ST. LUCIA – Our two WMI water purification systems are now in St. Lucia and out of customs. The first system is in place and will begin pumping clean water tomorrow morning. It is in a town named Canaries (pronounced “Cannereez”) with a population of more than 2,000 people.

The town has been without water since Hurricane Tomas came through. Since then the townsfolk have been drinking from streams and rivers and setting up makeshift water spouts out of bamboo tapping into the mountainside.

OBI was asked to target Canaries because the government has no idea when they will be able to restore water to the area; the damage to the pipe infrastructure was massive. Our water system will be a lifeline. Tonight, as we were setting it up, members of the community were clapping with excitement.

Yesterday I attended a local press conference and was asked to explain how our water systems worked. I also gave a demonstration of the puritabs and water test kits OBI donated.

Our second water unit is destined for a community on the south side of the island and will arrive there tomorrow.

Fortunately Tomas tracked to the west enough to barely sweep the coastline and, other than some significant flooding in coastal towns, a catastrophe was averted. But in the midst of the attention Haiti received over Hurricane Tomas, 800 miles to the east, the island of St. Lucia was quietly suffering an emergency on a national scale.

When Tomas made landfall over St. Lucia as a category 2 hurricane it was moving very slowly. For 24 hours heavy rains and winds lashed the mountainous island in a storm that has been called the worst in 180 years.

The torrential rains cascaded down the steep valleys and many flash floods and landslides invaded towns taking out homes, roads, power lines, water pipes and people. To date, 14 people have been confirmed killed by the storm and seven more are still missing.

Operation Blessing was invited by the premier of the Cayman Islands, McKeeva Bush, to join a Cayman government delegation on a relief flight and damage assessment in St. Lucia. When Hurricane Ivan pummeled the Cayman Islands in 2004, Operation Blessing was instrumental in providing emergency relief supplies; so the Cayman government has recognized our ability to respond quickly and effectively to disasters.

The reports from St. Lucia suggested that water was a critical need, so Operation Blessing began to mobilize two emergency water purification units (like the 35 units we have deployed in Haiti). Each water plant has an output capacity of 600 gallons per hour and is able to turn horrible muddy water into crystal clear, safe, drinking water.

When Operation Blessing’s president, Bill Horan, and I arrived in St. Lucia with the Cayman delegation we were met by St. Lucia government officials and taken by light aircraft to see some of the devastation from the air. We were shocked to see entire mountainsides stripped of their rainforest and now bearing nothing more than red mud. Below, towns had literally been swept away by an avalanche of mud and debris.

On the ground we saw where roads and bridges had not just crumbled but had literally disappeared. In one spot we were shown a primary school that was now surrounded by acres of mud and logs. With so much damage to infrastructure it was clear that the island was in a crisis. As we had heard, the most serious need on the island is definitely water.

Thanks to a growing tourism based economy, St. Lucia had been able to develop its infrastructure to where most parts of the country were connected to piped water. But at the heart of the island’s water system is a dam and the control room for the dam along with many of the water pipes were completely wiped out by mudslides.

For the last two weeks the entire nation has been cut off from a supply of water and the people have been rationing water from plastic roof tanks and cisterns. But now even that water is running out, and the situation has been growing more desperate by the day. As the government races to repair at least some of the water system, the people have been taking matters into their own hands in order to survive. Some islanders have been illegally collecting river water and selling it from tanks in the back of pickup trucks. We even heard reports of fights breaking out over buckets of water and many people are looking for water from springs and streams.

I stopped on the side of a mountain road to talk to villagers who were collecting water running out of cracks in the side of the mountain. They had shoved pieces of bamboo under the water to create spouts and were collecting water in buckets.

“I have to do this every day so my family can have water to drink,” said one of the villagers. They said that so far no one has gotten sick from that water source, but I had been told by members of the ministry of health that in some places people have been drinking from streams and rivers that are apparently contaminated and have gotten very ill from the water.

