Hello from NICARAGUA!
It is surreal to finally be in our first country! I am so thankful for each of your support, both spiritual and financial, and I would not be here without you. Before I blog about Nicaragua, I wanted to talk about our time at Samaritans Purse!
Nothing could have prepared me for the devastation that the homeowners of Jackson faced. In the houses we worked in, the water line from the flood waters reached 6-10 feet! Two of the houses we cleared out had not been touched since the flood (over 2 months ago) so we had to scrape layers of mud and debris off the floors. Everything that the water touched was covered in black mold and had to be thrown away. After clearing out the houses, we’d take the drywall and the insulation out then get every nail and staple off the studs. My favorite job was crawling under the house to cut down the insulation and remove the broken ducts. We’d suit up in these white tyvek suits (pictured below) and it was a good time!
We got to talk to the homeowners in Jackson, Kentucky quite a bit. Let’s call him Sam for privacy’s sake. Sam told us his story about the flood. He woke up on his bed one night to find that he was floating in 4 feet of water. He got to the porch and the water was up to his neck. Sam ended up hanging onto the roof from 12am to 7am till a boat came to rescue him. The boat could only take him so far so he was stranded! Suddenly a truck pulled up beside him and the man inside said, “Sam, get in. I’ll take you to your moms house.” Now Sam had no clue who this guy was and how he knew about Sam’s mom’s house. Having no other option, he decided to trust the man and got in the truck. The man then drove Sam to his moms house without directions! When Sam got out and turned around to say thank you, the man in the truck was gone!
This story stuck out to me because God clearly has his hand over Sam’s life. From conversations, it seems that he isn’t a believer but he knows a lot of Bible stories. The flood had a heavy impact on Sam’s life and he almost ended his life because of it. But God showed up at just the right time! You join me in praying for Sam. His friend, a fellow victim of the flood, accepted Jesus as Lord of his life just a few days prior! Praise the Lord that Sam has this friend to point him to Christ!
In the next couple of days I’m going to post another blog about Nicaragua! Also, GOOD NEWS!!! I have service here so you can text or call me on WhatsApp. I’d love to tell you more testimonies.
Love you all!
Julianne
Here are some pictures of Samaritan’s Purse:
Such an amazing story about Sam. Sounds like a miracle to me.
Great photos of your team and work there.
Praise the Lord! God is good!
What a great testimony!!! We will be praying for Sam, you and your team!!! We can’t wait to hear about all that you will do in Nicaragua! We love ya!!
An experience you’ll take with you for the rest of your life. I hear stories like yours and think, the Lord was driving that truck!! Great blog story, thanks for sharing. Love those pictures, some I had not seen.