Rain Update:
It rained and rained and rained last night. The thunder was amazing and non stop from 11pm until 4am. The kids all slept through it. My cell rang at 11pm and I figured Troy was calling ... Instead it was Tipap calling from the backyard (where there are two rooms and a bathroom that Tipap and Jeronne live in) and he said "You okay?" I told him I was fine and all the kids were sleeping through the thunder. He is very protective of us all.Our plan today was to go to LaDigue and visit. Tipap and Jeronne and Paige are all worrying about the rain and damage there and wanted to surprise everyone with a visit. We got in the car and tried, but Route nef had more water on it than we felt safe driving through - About 1/4 mile into the high water I chickened out and we turned around. (Annie and Jeronne this morning.)
Now we're at Visa Lodge (thus the Internet connection) trying to enjoy an outing since our plans to visit LaDigue are not going to happen. The road to the Maranatha Childrens' homes had poles down this morning. It had stopped for a while but is raining hard again now. We hope Troy can still come home tomorrow afternoon!
Now we're at Visa Lodge (thus the Internet connection) trying to enjoy an outing since our plans to visit LaDigue are not going to happen. The road to the Maranatha Childrens' homes had poles down this morning. It had stopped for a while but is raining hard again now. We hope Troy can still come home tomorrow afternoon! After my last post - where I tried to describe why it seems that living here, things feel amplified ... life happened and I have two other examples.
I was driving to grab lettuce and tomatoes at a nearby market ... When I headed back toward home I happened upon a disagreement and sat trapped in traffic with a front row seat. (see photo) The man on foot was yelling at the man in the van to move. I could tell he was quite angry but I sat trying to hold still and not draw attention.
I could not back up, go forward, go right or left. After about a minute of screaming the man pulled a gun out of his belt. My heart raced and I told Noah (the only one with me) to lie down. I watched for about another 90 seconds as the men argued. The guy in the van was totally unmoved by the gun being waved in his face ... crazy!!! I guess he was calling the other guy's bluff??? The guy with the gun turned and made eye contact with me. I was the closest car to him. Thoughts raced through my head wondering what might become of the heated situation. I prayed, told Noah to lie down and prayed some more. About two minutes into the exchange a cop walked up (and I snapped a photo while the gun guy was not looking) and told the man with the gun to get back in his car. The man did. That was it. Over. Everyone drove off on their merry way. Amplified. Everything is amplified. There is no rule against pulling a gun on someone???? TIH.
(God protects in ways we often take for granted. Thanks God!)
The other weird thing that happened ... I spoke with a reporter from the BBC. She wrote and asked if she could call me. She was asking questions about the weather here. I told her that I was not maybe the best one to ask since I am not doing relief work -- but simply that in this country a storm that would be bad in a developed nation ... is bad - times ten.
Between the lack of warning, the erosion and runoff, inadequate shelter/housing/roads/bridges, the lack of systems for rescue ... heavy rain is devastating.
She said someone was going to call to put me on the air live. I instantly wished I had not taken her call --- too much pressure!! I would be tempted to say something British sounding, maybe give them a "oh bloody hell" or something...And what if I did not understand their accents and messed up!?!?!? But thankfully no one called ... or when they did call they got the French recording telling them that Digicel is less than a perfect cellular provider and to try back later. :) Phew!
Have a good Sunday.
Tara and the kids
