deal.

Another big fruit tree down

The second disturbing reminder after the cyclone is the ubiquitous poor construction on our island.  As the wind whipped up we watched the tin roofs on houses around us warp and squeal.  Amazingly, most of them stayed put, but we have no doubt that stronger winds would have brought much more destruction.  There was a wall near our house which is a good example of poor construction.  To make a strong cinder block wall you need to have supporting posts running between the cinder blocks every few meters.  The builder of this wall had forgone that rule of thumb, instead allowing several meters between each post. Not surprisingly when the winds came, all his walls fell down (thankfully not on top of anyone).  With no real standards for construction, we wonder how many houses have been built with the same kind of shoddy craftsmanship? 

The third reminder is that most of the people in our town live at or just above sea level.  In our neighborhood in particular there are a number of houses right by the beach.  The ocean storm surge was not great with this storm. If the waves had been greater, what would have happened to them?  I heard a harrowing story from an older man who could remember a cyclone that passed through back in the 80’s.  He said a great wave came and struck the town and pulled dozens of people into the sea.  Yet, as far as I know, there was no move to evacuate those in the most danger.  God is merciful.

Ultimately, we and most of the islands are okay.  There was a good deal of property damage from high winds, but little flooding and few injuries or deaths.  We thank God.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our teammate made it safely back to our island after 4.5 months away! We are very thankful to have her back (especially after the cyclone left her stranded in another country for a couple days). Continue to pray for her transition back. Our other teammate’s brother and father safely arrived for a visit! We’ve heard that our journalist friend was released from custody, but there is no indications that the mistreatment and intimidation of the press will end. Continue to pray. We had a visit from one of the sisters from the little island and were encouraged by her stories of a changed life, living without fear and her vision for her family and village. God is moving.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Even as we thank God that the cyclone didn’t cause more destruction on the islands, we understand that people on the coast of Mozambique are suffering greatly.  They are still recovering from a hurricane that hit the country earlier this year, and now they have been hit again.  May we lift them up and ask for God’s mercy. Our good friend Ma Riziki had part of her tin roof come off in the second day of the storm, but no one realized it until most of their belongings were soaked and ruined. Pray that the islands would be better prepared in the future for natural disasters. The month of fasting will begin in less than a week. This is a month of increased scrutiny and increased opportunities to share. We are hoping to have a time of prayer this week with our island brothers and sisters to talk and pray about what we can do during the month to stay strong, united and encouraged. The language project is hoping to do a consultant check of a translation this week over the internet, pray for a clear connection, good communication and a solid final draft. One of Tom’s friends that he has been studying with regularly is really struggling with what is the ‘truth’, pray for him in this battle and that he would have confirmations (even dreams) that will show him the truth.