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At this moment hurricane Sandy is reeking havoc on the Eastern shores of the US, and we just got our electricity back today! The clean up process has been strenuous but steady. The reality of hurricanes is that they take an major physical and emotional toll on your person. After you help the buildings and property to recover, you need to recover yourself.
The school faired very well through the storm, especially the new shop. I know all our summer missionaries are picturing crumpled roofs and doors and windows torn asunder, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The shop was outstanding through the storm! I didn’t even put windows in the building, only plywood shutters (thanks to the Chambers Team). Literally, only days before the hurricane hit, I place a bag with automotive supplies the middle of the shop with the receipt on top, and after the hurricane the receipt was still sitting on top of the bag!!! I couldn’t believe it.
The rest of the school did just as well. Except for our tallest and oldest palm tree. We’ve now converted it into a sitting bench for the children as they wait for the bus after school. The girls dorm had a 6 inch swimming pool installed by Sandy, and the basketball court lost its backboards… now the boys will have to just make swishes!
The storm also availed the chance to update and upgrade the remainder on our electrical pole. This past summer we received a new pole after the old one was nearly torn down in the last hurricane. However we never changed out the electronics on the pole itself. Sandy gave us that opportunity, and after some beyond-my-pay-grade electrician work, we’ve got electricity.
The absolute worst part of the last few days wasn’t a consequence of the storm but a complication from it. After the palm trees gave up their coconuts in the high winds, one of our students (who stayed behind at school instead of going home) chopped his finger off trying to open a coconut! All the roads were impassable, the cell towers were down, and the landlines were off. WHAT TO DO! I, along with the dorm parent, got in the car and raced to the nearest nurse, however the road to the closest settlement was barricaded with mounds of seaweed and 8ft waves crashing over the road.
I had to time the waves and drive stop-and-go to make it through, using the vehicle like a snowplow at times to forage through the seaweed… hitting rocks and debris throw into our path by the fierce winds. But when you’ve got a kid with blood shooting out of his severed finger in your car, you find a way. The nurse took one look and said, “you need to see another nurse.” The other nurse took one look and said, “you need to see a doctor.” However the doctor was behind an ocean of water that used to be Rock Sound airport. Once we did finally get to a doctor the next day, he took one look and said, “you need to get to Nassau.” Don’t worry, the boy is fine, and my car is still running! However, the whole ordeal was completely exhausting and turned the stress level beyond healthy… I literally got light-headed from all the blood.
Our favorite part about the storm was the fellowship we had with our friends who weathered the storm with us. The day after we all had breakfast together and the following 3 nights everyone pitched in for some amazing feasts all together. We played games afterwards and the kids chased each other around, it was the best time.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us with your prayers, the storm was windy, and we thank the Lord that its bark was worse that its bite.