We didn’t get much sleep on the way to Puerto Vallarta and so we were extra stressed when we didn’t see our friend Luis Alberto there to pick us up. The hurricane had washed out the roads from Manzanillo to Puerto Vallarta so he had arranged for another brother to meet us there and help us get onto a bus to Guadalajara (4 hours inland - SE of PV). Luis Alberto and Betty picked us up in Guadalajara and took us to the house of Eduardo - a long time friend of theirs. At 2am we finally fell into bed – exhausted and grateful for their hospitality. By going this route we were able to bypass the hurricane which was heading north along the coastline as we headed to Guadalajara and then to Manzanillo.
After breakfast we did some shopping in Guadalajara (They have a Costco! Which had some of the products we needed - like Tillamook Sharp White Cheddar Cheese) and then headed to Manzanillo since it seemed safe now.
Even an hour and a half from Manzanillo we saw damage from the hurricane. On the way home there was lots of mud slides blocking the right side of the road.
Over the first few days we saw the damage around Manzanillo. Hurricane Jova is the first hurricane to touch down in 15 years! And it arrived the night we got back! We don’t take this to mean we have strange powers over the weather.
The hurricane had caused a lot of flooding in Manzanillo and even in Colima which is about an hour inland.
Several of our brothers and sisters lost a lot of their furniture and one family lost their entire house.
We had some cleanup to do when we got home as nature tries to reclaim any uninhabited spaces, but no major damage was done to our apartment. By the end of October we were settled in and ready to throw ourselves into our ministry work, which has been amazing recently. More on that to come.
We miss all of you tremendously and hope that each of you are doing great! May Jehovah bless you and give you His holy spirit in all of your endeavors.
Love and Hugs,
Emily and Dane