As we continued along the mountain road we saw more and more people collecting water from the hastily set up bamboo spouts, it was as though the clock had been turned back hundreds of years. We take for granted how easy it is for us to get clean water, especially if we have it piped to our house. But when those pipes break, the only way to get water is from natural sources.

The problem now is that many natural water sources in St. Lucia have been contaminated from so much flooding. There is no bottled drinking water available to purchase on the island; even my hotel is asking that we do everything we can to conserve water. Restaurants are closing because there isn’t any water to clean the food or dishes, and the overall drop in hygiene due to a lack of water is creating more sickness.

As we got a clearer picture of just how serious the water crisis is on the island it made our water purification systems even more vital. Working with the Ministry of Health and the National Water Company, we have located two large coastal fishing communities who are in dire need of drinking water. Our two water units are already en route and will be placed at strategic points in the communities to provide safe water for more than 4,000 people.

As we visited the communities most in need of water the director of the Office of Environmental Health told me of some shelters where displaced families are living and in need of food and hygiene supplies. I was also introduced to a German man who has been living in St. Lucia for two years, Sven Homscheid. He works for a German renewable energy group and he was personally motivated to raise some funds amongst his friends and colleagues for these displaced families.

Some members of the Office of Environmental Health took us to a huge supermarket in the capital city, Castries, and we set to work gathering essential hygiene supplies and food to take to shelters in the hardest hit areas. Operation Blessing was able to purchase around 1,000 pounds of supplies including fresh vegetables, canned goods, rice, pasta, eggs, milk powder, dried fish, diapers, soap, disinfectant, toothbrushes, pain killers and oral rehydration salts. We had a long line of shopping carts and packed the goods into a convoy of SUVs.

The roads to reach these shelters were perilous, twisty, winding mountain roads with sections that had collapsed. In some places we had to carefully ease around sheer drops of hundreds of feet. All along the way we passed scarred mountainsides where a slew of mud and wood had covered the road.

It has only been in the last couple of days that engineers have been able to clear the road to where cars can get in and out, and large trucks are still forbidden. In the valleys there were rivers that would be 20 feet wide on a normal day, but we could see where they had flooded to span 100 feet or more and washed thousands of trees out to sea.

We arrived to an abandoned town called Fort St. Jacques. It had been inundated with flash floods, and eight people had been killed. Most of the homes were destroyed. A few residents were combing the wreckage looking for belongings; they still seemed shocked by what had happened.

One man I spoke to asked me if I thought he could ever stay in his house again. He pointed to it half submerged in mud and covered in cracks. The government had told him and all the residents to evacuate the area as the mountains above were still unstable. I didn’t know what to tell the man other than apologize and say that if it were me I wouldn’t risk living there.

Just a few hundred yards away there was a concrete slab sticking out of the mud which had at one point been the first floor of a home. A few flowers had been placed with a single white shoe—a mother and her two children had died there.

I walked over to a church that had been filled with mud and debris, in some places up to six feet deep. You could still see the pulpit sticking up out of the mud. The smell of death was thick in the air as there were many farm animals stuck in the wreckage. An iron bridge was lying up against a house tangled with huge trees and debris, it must weigh close to 50 tons and here it was swept down the mountain like driftwood—a very clear indication of just how powerful these flash floods were.

As I headed out of the community I was in sticky mud up to my waist, one local guy in our group had his shoes sucked right off his feet in about three feet of mud. As I was leaving, a friendly dog kept jumping up wanting to play; as I stroked him two guys said that his owner was the last body they had pulled out of the mud.

Not too far away was the church where around 250 of the displaced people had taken shelter and have been living since the hurricane. The church was filled with any belongings that they had been able to salvage and the smell of mold was heavy in the air as so many things had gotten wet.

Church pews had been tuned into beds and it was full of children playing and elderly sitting, waiting for word on what will happen to them from here. The government is still formulating a plan to relocate the families, in the meantime they are without income and reliant on external support.

