Global Leadership Summit in the DR Cancelled

I just wrote this entry for my work blog, Latin Fusion, but I thought I'd post it here as well to keep things updated. The girls on my soccer team are pretty much flooded out with wet clothes and furniture, and are calling me because they don't have drinkable water now. I may try to go down into their barrio tomorrow...

The Global Leadership Summit in the Dominican Republic, originally scheduled for this weekend, was canceled today due to the severe nationwide damage from Tropical Storm Noel. Many communities are currently in a state of emergency as the pouring rain has not stopped since last Saturday and major bridges have been deemed impassable.

The latest bulletin from the Dominican Republic Emergency Operations Center tells of at least 41 dead, 20 missing, over 50,000 evacuated and over 14,500 people in refugee centers, 39 communities cut off by flood waters, and 12,636 houses affected by the flooding.

Many churches have already become shelters and distribution centers for their struggling communities.

This morning, pastor Robert Guerrero of Iglesia Comunitaria Cristiana, one of Willow Creek's church partners in the Dominican Republic, met with a team of church leaders to determine what action steps would be taken to assist other churches in the most affected parts of the country. Urgent needs include mattress pads, food, clothes and potable water. Another meeting will take place Thursday morning involving more key pastors.

Pastor Raquel Alburquerque at Nueva Vida Church (Ensanche Luperon) has many church members distributing free clean drinking water to their neighbors from their recently installed water purification system. Pastor Esdras Kelly is housing eighty people in his church building and community center in Santa Rosa de Bani.

Another Willow Creek partner, The Assemblies of God Church of Peralta, is located in a rural mountain valley that has been cut off from the rest of the country by a flooding river. A Rush Presbyterian medical team that was serving in Peralta this past week will be air lifted by helicopter on Thursday to Santo Domingo.

A team of seven Willow Creek Association City Builders, led by Dick Anderson, arrived this afternoon to help with the distribution of goods and clean up. The group's original intent for being in the Dominican Republic was to attend the Global Leadership Summit.