Friend Ships
Latest Update (Dec. 15, 1998)

Operation Hurricane Mitch Update #4

We just returned from our first mission into Savannah Bight. "Bobby Jr.", a fishing yacht from Roatan owned by the McNabb family, had accompanied us here. Bob McNabb seems to always be available to help in any situation at his own expense. Whenever there is a need anywhere in all the islands of Honduras, he and his family have the capacity to help and always offer their time. The yacht "Bobby Jr." transported a majority of the crew along with our huge soup pots and all the supplies to prepare lunch for the community of Savannah Bight. Upon arriving at shore, a great team of local people met us and helped carry the pots, cookers, propane, soup, water, cups and spoons to our feeding spot.  A team of guest "crew members" with us from Roatán, most from the small fishing village of Helene and two, 7th Day Adventist pastors from the main city, brought their instruments and began to sing worship music as we cooked. Before long, we had a large group of people join us for lunch and a church service. Many made a decision to give their hearts to Jesus. People shared stories of the terrifying four days of Hurricane Mitch. Some had lost family members, others had lost all they had as they huddled together in any house that was able to hold onto it's roof. They told us how after the hurricane, the country side was completely dead, as if a fire had raged through the beautiful lush green hills. Now, a few weeks later and after daily rainfall, the grass has returned and many trees are beginning to sprout new growth.

Meanwhile, our large landing craft made it's way to the dock. People lined up to receive their food and each family received so much, the community leaders called in the use of all the local wheel barrels! Excitement was high as people piled up the wheel barrels and rolled their blessings home. Men, women, kids and dogs were everywhere! The mayor of Guanaja came to say thanks and see the distribution and our crew talked to and prayed for each person along the waiting line. When each member of the community had received food, the work boat and the sports yacht called the "Bobby Jr." pulled away from the dock as a group of smiling children waved a warm goodbye!

While the landing craft was unloading its precious supplies in Savannah Bight, the 78' fishing boat appropriately named "Hope," slipped quietly alongside the steel hull of the "Spirit of Grace." Her white hull glistened as the "Grace" anchored firmly in 50' of crystal clear turquoise water with splashes of deep blue color. It was 80 degree weather with a gentle trade wind blowing out of the west as the good boat "Hope" opened her large fish storage tanks. Our crew immediately swung the booms out over the "Hope" and began unloading hundreds and hundreds of pounds of food, clothing and water onto her decks to bring to another near by community. As we looked on from the quarter deck we couldn't help feeling the joy of watching our crew work so swiftly. We hadn't had a moment to stop and enjoy this great thing that God was doing! But as Sondra and I watched this process, our hearts swelled with the pure pride of our magnificent God! This great ship, "Spirit of Grace" that He had provided, its load of diesel fuel that God had put on the hearts of men to give free, the crew who has worked for months without pay but full of joy, Captain Brandenburger, full of resolve to reach the poor and hungry at their greatest time of need, and supplies that has come from the love of North Americans who have given open handedly, over $8 million dollars of aid, which we can't recall anyone asking for a single tax deduction, comes to Honduras full of His love. It led me to recall the words of David when he said he wouldn't give anything to God that did not cost him something. This was the attitude of the North Americans who saw their neighbor poor and naked without food or water. It is such a great privilege to carry this load personally to those people so damaged. To make soup for them, to deliver relief supplies and hand it from our hands directly to theirs, to look into their eyes, to tell them that God has sent His hands full and extended - From Jesus with Love.

Another large fishing boat approached to join the line of boats awaiting a splash of supplies from the great ship "Grace." This large boat named "The Mama" loaded her decks with supplies to stock the small storerooms at Savannah Bght. Later, our landing craft took supplies for Mangrove Bight, an area where only one home was left totally intact, all the rest severely damaged or utterly destroyed. Most homes were completely destroyed that there was no evidence that they ever existed. The crew of the great ship "Grace" rotated shifts and a new Friend Ships team took in the supplies on our own landing craft. We filled her up with every good thing - soup, pots, kettles, large propane burners. The storage deck on this boat is 25 feet long and 12 feet wide and 10 feet high. We filled it to capacity with food and water. Thirty of our crew jumped aboard. There was nowhere to sit or stand. People were all over the boat, some even rode on the roof.

We set sail for the long trip around the island. We found an opening in the reef and took our boat onto the open ocean, into the big rolling seas for the 12-mile trip. We approached the small village at dusk as small boats came out to show us how to re-enter their little harbor through the reefs. We drove through a maze of sand bars and rock reefs following small boats ahead of us with flash lights blinking which way to turn. They had never seen a boat this large enter their harbor. Being a landing craft that is capable of going up on the beach, she's a very shallow draft and their harbor had less than four feet of water. We found out the following day that at times, we had less than 3" of clearance.

It was an amazing feeling as we were traveling at one or two miles an hour in the dark with the bon fires burning on the beaches. There was smoke everywhere. Children crying in the night. It looked prehistoric with the steep mountains in the background. As we slowly and carefully approached the shore, the smoldering fires illuminated the outline of a few structures, tents and the skeletal remains of hurricane ravaged palm trees.  Two or three buildings ran generators but aside from their lights and the low fires, the community was bathed in total darkness. We commented that it looks like a Francis Ford Coppola movie set right out of "Apocalypse Now", only we could smell the pain. Someone said it seems like we should be locking and loading our weapons - the camp looked as though it had been bombed and destroyed.

