The #1 concern when making the commitment to teach in the Netherland Antilles is the summer threat of hurricanes. As we systemically checked the weather, it appeared that all is clear for our 2 week long trip, but as anyone who lives there knows, things can change a lot in a week. And sure enough, a disturbance off of West Africa combined with warm waters brought a swirling weather pattern that would eventually coalesce into the hurricane named Ernesto.
Bad weather is always interruptive to our plans, but it is also a bit exciting. Emily had us prepped with enough food supplies to face whatever the weather would bring, but thankfully we weren’t without power for long as our hotel has backup generators.
Because of the increased wind-speeds and crashing waves, we actually got requested by the hotel staff to go back to our room, but only after we spent enough time facing the power of mother-nature in what was a low powered category 1 hurricane. There’s no substitute for feeling the pressure of the wind on your body and salt-spray on your face that offers the same experiential humility of sensing how small and fragile we are, and how mighty and powerful our God is.
Thankfully the winds died down as the storm passed and made its way up past Bermuda, and life returned to normal. We were thankful for both the powerful reminder of God’s providence and protection, and a short storm that didn’t interrupt our plans too much!