Our team and partner church, Casa de Dios, went into the flood zone on Wednesday, September 29th to distribute tickets. Tickets were given to local families in need. Each family had to present that ticket on the day of the feeding to receive the 40 lb bag of food. On the day of the ticket distribution the water was standing 3 - 4 ft and we were still able to drive through the flooded area. The flooding was supposed to subside, but instead the water took a turn for the worse.
Wednesday afternoon our team went to our beach-side house, which was on high ground and has never experienced flooding in over 100 years. One hour into our stay at the house, the weather began to worsen. No forecast could have predicted how bad our night would be. By 10:00 pm, just 6 hours after our arrival to our safe-house, the water had risen 8 - 10 feet and and had surrounded the house, trapping us in. The out-lying roads were too bad for us to make it back to town, so we waited. By 1:00 am on Thursday morning the water was beginning to seep into the house. Needless to say the entire team spent the night on the 2nd floor. The next morning the water had risen an additional 3 ft and was on our door step and by 5 am the waters overtook the house. The bottom floor of the home filled up with over 20 inches of water in 45 minutes. At this moment, our team fervently began to pray and intercede that the waters would stop. By the time the water stopped rising, it had risen 17-20 ft from the previous afternoon. Even if we wanted to leave, the standing water in the street directly in front of our house was between 7-10 feet deep. By noon on Thursday the 30th, we were rescued by boat. We traveled down a river channel that was so high, we were traveling above the power lines. Just when we thought we were on a perfect getaway to safety, the current carried our boat into a tree. After the crash, we made our way to high enough ground that we could walk. Our team set out on foot to dry ground. We walked 1.5 miles through chest high water until we were met by rescue trucks. God had his hand on us throughout the entire crisis, proving Himself to our team once again!
Thursday evening we were taken back to safety in Guatemala City. Even though we were now safe, our hearts were broken for the families left in the flood waters. We learned many of the homes in the outlying villages were completely washed away. Some villages were under 17 - 20 feet of water and sadly, there were elderly and small children who were lost in the flash floods during the night. I'll never forget what I heard that night. By Friday morning, the waters had receded enough for us to go back into the flood zone to deliver food. We drove our trucks as far into the flooded waters as we could. The remaining people were so grateful. We had a special bond with the local people, because they knew we had suffered through the night alongside of them.
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