The supplies we bought were very welcome as their food supply had been running low. Many of the community members gripped my hand to say thank you and I stopped to talk to as many of them as I could to hear their stories. One very elderly woman named Bernadette described a “river” running through her bedroom taking all of her things with it. From her story and her frail condition it seemed she was fortunate to be alive.

The food that Operation Blessing provided will be a huge blessing to these victims of the storm; they have lost almost everything. Now our focus is turned to installing the water purification systems which are due to arrive by airfreight within 48 hours.

St. Lucia is a beautiful island and a hotspot for tourism; I think that has left many with the impression that things might not be all that bad for the people here. But after seeing the devastation first hand I’m surprised that more wasn’t reported on the aftermath of Hurricane Tomas on the island.

Now, with water supplies dwindling, the crisis is threatening to become worse. Thanks to the goodwill of the Cayman Islands reaching out to their neighbor island in distress, OB has been able to position ourselves to support St. Lucia with vital relief supplies and safe water.

Today at Colleen’s house, we finished all of the exterior tasks. We finished painting the trim and touching up paint at the house. We finished all the yard work, including the back path leading from the house to the back yard made out of stone. We also spray painted the chain link fence.

 We also went through their belongings that were left over from the hurricane and cleaned them off to make them presentable for opening day.

 All in all we just fine-tuned what we had been working on all week long. It was a successful and a rewarding work day.

Today was a day of coming together. The walls were primed and painted, the house cleaned. This home is now looking very much like a home- and I can’t wait for Colleen and her family to arrive.

 Our design team had lunch with Colleen this afternoon. They fell in love with her and keep assuring us that we will too. She has no idea what we are doing.

 The designers were out all day shopping for the rooms. From what I’ve heard one of Colleen’s daughters wants to be an oceanographer- so the team is trying to put together a colorful assortment of fish for her room.

 The other daughter is involved with the flag team at her high school, and she has a son as well.

 The team worked so fast today; I’m astonished. All we have left is carpet and furniture, and then with the personal touches, this house will be ready to be revealed!

 Just a few more days….

I am going to be completely honest with you.

I woke up this morning at 6 a.m. and the last thing I wanted to do was go work. I am sick of the smell of mold and everything else. I don’t like being in a hot room with other sweaty people.

Sorry – it just doesn’t sound so great when I’m up and the sun’s not (but at least breakfast was delicious).

I got into the van and everyone else seemed so cheerful and thankful to go gut another house, so I ignored them by taking a nap.

We finally arrived at the house, and by the way it looked on the outside, I knew it was going to be interesting. Sure enough, as soon as we walked into the garage, spiders and other insects were everywhere.

And as soon as we walked in, there was a spider bigger than I have ever seen before, and I hate spiders. I thought to myself, if this spider is just chillin’ in the open, I don’t even want to see what’s behind the walls.

So I went into this job with a horrible attitude. I mean this lady lost everything she had or had ever known. She had 3 daughters and her husband works countless hours at a factory to support their family.

They needed help and I was refusing to give it to them? I mean, I couldn’t look past some insects and give people a hand? Has my heart become so hard and out of alignment with the will of God?

The answer is yes. I got so wrapped up in my world and my righteousness that I forgot the needs of others. And when God revealed that to me and I decided to love, everything else didn’t matter. Actually I forgot about it…weird.

Yesterday we made a huge dent in our workload by completing all the drywall and getting half of the mudding and taping done. Everyone was in bed early last night for the extended workday we had today.

The morning began as usual: breakfast, van ride, task assignments meeting. Although we have made significant transformations in the past two days, we still have so much to do. The yards are clear of all gutted materials and sea debris. The doors are hung. The furniture is purchased; but the rooms are not yet rooms, only white un-sanded walls. The fixtures and switches are not yet fixtures and switches, only blue wiry boxes.

We are moving quickly, and efficiently. The mudding is being finished as I type (I should get in there to help!) as is the sanding. I can see a cloud of dust pooling out the windows and doors into the night sky.

