Surviving Ivan

The Mitterhauser family

Phil and Shelley (Wiebe) Mitterhauser and their two daughters, Melinda (6) and Sara (3), had a very special mission until Hurricane Ivan tore through the Caribbean with a force that nearly cost them their lives.

Their mission was to spread the Word of God and the message of salvation to the boating and island communities of the Bahamas and Caribbean, first in Bermuda and most recently in Grenada. Their boat was their home and St. George’s was their community.

Phil had also recently been hired to develop and teach an auto collision repair program (a skill he acquired in St. Catharines) to youth at the T.A. Marryshow College in Grenada, allowing him further opportunities to share the gospel. He would teach for one day before Ivan hit the island and destroyed the College.

The family, whose home church is Cornerstone Community Church in Virgil, Ont., had never encountered a serious hurricane in the seven years they had been living on a boat.

The day before the hurricane hit, the Mitterhausers received five different phone calls from people on the island offering them sanctuary. Their boat was anchored in the bay and they felt safe. Yet, after the fifth phone call, they decided God was trying to tell them something.

When the four of them headed for shore in their dinghy, the sun was out and everything was very quiet. By the time they were in a friend’s car and heading to higher ground, the rain had started and the wind was getting stronger. Once the full force of the hurricane arrived, they knew they had been right to seek shelter. The force of the rain and winds was unimaginable, Shelley recalls, and sounded like a 747 plane was about to land overhead.

The house was shaking, and dust and particles of the ceiling tiles and roof fell on them. As the storm worsened, the windows started to blow in, followed by the loss of part of the roof. They took refuge in a small bathroom, covering themselves with mattresses and cushions. They stayed there 12 hours. Although it was very noisy, they sang hymns and prayed with the children.

“For one brief moment, I cried out silently, ‘My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?’ ” Shelley says. “Then, in a flash, I realized that He was there in the midst of the storm and an incredible peace came over me and I knew we were safe.”

As soon as he was able, Phil went looking for their boat. He found that although it had been shaken violently, picked up and dropped on a reef with another boat on top, it was dry inside and salvageable.

The Mitterhausers’ home

Meanwhile their home congregation was praying and wondering about their whereabouts. An Oct. 7 e-mail message from Phil moved everyone who read it.

Phil said (slightly paraphrased): “The devastation is unbelievable. The whole island is in ruins. Only a war can create more damage than this. We thank you for your prayers and your assistance because this has been faith testing to know where God is in all this. It is a very lonely time. We thank God for our personal safety. We have nowhere to go. Our boat, which is our home, is all there is left for us and we have to find a way to get it off the reef. By faith and in His hope we carry on.”

The good news is that on Nov. 12, Phil got their boat off the reef. Shelley and the children returned to Niagara, Ont. while Phil remains on the boat, making repairs. Shelley says they have come out of this experience with a sense of awe for God’s power and love. They request prayer as they seek God’s purpose for their lives. Should they carry on with their boating ministry in the Caribbean, or is God leading them towards another form of service?

—Sandra Crux attends Cornerstone Community Church, Virgil, Ont.