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Hurricane Felix Update

Felix 09-04-2007

Currently Hurricane Felix has made landfall in Nicaragua and Honduras bringing with it strong winds and torrential rains. The rain is expected to continue and move into Guatemala and souther parts of Belize by Wednesday.

ROW has been in touch with our friends and staff in both Belize and Honduras, and we ask that everyone keep them in your prayers in the trying days ahead. In Honduras we have received word that before Hurricane Felix had even reached the area, the road from Siquatepeque to Taulabe (highway CA 5) was already covered and rendered impassable because of landslides in the steeper parts of the road. This is worrisome because the storm is predicted to drop an additional 5-20 inches of rain on the already saturated soil. Our hopes are that the rain is on the lower end of the forecast and that the roads will be cleared so that relief aid can get through the rural areas.

One of the rural areas of Honduras that is getting hit the hardest is the Miskito Coast. Ben Mathes traveled up one of these rivers earlier in the year, and we worry about what will happen to the wonderful people that live along those rivers. Most of the people living along these areas don’t have the means to evacuate, and many of them travel exclusively by dugout canoes. Also, given the remote nature of these areas it will be hard to find out much for sometime, but ROW is committed to letting you know anything as soon as we are able.

In Belize the majority of the country will be able to avoid the worst of the storm, but the low-lying villages in the southern part of the country are still at risk to heavy rains and severe flooding. In particular, the village of Crique Sarco runs the risk of high flooding since it is located along the Temash River. We received word from our staff in Crique Sarco that NEMO (National Emergency Management Organization of Belize) will not be able to evacuate any of the villagers because of their remote nature. This worries us all, but we are comforted in knowing that the concrete and block church that ROW built in the village will be used as a hurricane shelter if needed. In addition to the church, a newly built preschool will provide shelter and higher ground for the village.

As the storm passes, ROW will remain in touch with our staff in each country to get an idea to the damage and needs of those affected by the storm. Already there are preliminary talks of sending relief teams to Honduras to assist in rural food distribution. ROW will keep everyone posted on the needs as we learn of them.

Stay tuned to the ROW website for more updates and please keep everyone in your prayers.

Nick Beazley
Senior Field Director

2007 09 04 Nick All Entries
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The End of the Road

We wanted to load this video onto the site to share with everyone. When we arrived at the Temash River we found a half-full Sprite bottle rolling around the truck so we thought it would be fun to do an impromptu Victory Lane celebration. We discovered that rehearsing things like this pays out in the end.

The trip has been amazing and the bond between all that were involved is something that will never go away. It was that bond and pure exhaustion that allowed my reaction to an HD camera being sprayed with Sprite to be as nonchalant as it appeared. Not to mention that it is easily cleaned off and looks worse than it was.

Thank you all for following along. When we return stateside tomorrow we will begin to dive deeper into our photos and video to share more stories from the ride and to further connect you all to the people of Belize.

Nick

2007 08 24 Nick All Entries
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Scott’s simple gift of the day #6

MegaVoice - Billy White

Well we actually did it! We also have come to find out that Nick and I are the first to ever bike the whole country of Belize! Pretty cool! We’ve had a great journey. We met new people, caught up with old friends, dealt with hurt legs, sweated a whole bunch, drank enough water to save the world, survived a hurricane, laughed a lot, crossed a flooded river in a dugout canoe, and soooo much more. I wish I could spill my brain to you all right now about all the stories in my head, however I am absolutely WHOOPED! After I settle back home, I promise to fill you in on more of my thoughts!

My final simple gift of the trip is GIVE! GIVE! GIVE!!

The journey is not over! It’s only started! Please continue to come back and read up on all our updates and view all our photos. Thanks so much for following along and we hope you’ve enjoyed the ride, too. Please email me at anytime with questions you have about your journey.

Peace to you all! ~ Scott “Going home tomorrow” Neely

2007 08 24 Scott All Entries Comments (1) Permalink

Making it to Crique Sarco

Almost there
We made it! The last ride to Crique Sarco was hard going up and down the dirt road through the jungle, but the prize at the end was well worth it. Scott and I gave each other a congratulatory high-five as we road the last 20 yards to the Temash River, because we knew that we had reached the furthest our bikes could go.

Thank you all for the prayers and comments of support. Once we get back to the US we will plow through the pictures and video footage, and we will continue to update the page with stories from out travels. We are in PG just long enough to load this update, and then we are heading back to San Ignacio for the evening before returning stateside in the morning.