This afternoon both the front and back yards were fully landscaped. Potted plants now line the house, along with flowers and trees. Tomorrow the sod should be coming, and when it does this home will stand out like a single blooming tree against a forest of winter skeletons.

Transformation really is a beautiful thing.

I feel as though I have learned a lot about creating and creation from this week. I love creating, making things with my hands from scratch, using all kinds of different materials and mediums to make art. But what I’ve seen here in Beaumont is creation by restoration. We are not building from scratch; we are taking what’s left over after death and destruction have had their way and making something new-a home.

There seems to be far more power in turning around something meant for devastation verses just something new. This is an aspect of God that I am learning more and more about; not only is He a creator, but He also is the mender of His creation.

Seeing this restoration right before my eyes in the physical world gives me confidence that He might do the same in my soul, in places slightly less viewable.

He is constantly renewing, recovering, and restoring to make all things new. Tonight as I sit here all I have to say is thank you. Thank you for letting me be a part of the creation of something that will re-establish life for an entire family.

 What a strange thing it is to wake up and have a new taste in your mouth. I wonder if, after living through something like the loss of all your furniture, your family photos, your clothes, your silverware and good china and car and neighborhood, if salt tastes the same.

Or if that salt would remind you of the sea, of the wind and waves that washed your life away.

I am wondering if Texas can ever look at the ocean the same way again.

The team and I are working on Colleen’s home. We haven’t met her or her family yet, but we know what her house looks like on the inside, and that is quite an intimate thing given that most people probably haven’t even seen the inside of their best friends’ medicine cabinet.

We don’t know Colleen, but we do know her house and material things mean more when you’ve built a house. In this case, that makes the loss of Colleen’s things all the more tragic.

I know that we cannot give her back what she no longer has. But I do have hope that these new things will replace something inside her- not because they are new, but because her home and all the things in it have been brought together piece by piece by a group of people who think she and her family are worth something, and that what they’ve gone through and lost mean something.

May we bathe your home in prayer and peace and hope- that you and your family may start anew with strings of pearls in your hands, and celebration in your hearts.

OAK ISLAND, Texas – We went to Oak Island on Saturday after hearing that there were several hundred familes in a Vietnamese fishing community that had not received hardly any help.

Oak Island is about an hour from Bridge City in the middle of nowhere. The community is a mix of Vietnamese, American and Hispanic, and the majority of the Vietnamese are hardworking shrimpers, oystermen and fishermen. They said about 500 families lost everything and after seeing the area, I totally believe that.

The area is incredibly devastated. In many places, nothing but the foundations of homes remained with American and Texas flags blowing in the breeze. It never ceases to amaze me to see the deep sense of resilence, patriotism and American pride that rises up in the hearts of these devastated residents in the face of such pain and loss.

We drove down “Main St.” and saw a home that was obliterated. Nailed to the side of what was left of the home was a piece of plywood with the homeowner’s name and address in red spray paint along with a message saying, “If your mom is not buried here, stay out!” What looks like rubble to others is everything to these residents. It is all they have left.

The trees were littered with clothes, closet doors, teddy bears and other personal belongings. Fishing boats were still in trees and beached in areas far from their natural habitat.

Oak Island Baptist Church received 8 feet of water in their church, so they took their pews out and set them on a slab of concerte outside where they have church services. A beverage company donated a tent that serves as their sanctuary and their new disaster store (point of distribution) for the residents.

As I talked with the pastor’s wife, Cindy, she pointed out a Vietanmese lady who appeared to be a volunteer busily sweeping the concrete floor. My heart broke as Cindy shared the lady’s story. The lady’s husband and son drowned while harvesting crabs one night in a storm. She owned her own nail shop and both her home and business were completely destroyed by Hurricane Ike. The lady told me with great pain that she does not know what to do except come to the church and help. She is a widow with no family, no home and now no work.

I talked to the pastors and asked what they needed and they said camping stoves, lanterns and tents. Many of the families do not want to leave the little that is left of their home because they are afraid they will not be allowed back or that someone will take it.