As we laid down some planks to act as a gangway, our eyes began to adjust to the darkness. Soon we were able to distinguish the faces of people who were waiting to greet us. We could see the anxious faces of children and behind them, as they assembled on the shore, the stunning sight of almost complete destruction that was Mangrove Bight. We were greeted with great smiles and joy. The people were amazed that we came with such a large boat. Most were Caucasians and it was an all English speaking camp. Great piles of debris filled the landscape, littered with makeshift structures, mangled trees and whole families living in tents. A new building has just been constructed as a small warehouse at the landing and a fixture was quickly nailed to the outside of it to give us light as we carried our soup pots ashore. The musicians begin to play as the people gathered at the warehouse to receive their family tickets for the food distribution. Within minutes we were able to begin giving out the sacks of food as people arrived with wheel barrels or many helpers to carry the supplies home. Soup (more like stew-loaded with noodles and vegetables) was served to all as hundreds of people milled around, sharing stories of the hurricane with the crew and joining in the singing. Before long, everyone in the community had gotten their allotment and hundreds of extra bags we'd brought were moved into the warehouse. Then another line formed as each family received a case of Dannon drinking water. Many, many cases of water remained and these were also placed into the warehouse. Since this was our last serving of soup on this particular island, we left all of our soup supplies, cups and utensils. One by one, many of the crew had a chance to walk through the community and see the devastation first hand.  In this place, a massive wall of water enveloped the community and took every house built on stilts above the sea, smashing them to bits against the mountain. There were great piles of rubble everywhere one looked.  Glass, cement, coral, wood and steel all twisted together in mass, every tree was cut off and destroyed. The people told us repeatedly this was by far the greatest help they had received and they were very grateful. Some young people asked when they saw the 30 crew and all the food loaded on the landing craft if we drove it all the way from America? We explained that we have a large mother ship on the other side of the island and that we picked this boat up and placed it on our hatch that it only takes up a small space on one of our four hatches. They were amazed that someone would send a ship this big full of food . They had never dreamed of such a thing. It was fun! 

The islanders willingly shared their stories of the Tuesday through Friday, four days of terror that was Hurricane Mitch. First, they received reports that the Hurricane was passing them by. Then, without warning on Tuesday morning, the sea began to swell to massive proportions and roll in on them, causing total destruction and leaving hundreds homeless. In some places, only the children were given food because there was not enough to go around. Some people became terrified and fled into the hills. We were told stories of the water being so high, parents held children up to keep them alive. Another family lay flat against the ground of a soccer field to avoid being swept away by the wind.

For the next three days the rain poured down relentlessly as one house after another lost its roof and collapsed. People were huddled together in homes. There was a North American man who built a wooden house to live with these wonderful people and the native islanders tell a very spiritual story about this man and shake their heads in wonder. The islanders would run in terror from one house to another as the houses collapsed on top of them as many as five or six times. People would say, "There are too many people in this house. Go to another! Go to another!" There would be 40 or 50 people in each house huddled together. But, the North American would open his door and call to them, "Come in here! Come in here!" He would never turn away a single person. By the storm's end there were 300+ people in his home - standing room only, pressed body to body AND it was the only house on the island, untouched by the storm. In the most devastated area on the entire islands, the North American never lost a single shingle off his house. Everyone is amazed at the great heart of this man who turned no one away and who God protected so completely.

After the storm, some people were missing and no one knew if they were dead or alive. Within days, all had returned and the residents of Mangrove Bight are grateful to say that no one lost their lives there in the days of Hurricane Mitch. The after effects, however will be felt for years. One young mother told us that last night was the first time she had allowed her small boy to come out of the neighbor's house they stayed in. He is not able to play in the filthy and dangerous rubble that covers all the ground.  She told us that the child has been terrified of water since the great storm and at first would scream as she bathed him. Yes, the people will long remember the terror and uncertainty of those four days in late October 1998 when their lives were spared but all else was lost.  

We found Mangrove Bight to be a sweet community where theft is not a problem and everyone pulls together to help one another. Many want to rebuild the schools and the church first before rebuilding even their own homes.  Before we packed up for the night, we told the community how people in the U.S. had worked hard to help them. We told them that our crew come in the name of Jesus and how God so loved the world that He sent His son that whoever believes on Him might be saved.

We decided to leave the work boat and some crew in the village until day light to avoid having to navigate the shallow waters in the dark of the night. We prayed with many people before we departed and left a copy of the Bible video "God's Story" as the rest of the crew boarded a ponga that offered to give us a lift home. Thursday, December 10, we loaded many more small boats supplies back to Mangrove Bight and some supplies into the main key of Guanaja. Soon, we'll load the work boat aboard ship and head for the Mosquito Coast.

Final Unloading Report December 31st, 1998

Unloading Report December 13-15th

Unloading Report December 6-12th

Unloading Report December 5th

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