<Los Angeles>When Master received word of the devastation caused by floods from two hurricanes that had struck the mountain villages of Puebla and Veracruz, Mexico, She immediately instructed the L. A. Center to form a relief team to bring US$30,000 in aid to those most in need.

On Monday, October 18, 1999, a group of L. A. initiates, including two that had retained their Mexican citizenship and one with the ability to speak medical Spanish and provide some medical services, flew to Mexico City, where we were greeted at the airport by fellow disciples from the Texcoco and Mexico City Centers.

The following two days were spent buying relief items. Luckily, the U. S. dollar was able to purchase a great many supplies! Tons of dry grain, canned goods, water, cereal, baby food, cookies, crackers, candy and other food items, as well as diapers, socks, shoes, heavy blankets and medical supplies were bought and loaded into two large trucks. Some marketplace merchants even contributed kilos of dried grain when they learned of our mission to aid the flood victims! We gave these people Master's photos as souvenirs. One merchant had tears in her eyes as she thanked us for this treasured gift.

Next, many local disciples worked day and night with us to prepare individual bags filled with goods for each family. Master's chanting music filled the air in the courtyard and gave everyone extra energy. Disciples meditated for four hours each day and silently recited the Holy Names while working on this mission of Master's Love.

Two large trucks were needed to haul all of the supplies bought in the marketplace. One of the truck drivers was a fellow initiate, who lived close to Puebla, one of the areas most affected by the flooding. The second driver also lived near the flooded areas. He fell in love with Master during this mission and drove his truck through areas where other truck drivers would surely have refused to travel! Both drivers were able to supply information concerning the areas of the worst flooding and directions about how to get the heavy supplies directly to the villagers most in need.

School overrun by the raging floodwater

On Thursday, October 21, we began a five-hour journey to the first village on our itinerary. Our first stop was on the outskirts of a city that had been well supplied with food and clothing by the Mexican government. However, we found hundreds of mountain villagers in need of help; some who had walked for four hours were not given any food because they were not residents of this city. We set up our trucks on the outskirts of town and began distributing the supplies. Nighttime soon fell and we then had to resort to the light provided by only three flashlights. Villagers patiently lined up, waiting their turn for food. The air was very cold and we saw that many of the villagers were barefooted and wearing only thin clothing. Fortunately, we were able to provide most of these people with thick, comfortable blankets given with Master's love.

A medical clinic was then hastily set up in a dilapidated building. Here, we treated patients with everything from flu symptoms, eye irritations, sore throats, and hypertension to depression. Everyone wanted a sample booklet or flyer. Even the young children eagerly took Master's booklets and held onto them as though they knew full well that they had been given a rare treasure! It seemed to us that these unfortunate people intuitively knew who Master was, and in the darkness of this seemingly endless night of misery, a light beamed forth and touched their lives with Master's blessing power.

Over the next few days, from Friday to Sunday, we continued to travel to approximately six villages, while making countless stops along the road whenever we saw villagers in need of food and water. Some of the villages that we visited included Zacapoaxtla, Dos Rios and Tanamoroya in Teziutlan, Buena Vista and Atmoloni in Hueyapan, as well as Tlatlauqui and Aire Libre. On Friday, we stopped in a beautiful mountain village and again delivered food and supplies to hundreds of people in need. As we drove along the mountain roads, with Master's "Sing Allelujiah to the Lord" playing constantly, we admired the beautiful scenery but also witnessed the devastation caused by the floods. One large school building had been overrun with boulders swept along by the strong current of a swollen river.

At the second village on our journey, a middle-aged couple brought their beautiful young daughter to our medical clinic. The girl had epilepsy but because the family was so poor, they had run out of money to pay for her medication. During an epileptic seizure, the daughter had fallen face first into a fire that had burned most of her upper face! The injury was one year old but her face was still badly mutilated. Her eyes stared out without blinking because her eyelids had been burned off. We could only give the family some minimal supplies but added a few hundred USD so that they could take their daughter to a clinic and restart her seizure medication. We took the name and address of this family in order to refer them to a medical group called Medecins Sans Frontieres that travels to remote areas and treats patients in need free of charge.

Villagers lining up for food.

In the next villages, hundreds of people were waiting to receive food, water and other emergency supplies. Many of the villagers came to us in bare feet that were calloused from years of walking without shoes. Most of them had aged prematurely due to lives of hardship and the constant lack of life's amenities. The villagers quietly lined up, as one of the village leaders called out the names of each family. Our third stop was probably the most organized. There our group was able to hand out hundreds of food items and other emergency supplies in a short period of time. Once again, the medical clinic treated dozens of patients, in addition to teaching about the importance of a vegetarian diet, nutrition facts and simple wound care.

On Saturday, we drove to what was to be our final stop before returning to the U.S.A. Village leaders there kept everything running smoothly. We watched the happy faces of the local children as they picked out brand new shoes for their tired feet. This time, we distributed almost all of our remaining food and blankets. We also depleted all of our medical supplies. That evening, we were treated to a special vegetarian meal of beans, tortillas and rice, and the village leaders opened up their homes to accommodate us. It was very beautiful and peaceful there.

The next morning, villagers again lined up waiting for the medical clinic to reopen. We found a few more supplies but only had enough time to treat the sickest of the villagers. One elderly woman told us that she had just lost her husband and all but one of her children. We hugged her and cried along with her. One of the village women came forth and took this woman into her arms, and then she was joined by the rest of the crowd. It was very touching. We gave the remainder of our supplies to a village nurse so that she could care for the children and the elderly. Then, waving goodbye to our newly made friends, we left, along with our caravan, down the mountain road and back to the Texcoco Center. It was sad to say "goodbye" but we were happy at the same time. We just wished that we had an unlimited fund of money, supplies and manpower to give to the suffering poor of this world. Luckily, however, we were at least able to reach these Mexican people with the loving vibrations of our almighty Master.

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