Easter Morning

On Easter morning our family awoke to a flooded school room and guest room after a night with especially long and heavy rains. We cleaned it up and then I went to our Training Center outside of town to pick up some youth that had spent the weekend there at a retreat. On the way back to the church, we crossed one of the main bridges in town and saw that the creek was high and flowing very fast. I thought not much of it, as it is common this time of year. Usually once or twice a year there is a heavy rain and some of the low-lying neighborhoods in the floodplain fill with water. By the time we reached the church I had heard several comments about some dams breaking upstream on a large creek that runs into the Xingu River. There are several earthen dams on ranches upstream, but again, I didn't think much of it. I made a couple other stops, dropping people off and then headed back home.

On my way I got a call from Bud, another missionary who said the water was getting close to the foundation of his house (although his house is near the creek, it had never raised to the level of threatening his house). As I approached the same bridge to cross back over the creek I saw water covering the road, a quarter of a mile from the bridge! I knew then this was not an ordinary flood. I checked a couple other bridges and found them all impassable. There was no way for me to cross the creek, and get to Bud's house. Or even home if I wanted.

The creek cuts through the middle of town and has several bridges. Most of them are older wooden bridges, some of them more solid than others. I was still driving the Mission's large truck, now empty, and I realized I could help the many people fleeing their homes. I first encountered a distressed guy on the street desperately seeking help, I followed him into a flooded neighborhood driving through almost 3 ft. of water. We anxiously loaded the truck with furniture and family and headed for higher ground.

The first family I helped rushes to evacuate their house and save as much as they could. Only minutes later the water had risen another 2 feet.

I returned to help others and worked most of the day alongside Allison and other youth from our church. I've helped with flood clean-up before, in St. Louis after the 92 flood and in New Orleans after Katrina, but it's always been after the fact. I was there when it happened this time and I could see the fear, desperation and confusion in their eyes. Especially difficult was watching people who had so little lose everything, knowing there was no insurance, no savings account, or other government safety net for them to fall back on.

Later on, my thoughts returned to how I was going to get home. Just before dark, Allison and I found the only way to cross to the other side of town. A bridge had been partially washed out, but people were crossing by a plank. I left the truck with my friends and I walked across, finally arriving home after a long day. Below is a short clip of the bridge crossing:



Many people lost everything they had. In some locations, the water rushed in with such force that they were only able to leave with the clothes on their backs. Local reports say 15,000 people have been affected. Our churches had many families effected by the flooding, but Bud's house was spared.

The next day the water receded and the damage was more visible. Entire houses are gone and the only thing left on the land is debris from their upstream neighbor. Slowly the bridges reopened. One was completely washed away and several others are damaged, probably beyond repair. There is talk of another dam that may break and cause more flooding. So while the victims are trying to recover from the first flood, they live in fear of another assail of water. Last night I helped the youth group make soup and distribute it to the people living in the area most affected. The whole situation is truly heartbreaking with so many people in need it is almost overwhelming. Please pray for our community. We need wisdom as we seek to meet the needs of the community during the long rebuilding process, both physically and spiritually.

The road to the airport has been washed out and while we were discussing this problem Mia lightened the mood when she said she hopes it gets fixed before grandma and grandpa come in June, otherwise they'll have to spend the 3 weeks in the airport.

Heading for higher ground

A scene from one of the streets:




Here's a link to a Brazilian article (in portuguese), but it does have some video.