"We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (NIV)
On the morning of September 11th, a 7.6M earthquake caused significant damage to our center. Several water storage tanks ruptured and some header tanks, including ours, flew off of roofs. A couple of chimneys collapsed and there was damage to both personal items and departmental supplies. Many of the families here had no running water or propane gas for cooking. Over the following two weeks, we and others obtained clean water from vacant homes with intact systems. Also, the undersea cable which provides our fiber optic internet connection was severed, making communications and even day to day work problematic. Yet, through it all, God blessed us as our community came together to serve each other, and as you were praying for our needs. Almost as soon as the shaking ended, people began checking in on friends and began assisting with the cleanup. Many of our support departments were overwhelmed with calls for service, but with that increase in work came a flood of volunteers from the community. We are now a month out from the event and significant progress has been made toward recovery. On a personal level, we are so thankful to now have running water, gas for cooking, and minimal damage to our home. There have been two new satellite dishes installed to provide additional internet bandwidth until the fiber optic cable is repaired as well. Most of all, though, we are thankful for God’s provision for our community. Miraculously, no one in Ukarumpa was injured in the earthquake, and the work of Bible Translation continues. Thank you again for your faithful prayers on our behalf. And it is good to have our header tank back on our roof where it belongs!
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