Keep coming back to the website and we will keep sharing stories about the trip and the people of Belize.

With Courageous Faith,

Nick

2007 08 24 Nick All Entries Comments (0) Permalink

Back to the Bikes!

We have decided to move on with the bike ride, and we are preparing to drive back south to start up where we left off. We know we did the right thing by postponing the trip for safety reasons, but now that we know that Belize is going to be alright, we are pumped to get back on the bikes.

Tomorrow we should be in PG and heading to Crique Sarco, and then Thursday we will hike to the border of Belize in Guatemala. We can’t wait to see the church ROW built in this village and be with our Mayan friends, and we will be sure to keep you updated with the ROW Radio updates from the jungle.

Once again, thank you ALL for your prayers and comments. They mean a lot to both of us and they keep us going.

Stay Tuned!

Nick

2007 08 21 Nick All Entries Comments (9) Permalink

Scott’s simple gift of the day #5

The bike ride is back on!! Yes! We where affraid that we wouldn’t accomplish our goal since Dean decided to mix things up a bit. However, we still have quite a few miles ahead of us.

I want to catch up with a question my mom emailed me about. Her students want to know what do the people of Belize normally eat? Well the answer to that question is a lot of beans, rice and chicken. Hot sauce is used to spice up most meals. What normally comes with a meal is fried jack (a deep fried fritter thingy), corn tortilla or flower tortilla. I’ve also had my share of scrambled eggs. Sometimes you can get Chia mixed in with your eggs. Chia is plant found in Mexico and Belize that can grow in the worst conditions. The leaves are cooked just like spinach, and it has more nutrients than spinach as well. Along with water, I drink more Coke here than I do back home. It’s really refreshing during a REALLY HOT day. What I love about the cokes down here is that they come in glass bottles. Each of the bottles are recycled as well. I hope that answers what you were looking for and thanks for following the journey.

Tonight we head down south for a night ride. Our plans are to get to Crique Sarco, our final destination, by tomorrow afternoon. Crique Sarco is located in the southern most jungle of Belize. So we will not be able to update the website with stories and pictures until Friday. So hang tight! Crique Sarco is my favorite place in Belize and I’m sure will have some great pictures to share.

My simple gift of the day…

We’ve had quite an adventure so far. We’ve biked most of the country, seen some amazing people, delt with Hurricane Dean and had a chance to drive north to see the devistation. So this quote comes from a book I’m reading right now.

“We have a choice: remain in our protective comfort zones or give ourselves to a renewed passion for people, rich or poor. I believe the way forward in the dilemma of relative affluence is thorugh giving of ourselves in a cross-cultural relationship. (Ken Baker - Quest for Hope in the Slum Community)

See you all Friday! If you want to listen to an update from the jungle the next couple days, you can go to www.row.org and listen an audio message.

Thanks for your emails and comments! Keep them coming!

Peace, Scott “On the road again” Neely

2007 08 21 Scott All Entries Comments (0) Permalink

Surviving the Storm

When we first heard that the hurricane became a class 5, Scott and I both became more concerned. However, after talking to locals today, this upgrade was a blessing because it meant that the hurricane came in fast and didn’t spend much time loitering in Belize. Also, Belize caught the southern part of the storm which is not as bad, I am told, as the northern front of a hurricane.

All in all Belize is doing well. We drove up to Orange Walk to see what the damage was like and if we should set up a relief drive through out ministry partner in San Ignacio. Once we reached the outskirts of Orange Walk we began to see the power of the storm that had passed through in the night. Trees were toppled and power
lines were snapped in two. The amazing thing is that very few houses were damaged besides the rogue piece of tin that bent upward. It was a little troublesome to see that one of the pieces of tin that had ripped loose was on the church ROW is building in San Estevan. I will be sure to upload the pictures when I get a chance so that everyone can see the damage. The damage is not overwhelming, but there will need to be some minor repairs.

One thing that struck home for me was to see how much the citizens had already done in clean up. Branches were already in piles and people had already begun to remove the plywood from the windows. There was an overwhelming sense of community pride in the people of Belize that had pulled together and survived the storm, so Scott and I did not see a need for us to remain other than give some encouraging words to our friends we saw along the way.

Knowing that the Orange Walk and the surrounding villages are okay makes us rest easy and has now let us refocus on what we are going to do about the bike ride that is on hold. We will keep you posted on what we will be doing, so stay tuned.

