Day 3: Mission Relief Work in Myanmar

Update No. 3 (May 14, 2008)

it has been raining in myanmar. but this and strict checkpoint guards did not prevent us from going deep into the irawaddy province. we left 650am and returned at past 1030pm. i will exclude all details since i am in a public internet cafe with many people looking over shoulders every now and then. we went as far as bogaly, which is about 10 miles from the coast of the bay of bengal.
today we are buying tarps, rice, noodles and dried fish---some of the items badly needed in the area. shelter and food. some complain about needing dry clothes but this will have to follow. $5 worth of goods in a bag will contain 1 kg of dahl, i kg. of rice, some noodles and dried fish, hopefully a supply that will least the more than 40,000 families living along the road in small tent shaped thatched shelters. i have plenty of pics and video but for some reason this cafe cannot open it. children are lined up on the streets waiting and begging for gifts of food. in one stretch 40 km stretch, we saw nothing but thatch houses on their side, roofs blown or totally destroyed on each side of the road. it could have been more than 40 km, because the first damaged/destroyed houses appeared at around 8am, and it did not stop till two hours later, and still there were intermittent clusters of destroyed houses, and people living in this thatch tents. i think the place was in kunyagone.
we plan to go first to bogaly and distribute the goods we will prepare. then to the kunyagone area. we definitely need more help so tonight i am meeting with the brethren and some local volunteers.
and yes, no foreigners allowed. we had to go through 4 checkpoints, and thank God i am asian. we saw a group of 5 causcasians at a checkpoint pleading their case, surrounded by soldiers.
bbc announced today that volunteeers from 5 asian countries will be allowed to enter the delta, but they did not say which nations. i hope the phils. is one of them.
have to rush. please continue to pray for me. i have a soldier 2 booths away from.
to God be the glory! pls. continue to send those donations to the MARCH account. hopefully have more filipinos with me this sunday or monday.
your partner in the Lord's work,

chito