The Storm

Last evening we had a huge storm - heavy winds, thunder, lightning, horizontal rain and hail slamming against the windows and tin roof. It was so loud. So loud that Buddy and I, even thought standing only a few feet apart, had to yell just to hear each other over the noise. That’s when the power went out. Jenny, Buddy and I found our torches (aka flashlights) and lit candles. We made our way into the kitchen to find it quickly filling with water coming in under the back door. Buddy held the dim light while Jenny and I armed ourselves with towels to mop up what we could and barricade the bottom of the door to limit any continuing water flow. Outside, the wind howled whipped around and Buddy exclaimed, “It feels like maybe we should be bracing ourselves in a doorway or something! This is crazy!” About a half an hour went by and the height of the storm was past us. I couldn’t help but think about our friends in Oshetu, braving this storm in their tin houses of scrap metal and wooden crates. After the worst had passed, the three of us here headed over to Todd and Erin’s house for the rest of the evening to play Phase 10 by candlelight. Its 1pm now, the day after and we are still without power. No idea when it might come back. I’m hoping I can finish writing and post this and check emails before the battery power on my laptop runs down. We went to Oshetu this morning to see if there was anyone who needed help rebuilding and cleaning up. All over, people were out clearing the fallen tree limbs and leaves and talking about the storm.



Oshetu actually fared ok actually. Its really amazing how much those small tin shacks can take. We did find some help needed at Keano’s grandma’s house, where part of the wall had given way and left a big hole. We listened to the stories of the children. They were scared, but as the rain poured in the wall, grandma pulled them all into the bathroom and they huddled there together. Buddy got to work helping repair the hole, while Todd, Erin and I played with the girls and boys outside. Praise the Lord for His Church and how we get to be the body to each other.

Here is a picture of Todd and Erin’s backyard this morning. The papaya tree didn’t do so well.