The last 4 days have brought home some key points for me: ‘Things’ don’t matter and life is precious. Strangers can become family in an instant. God can literally give you “peace that passeth understanding” in the midst of a storm.
We travelled to Vanuatu last week to finalize our permanent Australian residency. We expected to stay 5 nights, coming home on Saturday. A category 5 cyclone hit the islands on Friday night. The beach resort we were staying in was built by the owner, an engineer, who “overbuilt” the bungalows. We were in some of the safest buildings on the island! Our boarded up glass doors lost their boards during the worst of it, but the double pane glass didn’t break. They say this is the worst storm in history for this part of the world. It sounded like there was a freight train outside the door, and it was banging to get in.
Ninety percent of all homes were damaged or destroyed. We had gotten to know many of the staff and drivers and their homes were all damaged, but no injury or death. They were all smiles! The people of Vanuatu are the kindest, happiest people I’ve ever met.
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| Clean up |
The aftermath was devastating. Where there was lush green jungle on Friday is now mud and sticks. We had it better than many. No power, no water, but a place to sleep. We used a bucket to take water from the pool to flush toilets. For some reason the open shower near the pool had some water - gravity feed? So we could sort of bathe. The resort restaurant had some foods that needed to be eaten - especially meat and fruit. So we didn’t go hungry. There was a BBQ pit so we could cook on that and a gas stove that worked. We all pitched together with the food and had some lovely meals. At least 2 a day.
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| Shopped at this store two days before. |
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| We couldn't see this hill before because there had been so much foliage. |
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| Seems funny that this thatched umbrella would stand while trees are knocked down! |
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| Before cyclone |
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| After cyclone |
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| Rusty "flushing" the toilet. |
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| We watched a truck almost drive into this hole |
On Monday morning about 7:30 we were told the airport was opening and if we could get to the clubhouse in 10 minutes we could get a ride. Our resort was about 5k down a dirt road and it was blocked by fallen trees and one section of the road was completely washed away. We had to be taken out in a 4 wheel drive pickup driven by a sweet local resident. New roads were made through paddocks weaving between coconut palms. Rusty and I walked a good portion of it on Sabbath afternoon so we got some pictures.
We spent all morning being told that our flight with Virgin Air would be leaving at 3pm. About noon we were told Virgin cancelled their flights. So we hopped into the Australian military evacuation line. They couldn’t promise we would be on it. We heard that Air Vanuatu was bringing back another plane that would leave at 9pm. Tickets were purchased (without high prices that would have been gladly paid! Thank you Air Vanuatu!). We stayed with all the luggage while some friends went into town to try to find some food. A Supermarket was open so they brought us a feast of chips and fruit and roasted chicken. It was so much, we were able to share with others. The leftover chicken and chips went to some stranded USA kids that were very hungry.
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| Our Airline ticket |
The overall attitude of guests and locals was amazing. We were never fearful of being hurt or robbed. Everyone was pulling together to help. It was an experience that I thank God for and pray will never happen to me again!
A side note: our driver on several occasions was an SDA. He invited us to church Sabbath morning to be there for his son’s baby dedication. That obviously didn’t happen, but we found out that Apisom and his family were all safe. The church building didn’t fair so well, but the people are ok. These people have so little and seem so happy! I am humbled.
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