Air Mobile Team back to Mt. Merapi - In the shadow of a Volcano!

June 21, 2006 - Wednesday 8:26pm (Indonesian Time) Solo, Indonesia - Report submitted by Joe Hurston

It was back to Mount Merapi today. Yesterday, while we were in Jogja (the hard hit earthquake region), Mount Merapi was spewing fire and lava. Today, as we approached the world's most active volcano, things were a bit quieter. We were glad for that. This also enabled us to get very close to a small village less than 1.5 kilometers from the mouth of the volcano.

We met Sony, a volunteer from the region who has been very active in Search and Rescue and assisting in evacuations. Sony is a very experienced tour guide who knows Mount Merapi better than most anyone else. We began training him as a potential First Responder team member equipped with the Vortex Voyager TM.


Before we arrived at the village, we set up a Vortex Voyager TM in a small river and left Cindy to run the operation. Meanwhile, Barbara and Sony and I proceeded to the last village before the volcano. Enroute to the village all of the crops were covered in volcanic ash! So was everything else. The very air was filled with this destructive ash.

Once we arrrived at this last outpost before Mt. Merapi, we found precious and determined people endeavoring to live their lives with this powerful volcano at their back-door. One might ask, why don't they just move? As I looked into the faces of the men, women and children in this little village, I seemed to gain more insight into their plight. This is all they have ever known. They, their parents, their parents parents and so on have lived on this land for many, many years. From time to time, Mount Merapi acts up, as is happening now. The people have run several times from Merapi within the last few months. They come back as soon as things calm down and tend to their crops and animals.

Our goal is to set up an Emergency Response Team to help these people escape when things get hot. And hot they become very quickly. We are hoping to establish a team that, among other things, can provide clean drinking water on a moments notice from any source.

That is the reason we set up a Vortex Voyager TM in the stream just outside their village to demonstrate the Vortex Voyagers TM ability to pump very clean water instantly. Cindy did a superb job of filling their vessels as Barbara and I pressed to the closest point to Merapi from the last village.

Tomorrow, we travel back to the Jogja region to meet with the Red Cross to discuss our ideas and plan of an emergency response team equipped with Vortex Voyagers TM for the Mount Merapi area. As you can see from our reports, we're moving pretty fast and seeking the best way to get the Vortex Voyagers TM into "Life-saving" positions. As I seem to say every report, "it's been a long day, need to get some rest". So, signing out for now. Will write more tomorrow. God Bless and THANKS for your prayer and support!!


Joe and the Air Mobile Team

PS - Before going to bed, I found this story about Mt. Merapi.
It is dated TODAY - JUNE 21, 2006 - AIR MOBILE is in the right place at the right time!

Hot gas, debris rumble down from Indonesia's Mount Merapi; lava dome at risk of collapse


(AP) -- Indonesia's Mount Merapi sent avalanches of searing hot gas and debris roiling down its scorched slopes Wednesday, as a scientist warned the peak's fragile lava dome still posed a threat to thousands of villagers.

The 9,700-foot volcano has been at a near-continuous state of high alert for seven weeks, forcing the evacuation of thousands of villagers in a government designated danger zone.

More than half a dozen avalanches Wednesday morning carried gas and volcanic debris 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) down the peak's flanks, Subandrio, a government scientist who used only one name, said Wednesday.

Magma has swelled into a volatile 300,000 cubic meter dome on the southern crater, he said, and there is a likelihood that the lava dome will collapse, causing an avalanche of the hot gas and volcanic debris trapped within it.

The government has ordered the evacuation of all residents living within 7 kilometers (just over 4 miles) of the peak, but says it cannot force them to leave or prevent villagers from returning to check their houses and crops. Hundreds have refused to go.

Another possible threat is posed by rain forecast for coming days which could wash millions of metric tons of built-up ash and rock fragments down Merapi's steep slopes in powerful mudslides.

Two people died last week when hot gas traveled 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) down the mountain on Wednesday.

Searing gas clouds killed more than 60 villagers in 1994 and more than 1,300 people died in a a major eruption in 1930.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.





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Air Mobile returns to "Ground Zero" and gives clean water to thirsty victims!

June 20, 2006 - Tuesday 9:43pm (Indonesia Time) - Solo, Indonesia - Report submitted by Joe Hurston

In our last report, the Air Mobile Team was heading to Jogja, Indonesia, an area devastated by the earthquake several weeks ago. We had a very productive day demonstrating / training different organizations on the Vortex Voyager TM (Samaritan's Purse, Food for the Hungry and the Cooperative Baptist). However, we ran out of time before we could get into some of the devasted areas to actually pump clean water from the contaminated wells for the refugees. We ran out of light and had to return to our base in Solo.