The water has not yet been cleared for them to return to work to fish, crab and shrimp.

We are sending them our shower trailer on Monday to use for several weeks.

Back in Bridge City, last week we had our first meeting with all disaster relief agencies working in Bridge City. It was a beautiful reflection of us coordinating, facilitating and creating synergy with other agencies. We handed out over 80 work orders and will meet with the agencies again next week to hear updates and hand out new work orders.

JACMEL, Haiti – Jacmel is a city with a population of 120,000 people. It is surrounded by mountains and beautiful beaches, a must-visit for tourists. Flowing through the city is a river where almost all cleaning chores are done. Women wash clothes, men clean their motorbikes, kids swim and people bathe in this river.

But when there is heavy rain, the river quickly rises and floods the city. When a string of powerful hurricanes hit Jacmel, everything turned into a pool of water. The water rose more than 6 feet, destroying houses and forcing people to flee to higher ground for safety.

As the floodwaters receded, they left behind thick layers of mud in the streets and inside homes. But that was the least of the damage.

In Jacmel, water is a major concern. With few wells in this city, people walk great distances to get drinking water, and even then, the water is not clean. The water sources were further contaminated by the hurricane and all the power supply in the city is down. Without power, the wells cannot pump water and I saw people instead taking water from the river to be used as drinking water. Many children have diahrrea and people are sick. In some areas, city water is available, but only twice a week.

Operation Blessing, in partnership with Water Missions International, World Concern and DHL, installed a water purifying system in the town of Siloe, where more than 500 families will benefit from this system that can purify up to 10,000 gallons of water a day. Since the system comes with a generator, we were able to pump the water from an existing well into a reservoir, purify it and then distribute it to the people.

Ironically, Peirrie, a representative for Water Missions International in Haiti said that in January of this year he was in Jacmel for a conference and saw that the water in this well was not clean. Now, the system is not only meeting an immediate need for villagers during this time of disaster, but it will also provide clean water for the long-term.

Earlier this week, we returned to check the system and ensure all was working well. The water was flowing non-stop as the demand was high.

It is a blessing to know that these efforts are literally bringing relief to thousands of lives.

BRIDGE CITY, Texas – Today we helped a very precious family in need. Richard and his wife, Angie, have two children: Cameron, 11, and a teenage daughter, Kelsey. They evacuated for Hurricane Ike and returned to find their home flooded with over 2 feet of water.

The couple’s son, Cameron, was born with only half a brain, but fortunately is still able to live a productive life. He will celebrate his 12th birthday next month.

Richard was very overwhelmed with all that needed to be done to cleanup his home and came to the Operation Blessing Office early in the week to turn in a work request. He was so relieved when we told him we could begin work in just a few days. On Saturday, I drove to the site to check on the volunteers and was greeted by Richard and his delightful daughter, Kelsey.

They walked through the home in amazement at how much work the OB volunteers had already done. This particular group of volunteers was headed up by Shane who had previously led teams in our Katrina cleanup efforts during our 2.5 year deployment.

I had the opportunity to talk one-on-one with Richard and he kept telling me, “thank you” and how much it meant to him that we were there to help.

One of the greatest challenges for Texas residents like Richard who are trying to cleanup their flood-damaged homes is that there are really no temporary housing options available. Unlike Hurricane Katrina, where families were given FEMA trailers that allowed them to live on their properties, most families here have no where to stay locally. Instead, many are living with friends and family out-of-town and must travel back and forth on a daily basis to work on cleaning up their homes.

Such is the case with Richard. Their family has bounced around from home to home, living with various friends. But Richard desperately wants to get home so his son can be closer to his doctors. One of their friends told them today that they could use their trailer. The news was a welcome relief – especially for Cameron.

Last night, for the first time since the storm hit, the family spent the night alone and told me that Cameron began laughing with delight and saying, “alone, alone, alone!”

Thank you to those volunteers and OB donors who are helping families like these be able to return home quickly and start to pick up the pieces of their lives again!