September 2008 --catch up

Over a month later, much has happened and God has been continually good. I apologize for not getting anything up recently however I am in an ongoing battle with one of the island's internet companies about getting my home service back up and running. In God's timing.... Just a bullets to let you know what's going on. First about the hurricanes. And I know that everyone has heard about all of the devastation that Hannah and Ike ravaged on the island. But I'll just post a bunch of pictures to give you a story line of what it was like ... if you want a lot of words, call me 649.242.5996 (or even if you don't want a lot of words and just want to chat you can still call! smile).

Here you can see some of the damage caused by the hurricanes. The commercial building with the green roof had its steel roof peeled off like opening a can of sardines. The tractor trailer that had a steel storage container was flipped by Ike. But when many people heard reports of 80% of the roofs being damaged, it was a often just a few shingles missing like on this house.

Our small group was able to be involved in the relief efforts thanks to the partnership of Samaritan's Purse. We were able to provide plastic tarps to cover damaged roofs of our neighbors on the island of Grand Turk (another island in the TCI). Also we were able to assemble relief kits that provided some basic nutritional needs for the families that were affected by the hurricanes. The contents of the kits had: beans, pasta, flour, sugar, salt, powdered milk, vegetable oil, soap, etc. The great thing about this partnership was that it allowed the Youth Group to get involved and really be a part of the relief effort in a tangible way. It showed them that even in their youth they could help. One pic is of me and Lauren packing a bag. Lauren, even though only 4 years old really wanted to help! Another one is Kennon and Stanton excited about serving. Then, standing in the next pic is Dante, Tajhan, and Conroy. And the final picture at youth group is Miguel (!!!!) and Quinn. I thank the Lord for an opportunity to minister to these young boys as they grow into young men. Another thing that was sort of wild was taking my first inter-island flight. The day we went to Grand Turk to check out the damage that had been done by Ike, I flew in the smallest plane I have ever been in. Check out these pictures. The plane had 8 people + the pilot. and it was tight (not like "cool" = "tight", but "I can't breathe" = "tight"). The flight being about 70 miles, it was about 35 minutes in the air. The funny thing is that in spite of the relative brevity of the flight, I still took a quick nap. On the plane. But I think that part of the reason that I sleep on planes is for comfort. I don't think about being locked in, I don't worry about my ears popping, I don't concern myself with the temperature of the cabin.... which is good because I woke up sweating, and otherwise I would've been thinking about how hot I was the entire time had I been awake the whole time. The reasons that people were going over were varied: Some people commute back and forth between the two islands, some going to check on family and friends, and others helping out with relief efforts. The crazy thing is that the flight was still $200 for a 35 minute round-trip. Crazy! You do what you've gotta do. I had the seat right next to the emergency exit, and if you look past the sticker you can see the propeller of right side. the only one... so God help my claustrophobic inclination by providing a little bit of relief. I got to see first hand what the cockpit was like. And I was able to capture a few photos before the pilot told me to put the camera away.