Flavours of Canada
This morning I got this email from Sam’s Club. It says,"Flavours of Canada; Enjoy our variety of products".
I guess everyone is celebrating the Olympics in their own way…
Mexico
Keyboard Class Update
Tonight we had week 4 and week 5 of our keyboard classes.
Last week I was sick, so we crammed two weeks into one today. Which was a bit of a challenge, because it cut down on the much-needed practice time. But I think it went well.
The student count has been somewhat erratic, but we had 6 students tonight and a host of people "auditing".
This week we talked about pedals and chord inversions, and then tried putting everything into practice. One of the songs we’ve been talking about from the beginning is México Lindo y Querido, a national classic (sometimes called the country’s second national anthem).
Here’s the classic rendition of the classic song. It’s brilliant in more ways than one. The singer is one of Mexico’s most famous singers/actors, Jorge Alberto Negrete Moreno (1911-1953). Obviously you’ll only get so much out of it if you don’t know Spanish, but here’s a rough translation of the chorus:
Should I die far from you
Let them say that I’m asleep
And bring me back here
It’s raining in Chalco
Yes, after quite a few days with no rain, the rain has returned.
We went back to Chalco today, this time to a new location, to serve breakfast. Mostly we saw dry streets (all right, they were dry until it started raining!), though there are still pools of water here and there (such as in lots and buildings).
So the clean up is really getting rolling, which means mass chaos (as you’ll see). Most businesses in this area are still closed (well, the door may be open, but there’s nothing inside worth selling!), but people are shovelling things out of houses and out of sewers and so on.
Though some help is coming now, it’s little and it’s late. There were some recent protests by people from one community in Chalco a day or two ago. They had a "discussion" with police, as they asked why more help has not come.
A few of you have helped, and it’s appreciated. A couple people have mentioned that there’s been little (no?) coverage of this in Canada. Considering the thousands impacted, that’s pretty amazing. But we appreciate those of you who have been watching and listening here, and praying and giving.
Here’s a brief video to give you an idea what the street looked like today. With the rain, it was pretty miserable, and let’s just say the air wasn’t pleasant (which is why you’ll see many wearing facial masks)…
Chalco Clean up (video)
It’s day 10 after the flood, and the cleanup is just beginning. That’s partly because a lot has still been under water until today. Now that the water is receding, the cleanup can begin.
This morning we went as a family with some people from our church to help serve breakfast. The highway is still closed, and it looks like there’s still some work to do before it opens. However, cars that were totally underwater are being pulled out.
In Chalco, those who have houses free of water (and there are a lot still full of water, even on streets that are dry) are sweeping them out and throwing their ruined belongings on the street to be collected.
Here’s a quick video to show the progress that’s being made.
Thanks so much to those who contacted us recently wanting to donate some food to the flood victims! If you’re willing to help, just send a cheque to CAM International or CAM International of Canada (details here), mentioning project #062250. Then let us know, that way we can spend the money without waiting for it to go through "the system".
How to Serve Breakfast by Boat (video)
This morning several of us went back to the flood zone in Chalco to serve hot breakfasts to a few of the flood victims. Refried beans, eggs, bread, hot coffee, and water.
Just getting started, serving breakfast in Chalco
Quite a few people came, but it’s difficult to get to a lot of people because of the water.
Fortunately, there were people in boats coming and going that helped us out. We served out the food, covered it up well in bags, and they loaded it onto the boat. Then they would go to houses, climb ladders or send up buckets with food and supplies.
We hope to be able to serve breakfasts for 10-15 days, so we’ll see how it goes. So far so good. Later on we’ll also be giving out more necessities.
Here is a brief clip of one of the boats that served out food. Also, Rod shared this news article with some great pictures of the flooding.
Back from the Flood Disaster Zone (with video)
This afternoon I went to SAM’s Club and picked up 279 litres of bottled water to bring down to the flood zone in Chalco. I followed our co-worker, Rod, who had some clothes, some water, a grill, and some other odds and ends.
The plan is to set up a headquarters where we can serve breakfast to people for a couple of weeks. This should be a tremendous help in a place where people have little left, including food and clean water.
We’ve been able to make some contacts there, and so are building relationships so that we can make sure the help gets to people who need it most. And that means a lot of people.
People wait for a boat on the sidewalk, by what should be a normal street, not a river.
Many are taking supplies back to their families in the flood zone.
We walked along the highway in the late afternoon, and I was able to get some pictures and video. Since we didn’t have access to a boat, this is only the edge of the flood zone you’re seeing – there’s much, much more. But the video will give you an idea of how bad the flooding is, even if you can only see a bit of it. You’ll also see some of the work being done to try to stop the flow of sewage water.
Here’s the video from today:
You can help by sending a few dollars in as a donation. Just contact us, and we’ll be able to go ahead and purchase what we need – as long as we know the money is coming. Lord willing tomorrow will be the first breakfast. Thanks to the two couples who have already donated!
I’ve posted some photos as well in our Recent shots… album.
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Amigas del Alma…
Sorry to mix topics here, but both of these things are important! Thanks for all who prayed for the Amigas del Alma Valentine’s Event. It was this morning, and it was a big success! About 50 people came, and heard about unconditional love and about the Gospel. Please continue to pray for the relationships made with many new people.
Photos of the event are in our Recent shots… album.