After the Storm...



See the water suddenly get deeper against the wall

The road connecting our place to town.  This entire area had been fill and it
collapsed and slid the whole way to the sea.  We were very nervous to drive
on it the first couple days!  It was the talk of the island!

Why would I start out with rain?  So depressing, right?  Wrong!  The rain was quite an experience!  Becky and I were happily taking a much anticipated glass melting class and joking about our great choice of a day to be inside.  It had been raining nearly all day.  As we finished up and the boys came to get us, the rains turned torrential! Jobean, the instructor, was joking that we were going to be flooded out of the studio...next thing we know...it really happened!!!  All of the sudden, a flood of several inches came rushing into the studio.  All of us grabbed our stuff and asked what we could do to help...GET OUT!!!  There was nothing else to do.  Electrical cords were all over the floor and she said the only thing to do was turn the breakers off and leave.  Clint ran to get the car...and we all made a mad dash.  The water, a river going down the street, was up to our ankles...poor Clint though. To get the car for us, it was up to his knees!!  He had proof, the bottom of his shorts were wet!  We made our way to a restaurant, to get Shawn his favorite pizza one last time, and to wait out the storm...for HOURS. Everyone was chattering about the storm and told us that we were probably not going to be able to get home that night due to landslides and rockslides.  We thought we were going to be trapped in the town with the Kingdom Hall and have to sleep there!  After a few hours and a brief slack in the storm, we attempted heading home...rocks and boulders were down everywhere on the road.  Clint is a great driver though, and got us through.  Imagine our surprise when we heard hail...in the Caribbean!  Our little cottage was nice and dry...no flooding...YEAH!  The next morning was a service/studies day, so we decided to give it a try and check on all the friends and studies to make sure everyone was okay and see if anyone needed help. Communication had been knocked out for the island, so it was our only way.  Eight lighting strikes on the main tower had everything stopped.  No phones, internet, MAC machines, credit cards...causing lots of troubles as it was December 23.  Poor Shawn, we thought he wouldn't survive it:)  The Kingdom Hall had minor flooding and a roof leak had ruined some ceiling tiles, but other than that, all were okay.  No one on Saba had died, so we were relieved to hear that, sadly however, we heard that wasn't true of all the islands that had endured the storm.  The Road...remember there is only one main road...was quickly cleared.  Most of it done before we got there...though we saw others pictures of HUGE boulders!

The landslide had made it 1200 ft below to the ocean!

The end of "The Road" that hadn't been cleared yet.  This was minor!
Not many big boulders, just little rocks, so it wasn't urgent.

Much of it was hand-cleared by the diligent road crew!

 

Clearing the water out of the Kingdom Hall.

After the storm...all is great! 

As for the fun we were having when the storm came....IT WAS SO AWESOME!  Torches, melting glass, making our own jewelry...fun, fun, fun.  It was the most relaxed and peaceful I have felt the entire trip.  Let your creative juices flow...it was like sitting around a campfire, only much more mesmerizing!  We only signed up for a half day, but we were all having so much fun that we stayed for the day...at no extra charge!  Even the instructor, Jobean, was having such fun with us that she kept trying to get us to try new things.  When the boys came, she even had Shawn give it a try.

Canyon desperately wanted to do it, but oxygen, torches, and melting glass?  Jobean said to bring him back for a class and insisted he could do it...and do it he did!  She was such a good and patient teac.  His first bead was better than mine!  Normally, she maneuvers one rod, while the kid does the other.  Canyon had such focus and steady hands that she let him do it all by himself.  He was thrilled to be able to do the entire process by himself. 

Look at that concentration!  Below are the beads he made...most he made all by himself.

The basic process:  Choose a colored glass rod, get it all hot and melting, and apply it to a metal rod that has been dipped in clay...so you can remove it later.  There is much more involved with the science of it all.  Making sure you have things the right temperatures and adding the highlight colors, but you will have to take the class to get all that information:)  I seriously want to open my own studio! 
Now, for those of you that wanted more flowers....you'll have to look up the names:)

Some of these are the size of basketballs!  At first, we thought they were breadfruit, but that tree looked different.  Does anyone know what they are?

Looking down on Winwardside...see the Kingdom Hall?  In the center of the picture there is a gray roofed building.  The little building to the right ...rectanglular, red roof with palm branches blowing in front of it...is the Kingdom Hall.

Panoramic shot looking down on the 'big' town of Winwardside.  Beautiful!  Kurt is here now and showing us the good hiking spots.  

Hard at work journaling.

