June 18, 2005 - Sunday - 10:21pm (Indonesia Time) - Solo, Indonesia - Report Submitted by Joe Hurston
We are in the shadow of Mt. Merapi, the world's most active volcano. We arrived into Solo on Saturday night after a one hour flight from Jakarta. Our mission in Jakarta was successful with the training of two team leaders of earlier deployments. We were able to upgrade their Vortex Voyagers TM and do some repairs to get the units up and working in top order. Both organizations work in the Sumatra region and on Nias Island.
Upon arrival at Solo, we were immmediately met with the smell of Volcano in the air. Mt. Merapi is rumbling and could potentially blow at any time. We then met with Jim Karl of Tears International (an organization that has worked mainly on Nias Island and Northern Sumatra). Now, after this last catastrophic earthquake and increased volcanic activity, they are deploying resources and teams in this region of Java island.
This morning, we attended church in Solo and we were all blessed by the worship and love we found in this precious congregation. Then we headed up to Mt. Merapi. We were able to drive within 3 kilometers of the actual mouth of the volcano. We ended our drive to the volcano at a small village. The people in the village are constantly on the look-out for volcanic activity and often have to flee their homes. This village had just returned from an evacuation after the volcano's last blast that actually killed two people just on the other side of the peak. We left the volcano and headed back to our base in Solo asking our Lord what and how we could help.
Will write more tomorrow.
Joe and the Air Mobile Team
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