With Courageous Faith,

Nick

2007 08 21 Nick All Entries Comments (0) Permalink

More about the MegaVoice Audio Bibles

MegaVoice - Santa Familia

Jill-Ann had asked in a comment about the MegaVoice Audio Bibles that we gave out in Santa Familia and Billy White. To describe these devices in one word, I would have to say… AMAZING! They are durable, work well, and they put a bible in the hands of someone that would otherwise not be able to read the Bible on their own.

The touching part about this trip is that I have been able to return to visit people that I have given MegaVoices, and I get to see the difference that they have made. The top picture shows me talking to my friend Ruperto about the MegaVoice I gave him in May. Ruperto told me about how he enjoys listening to Bible because his eyes have bothered him and he is without good reading glasses. He also smiled proudly about how once a week he will take it to work and play it during lunch for his colleagues to hear. He chuckled and said that he doesn’t want to take it everyday, because he wants the guys to be excited each time he pulls it out. It touched me to see how proud he was that not only was he learning about the stories in the Bible, but now he can share it with others too.

This simple tool is an amazing gift that ROW is fortunate to be part of, and we are always trying to take more of these around the world with us. If you want to learn more about what the MegaVoice Audio Bibles then listen to Ben Mathes talk about them on YouTube. You can also see pictures of ROW distributing the Audio Bibles in Belize.

Thank you all for the comments, and now that we are hunkered down waiting for Hurricane Dean to pass, we will try to answer more of them. Keep them coming and keep Belize in your prayers.

With Courageous Faith,

Nick

2007 08 20 Nick All Entries Comments (2) Permalink

Another Hurricane Update

Scott and I are sorry that we were not able to send an update yesterday, but we discovered that there is no place to get online in the costal town of Dangriga.  The good news is that we did great yesterday getting over the mountains and were able to make it to Dangriga (54 miles) by lunch.  After a much needed rest in hammocks, we even went another 16 miles down the road to the Maya Center campgrounds where we stayed the night.  We felt great because we had pushed ahead enough to be a day ahead, and we were looking forward to the next day.

 This morning we woke up and rode another 30 miles, but it was during the ride that we found out that Hurricane Dean was taking a change in route and heading straight for Belize.  We knew that we were not in direct harms way because we were so far south, but we have realized that Dean is going to send a lot of weather and rain south, which is prone to flooding.  With this in mind, we drove into PG (Punta Gorda) to upload a message to everyone know we are safe and heading north to San Ignacio where we will wait out the storm.

This is an unexpected change in the trip, but as we have said before, the trip is not about the bike ride, rather, it is about Belize and connecting with the people that are in this country.  With that in mind, we are heading north to higher ground, but also to be closer to those that we might need to help.  We will do our best to update you all about the damage from the hurricane and if there are ways that ROW can help the people down here.

If the internet goes down, which it will likely do, we will be sure to send in audio updates to the ROW website (www.ROW.org), so please visit that for the latest information if there is nothing on this site.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we travel back north, but also pray for the people that are going to get hit the hardest by this hurricane.  It looks like Dean is going to make direct landfall around Corozal.  After riding through that town last week, Scott and I are both concerned what will happen to those people up there that will certainly lose their homes from wind and flooding.  Those are the people that need our prayers, and if we can find a way to help them then we will be sure to let you all know.

Thank you all for the comments and emails, they mean a lot to us both.

Serving with Courageous Faith,

Nick & Scott

2007 08 20 Nick All Entries Comments (4) Permalink

Scott’s simple gift of the day #4

MegaVoice - Billy White
Today’s simple gift is SIMPLE! It’s this man in the picture above. This morning we biked to the village of Billy White. I really enjoy the quiet villages more than the cities. Billy White is quite a beautiful part of the country. We spent time in the village handing out solar powered audio bibles. Most the residence (Population 350) speak mostly spanish and some english. So we handed out the spanish translation. The first house we came to had a couple families in it. After handing out the audio bibles, this one man had the biggest smile on his face because he was now going to be able to listen the Good News. He was so excited I think he was about to cry, which honestly choked me up a bit. When leaving he said, “You all have giving hearts to do what you all are doing for people.”

So enjoy the picture above and I hope it brings a smile to your face.

We’re off to the border in about an hour. So come back later to see some pictures.

Peace,
Scott “My butt doesn’t hurt much anymore” Neely

2007 08 18 Scott All Entries Comments (5) Permalink