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Our Team Consisted of: So Cal District Asst. Superintendent Dave Gable, Mark Griffo of Carlsbad, Frank Flores of South Gate, James Dabney of San Diego, Rod Harro of Fresno, Wayne Karr of Anza, Jerry Godsey of Delano, Norm Price of Whittier, Faasaoina Opeta of Garden Grove, Phil Owens of Cal. City, John LeRoy of Azusa, Eric Pearson of Hanford, Bob Bruder of Upland, David Jefferey of Thousand Oaks, Cliff Bergon of Garden Grove, Jeff Campbell of Hacienda Heights, Richard Pata of El Centro, Jerry Terry of Ceritos, & Daniel Berg of Imperial.
Special thanks to our host Bonnie Carlyon.... "Don't whoop us, Miss Bonnie, we'll be good"
Sounds of Nicaragua: A pastor says
what can be done (99k); children in joyful song (152k); and a soundbite from our trip (279k).
Loading Supplies in Managua and starting on the 2 hour trip to Refugio
Betesda.
Evidence of the Hurricane was everywhere; many roads and bridges were
washed out along the way.
First stop after a long drive: the only bathroom in sight.
Then a look at the camp's "1 horsepower" well, before unloading the
supplies.
Pastors Opeta, LeRoy, and Griffo helping unload the truck with men
from the camp.
The tents that serve as their church and school....
....which we plan to return to build structures for!
The Disaster Site:
What used to be farmland and villages and homes...
President Clinton visited just a short time before we did, his flowers
had just started to wilt.
(Press Photos from White House Web Pages)
(Photos from Our Trip)
The imprint below was left by a boy's bodyÊ that was slammed into
the earth by the mudslide,
back bones lie in the center and a soccer ball at the feet.
Pastor Faasaoina Opeta next to the marker from Clinton's visit.
A GPS survey device checks for earth movement.
The "road" leading to the site is a rock strewn canyon that didn't exist before...
Ground level was the top of the gorge and all the rock seen here came down from the volcano).
CLICK HEREto hear a recording of our trip up this road and comments from the local pastor (279k).
Where they live now.
(Homes are to be built on these existing plots by teams from a Scandinavian
country.)
Some of the beautiful children living in the camp.
Rev. John LeRoy of Azusa has his hands full trying to give away candy!
Leaving some tools at the Pastor's house to help with home improvements
in the camp...
...Left to right: So Cal District Asst. Superintendent
Dave Gable, our driver (and a future pastor) Mario,
LACC Missionary Bonnie Carlyon, the RefugioBetesda
Pastor, and Rev. Wayne Karr of Anza.
• • •
Besides the tools, we brought extra suitcases of clothes to leave behind
—and some of the guys also brought Hot Wheels, Barbies, & other
toys.
Everyone was so thankful, from the oldest to the youngest,
returning our good will with great kindness.
• • •
These lives are surely a testimony to the power of God: ones who have lost almost everything, yet are still full of hope, humility, and hospitality. The pain is still very real, but they are not letting it embitter their character. Being with them is all the inspiration one needs to determine to join in their cause.
Other
good links for pictures of the disaster site:
BBC
News Story on Disaster: Includes RealPlayer Video Clip.
University
at Buffalo Research: Best site for photos of disaster area.