Today, Tuesday, we headed back to Jogja. We penetrated deeper into the destruction zones and found the Red Cross in the suburb of Batul. We demonstrated the Vortex Voyager TM to the leaders there and they are extremely interested in getting the Vortex Voyagers TM into all 17 affected disaster areas. They will be discussing these possibilities with their management and get back to us.

We then began looking for some hard hit areas and found a small tent city surrounded by rubble and destruction. Cindy asked the ladies at the entrance to a small, make-shift community if they needed clean water. In her limited Indonesian, she asked if they "wanted" clean water. They repeated again and again, want, want, want. In other words, yes, they really wanted / needed clean drinking water. Within minutes we had the little Vortex Voyager TM pumping very clean water from the very contaminated well. Soon, the water bottles began to appear and we began filling them. We filled every container that this community had!


It's difficult to explain the feeling of doing this. Something so simple as giving a cup of clean water to desperate people is one of the most rewarding things imaginable. This simple act of kindness and concern for their needs so clearly demonstrated God's love for them! Our Lord is so good to put us into this position. You have helped to send us here with your love, prayer and support!

Tomorrow, we head back to Mount Merapi. Our plan is to put a couple of Vortex Voyagers TM into position to help the residents of the that volatile mountain/volcano to have clean water instantly as they flee the volcano when it rumbles or erupts.

It's been a long day. Better close out for now. Will write tomorrow evening when we return from Mount Merapi. God Bless and thanks again for your love and prayer!!

Joe and the Air Mobile Team

Air Mobile Team arrives at Mt. Merapi!

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

Air Mobile Team on the ground in Indonesia!

June 17, 2006 Saturday 2:27am (Indonesia time) - Report submitted by Joe Hurston

After a Non-stop flight of nearly 19 hours from Newark, NJ to Singapore we literally ran to our connecting flight into Jakarta, Indonesia. Once on the ground in Jakarta, our baggage did not all arrive. We patiently waited for the 3 remaining Voyager Voyagers TM to make it on the next couple of flights. Meanwhile, we bought a cell phone and have local Indonesian number and spent the next couple of hours lining up meetings, trainings and upgrading Vortex Voyagers TM in the field.

Our internal clocks are completely tumbled. There's an 11 hour time difference and our bodies hardly know if we're coming or going. There is definately something to "jet-lag". From the time we arrived at the Orlando International Airport on Wednesday afternoon, we have gone nearly 40 straight hours before laying down in a bed. Now, that's a long day!

Tomorrow, we fly to the Volcano region and press into the hardest hit areas. There are reports of an increase in bird flu and potential outbreak of tetanus in the region. There were several fairly strong earthquakes today in another region of Indonesia (Sulawesi Island) and this further demonstrates the tremendous instability of this area known as "The Ring of Fire". We are so blessed to be able to come here and help during this difficult time.

Meanwhile, another Air Mobile Team member, Cherie Hurston (my daughter) is on the Amazon River deploying Vortex Voyagers TM on Mission River boat that goes to isolated and needy areas. Cherie left on June 10, 2006. Please pray for her as she serves our Lord in that region.

Well, we have a full day tomorrow, better get to sleep. God Bless You and thanks again for praying for us as we trek deep into this region of suffering!

Joe and the Air Mobile Team

Air Mobile enroute to Indonesia - Mount Merapi rumbling!

June 14, 2006 9:43pm (EST) - Newark Airport - Enroute to Indonesia

The Air Mobile team (Joe and Cindy Hurston and Barbara Walker) is about to board a Singapore Airbus 340 and fly 19 hours to Singapore. That's a long NON-STOP flight! From Singapore, we'll be on the ground a couple of hours, then to Jakarta. We have back-to-back-to-back meetings scheduled upon arrival with agencies that we have worked with during the tsunami. It's very good to be returning to Indonesia. Though, we have many, many sad memories of the last time we were here. The tsunami was the worst disaster in modern history. Our heart goes out to the Indonesian people.

As we monitor the news on Indonesia, it appears that Mt. Merapi, the world's most active volcano is showing signs of a major eruption. Just hours ago, huge clouds of super-heated gases nearly enveloped a near-by village. This is the reason we sense such an urgency to get to the region and offer life-saving water to those that are fleeing this volcano.

Just a quick note; we, at Air Mobile want to thank all of those that attended the Air Mobile Indonesian Briefing last night (June 13th) at the Air Mobile Headquarters in Titusville, FL. Thanks for taking the time to come and pray with us and thanks for your gifts toward this critical mission!

We'll write once we get settled into Jakarta. We'll only spend a day in Jakarta before proceeding to the volcano region. As always, thank you for your love and prayer!!

Joe and the Air Mobile Team