The Ladder....over 500 steps nearly vertical. Until the 1970's it was the path used to bring up cargo to the town of The Bottom.  Customs was a little building along the hike!  We could barely carry ourselves up it...I can't imagine carrying anything, like lumber up it!  We thought the hike was suppose to be the adventure...turns out that for Clint and Canyon, the hike was nothing!

We found another beach...how would you like to layout here?

I didn't haul my snorkeling gear down The Ladder, but Clint brought his and Canyon's.  I thought they were relaxing and having a great time...they saw two eagle rays traveling together...what a treat.  Then I saw them high tail it in...



Canyon even got rolled on the rocks by a wave...didn't complain just ready to come in...WHY?

A SHARK!  Canyon came in bubbling with enthusiasm...Clint a little less enthused.  The water was a bit murky...not good.  The shark was either a bull shark or Caribbean Reef Shark...we are telling ourselves it was a reef shark, though to both of them it looked more like a bull shark.  Clint just assumed it wasn't interested in them...they usually aren't, but it kept coming back under them and acting frenzied, even circling.  It would go, then keep coming back.  Clint was making his way in...then it started darting at them!  It came so close that Clint had to kick it in the head to get it to leave them alone!  It was as big as Canyon...not huge, but big enough to get out of there!  Thus, the frantic exodus from the ocean.  They figure it was after their bright yellow snorkel fins, not them...but still scary seeing as their feet were inside!  So glad they didn't get hurt...It would have been hard to carry them up The Ladder :)  Yes, we did take it seriously...we will not be snorkeling there anymore.  Though it was probably just because the big storm had made the water murky.  People here dive with the sharks all the time and never have any problems.  We have seen reef sharks snorkeling in the past, and they didn't concern themselves with us at all.  Still, a story they won't soon forget!



More cute wild goats...even in town they won't let you close enough to pet...trust me, the boys have tried.

Mavryk and Canyon playing behind the roots.

Stopping for a quick picture in the ministry.  The view is spectacular!
Consuelo is a beautiful sister.  She has an amazing heart!  I wish I could bring
her home with me!!! 

Hangin' out at our place with Consuelo, Bienela, and Emily.

Canyon grew another head!  Oh, just Mavryk.

A Bible study.

This sister, Essie, has a special story...smiling despite just having to move into the nursing home...a difficult adjustment.
The first witness baptized on the island.  Lots of fun spunk!  She needs your prayers...she was unable to snap back after a bout with Dengue Fever.  We visit her often throughout the week and it has definitely been our privilege to get to know her.  Everyone on Saba knows her and her story!  Like I said in the past, you do something different on the island and everyone knows it!  It wasn't easy for her to become a Jehovah's Witness.  She even went to both services on Sundays to compare what she was learning...and today people don't want to take the time to go to one service on Sunday's!
 

It is so nice to have McKinney's here!  They really know there way around since they have sacrificed so much time to come here.  I know the pictures may have you saying...yeah right, what sacrifices.  This would be a good time to tell you about my blog.  I definitely only highlight the good.  Why bore you with the everyday inconveniences and all the work involved.   They are "on call" 24 hours a day practically.  You don't get a lot of time for yourself, because your mind is always focused on others.  You can't count on all the conveniences of home...washing machines, TV, water, phones, foods you are use to, doctors with the facilities to help you, anything that goes wrong fixed and everything is VERY expensive...lodging, food, everything!  There are bugs, heat, pop up storms while you are walking...I could go on.  I am not complaining at all...neither do they!  Love for people makes you love what you are doing enough that you don't really care if you are inconvenienced.  You learn to focus your thoughts and energies on all the good, fun, and new experiences.  Embrace new things rather than complain because they are not what you are use to back home.  It is an attitude you need to adopt...and they have adopted it and that is a very commendable thing!  They are NOT here on vacation...trust me.  If you think they are, I challenge you to come for six months of the year...saving every penny you have to do so...and see if you come back!  You come back because of your love for Jehovah and people...and Jehovah does bless you with truly fun moments that make you never regret your sacrifice! 

Connecting with friends back home...and all over the country...even the world.  No TV means taking time to reconnect with friends we have made throughout the years all over the world. 

Clint...there are NO more homes to visit back this road :)

My favorite kind of snake...little, non-poisonous, and dead :)  Sorry to all you snake lovers!

This week on the kids study, we continued learning about Moses...the 10 Plagues.  After reading the story, I had found finger puppets to make of the plagues.  The kids had a lot of fun....making them.   

"The gals" after meeting on Sunday.

The guys...they are outnumbered!

The kids  :)  The singing...everyone VERY strong ,heartfelt, and in two languages, would have brought tears to your eyes.  Lets just say it was singing as it should be...no one could hear Canyon :) Later that day, we all went to the beach.  Saba at it's best!