Typhoon Maysak - part 2

There were many homes destroyed, but fortunately only 2 people lost their lives. One person was hit by a piece of roof that was flying.  We saw many pieces of roof high up in trees after the storm.  

 These houses were demolished.

 Here are some of the local fruits (papaya and Mangoes) that were destroyed.

This is our neighbor's house.  The roof is gone.  The building in the background is our apartment building.  A large breadfruit tree also fell in their yard but is not shown here.

 The church boar dock was blown away with only some of the pilings left.  Following are some more damaged homes.

 In the middle of this, we had car trouble.  One of the Elders pictured helped us figure out how to fix it. We are in the middle of downtown.

About a week after the storm we had electricity again at the laundromat.  Two of the missionary apartments were destroyed and many of them had a lot of wet and muddy clothes.

 Tired after working hard to help others, these missionaries relax a few minutes.

Elder Eliason joined other missionaries to help clear the roads.  Gradually neighbors and others helped.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was the first responder.  On April 6 we helped unload 1000 fifty-pound bags of rice and hundreds of cases of ramen to be distributed to church members and others.  In all 75,000 lbs. of food was delivered.  Also various tools such as chain saws, tarps, water filters, etc., were donated.

It will take a long time for the food supply to recover.  Many people are still sleeping in crowded conditions.  The extra moisture and debris on the ground has made more mosquitos than usual, bringing more discomfort to those without shelter.  It has been a hard time for many people.  But we are inspired by their resilience and their faith in hard times.  Families take in other families.  Neighbors help neighbors.  We love the people here and pray for them.