Since my post in the beginning of April about my week in Puerto Alegria during the rainy season, I have spoken with Jherry, the director, numerous times about the river & water situation at the home.

A few days after the group and I left the home, Jherry, his wife Veronica, the staff and all 40 boys packed up their belongings and moved into the city of Iquitos. The river level kept growing and it was encroaching on the house (which is built about 4 or 5 feet above ground, about 400 feet from the river bank). Jherry told me that when they left, the water was 20cm below the kitchen floor and the boat dock and steps up to the property were completely underwater. The serpents had moved into the buildings looking for dry ground making it very dangerous to be there.

This photo of the dining room is from 2009. The water was 20cm below the floor of the building.

Meanwhile the river had taken over the property, the 40 boys and staff were living in a house built for a family of about 6. They have been confined to a smaller space than usual and living in the busy city – as opposed to the “countryside” of Iquitos. It was tight and an unexpected adventure into the city, but thanks to the end of the rainy season and God’s provision for them, the boys and staff are back in Puerto Alegria.

The boys are back in school (since classes were temporarily stopped because of the floods, they go to school Monday through Saturday to recuperate the lost days) and life is somewhat back to normal at the house. Over the next month or so, they will be working on repairing any damage that was caused from the water and cleaning up the debris left from when the water receded.

Please join me in keeping the boys and staff at Puerto Alegria in your prayers as they transition back into life at the home and safety as they are cleaning up the property. I’ll be heading to Puerto Alegria in a month with a group and I absolutely cannot wait to see everybody there.