Flood within

When I saw the word \"Miracle\" I thought, I need this word, due to events in my life at the moment, I needed to reflect on the miracle that came to me in 2003 Sumatra Indonesia.
I met my husband in Sumatra Indonesia when when volunteering on a project working with Orangutans and medicinal plants. The project highlights the Orangutan and their knowledge of the forest's medicine, another reason we need to protect the orangutan and their environment, we can learn so much from their knowledge for humans. My husband was running a guest house for tourist near where we were volunteering.

My husband and I were waiting for our visa to return to the states, I was anxious to return home because my mom had cancer. We lived in the river jungle village Bukit Lawang, surrounded by pristine forest hills and rice fields, rubber and palm oil plantations that unfortunately took away from the rare forests. We stayed in a little place on the river, that cost .50 a day and we bathed and washed our clothes in the river, I reveled at the rain daily and it's grander and each night I would always have my mind blown by the orchestra of sounds the jungle.

I had recently returned to my fiance's river village from a trip to Thailand, I had bronchitis and went to our little room on the second floor with a small balcony where I watched the river and looked daily to the other side of other river where it was not rare to see the bright orange fur of an orangutan going about his daily business. Continually fascinated by our amazing cousins!

My fiance asked me if I wanted go to the little Warung (small restaurant) and get a ginger tea, I was exhausted but with my bronchitis I thought it was a good idea. Also, I had brought back some Thai cigarettes to the grandfather of the family who owned the Warang that I knew he would love. It was raining, not unusual in the rain forest, but this night was not usual, no one knew miles up stream that a dam of trees that had accumulated over the years due to ground erosion, most likely from loggers over the years. At the Warung, located on the river bank, a local person said \"The river is getting high\" again not unusual but this time, the locals lost their usual smile and in a knowing that only locals could know, it was obvious this rain fall and night would not be normal. Collectively, I felt the village in high alert, and it seconds the water was at my waist as the villagers ran for high ground.

. .. . .This is a story of a flood I was in and the miracles that happened that night and the support of the village who reached out to help each other.
200 died that night in the small village and I have had this story in me for too long without speaking of this amazing story.

I just saw the email from World Pulse and I am up late trying to write this story and get it to you before midnight, I have of course more to ad from this miracle night. But I am sending this hoping you will want to know more and hear my story.

Sincerely,
Beverly Raimondo